Lesson 3 · Discover Canada p.23–34

History I — Explorers to Confederation

The longest stretch of the guide and the densest in dates. Learn it as a spine of eight dates; everything else hangs off them.

First arrivals

The Vikings from Iceland reached Labrador and Newfoundland about 1,000 years ago; their settlement at l'Anse aux Meadows is a World Heritage site. European exploration began in earnest with John Cabot in 1497, an Italian immigrant to England, the first to draw a map of Canada's East Coast. p.24

Where "Canada" comes from: Cartier heard two captured guides speak the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village". By the 1550s the name appeared on maps.

New France and the fur trade

Champlain allied with the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron against the Iroquois; the French and Iroquois made peace in 1701. The fur trade was driven by European demand for beaver pelts, and its canoe-men were the voyageurs and coureurs des bois. In 1670, King Charles II granted the Hudson's Bay Company its trading monopoly. p.25

At the Plains of Abraham, 1759, both commanders died: Wolfe (British) and Montcalm (French).

Accommodation and the Loyalists

The Quebec Act of 1774 allowed religious freedom for Catholics, let them hold public office, and restored French civil law while keeping British criminal law. It is one of the constitutional foundations of Canada.

From 1776, more than 40,000 United Empire Loyalists fled the American Revolution into Nova Scotia and Quebec. Joseph Brant led thousands of Loyalist Mohawk. About 3,000 black Loyalists came north. p.26

Democracy and abolition

• 1758 — first representative assembly elected, in Halifax
• 1791 — Constitutional Act divides Quebec into Upper Canada (later Ontario) and Lower Canada (later Quebec)
• 1793 — Upper Canada, under Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, is the first province in the Empire to move toward abolishing slavery
• 1833 — Britain abolishes slavery throughout the Empire

The War of 1812

The Americans invaded in June 1812 believing Canada would be easy to conquer. Sir Isaac Brock took Detroit and was killed at Queenston Heights. Charles de Salaberry turned back 4,000 Americans at Châteauguay with 460 men, mostly French Canadiens. Laura Secord walked 19 miles to warn of an attack, leading to victory at Beaver Dams. The war's lasting outcome: Canada remained independent of the United States. p.29–31

Responsible government and Confederation

Responsible government means ministers of the Crown must have the support of a majority of elected representatives to govern — if the government loses a confidence vote, it must resign. Nova Scotia was first to attain it, in 1847–48. Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine became the first leader of a responsible government in the Canadas in 1849.

From 1864 to 1867 the Fathers of Confederation built a new country. The British North America Act created the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867, with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia. The term Dominion was suggested by Sir Leonard Tilley, inspired by Psalm 72. p.33

Drill