Canada is a country of 32 million inhabitants that occupies the northern portion of the
North American continent, and is the world's
second largest country in area.
[1] Inhabited for millennia by
First Nations (
aboriginal), Canada has evolved from a group of
European
colonies into an officially
bilingual (English and French),
multicultural federation, having peacefully obtained
sovereignty from its last colonial possessor, Great Britain. France sent the first large group of settlers in the 17th century, but Canada came to be dominated by the British until the country attained full independence in the 20th century. Its history has been affected by its
inhabitants, its
geography, and its
relations with the outside world.
First Peoples
Many
indigenous peoples (both
First Nations and
Inuit) have inhabited the region that is now Canada for thousands of years and have their own diverse histories. Aside from
spiritual explanations of indigenous origins, anthropologists continue to argue over various possible
models of migration to modern day Canada, as well as their pre-contact populations. Indigenous peoples contributed significantly to the culture and economy of the early European colonies and as such have played an important role in fostering a unique Canadian cultural identity.
European contact
Viking colonisation site at L'Anse-aux-Meadows
There are a number of reports of contact made before Columbus between the first peoples and those from other continents. The case of
Viking contact is supported by the remains of a Viking settlement in
L'Anse aux Meadows,
Newfoundland. This may well have been the place
Icelandic
Norseman Leifur Eiríksson referred to as
Vinland around the year 1000.
The presence of Basque cod fishermen and whalers, just a few years after Columbus, has also been cited, with at least nine fishing outposts having been established on
Labrador and
Newfoundland. The largest of these settlements was the
Red Bay station, with an estimated 900 people.
Basque whalers may have begun fishing the
Grand Banks as early as the 15th century.
The next European explorer acknowledged as landing in what is now Canada was
John Cabot, who landed somewhere on the coast of North America (probably Newfoundland or
Cape Breton Island) in 1497 and claimed it for King
Henry VII of England. Portuguese and Spanish explorers also visited Canada, but it was the French who first began to explore further inland and set up colonies, beginning with
Jacques Cartier in 1534. An attempt at settlement was made in 1600 at
Tadoussac; the settlement failed but Tadoussac remained a trading post.
[2] Under
Samuel de Champlain, the first French settlement was made in 1605 at Port-Royal (today's Annapolis Royal), and in 1608 the heart of New-France, which later grew to be
Quebec City, was established. The French claimed Canada as their own and 6,000 settlers arrived, settling along the St. Lawrence and in the
Maritimes. Britain also had a presence in Newfoundland and with the advent of settlements, claimed the south of Nova Scotia as well as the areas around the
Hudson Bay.
The first contact with the Europeans was disastrous for the first peoples. Explorers and traders brought European diseases, such as
smallpox, which killed off entire villages. Relations varied between the settlers and the Natives. The French befriended several Algonquin nations, including the
Huron peoples and nations of the Wabanaki Confederacy, and entered into a mutually beneficial trading relationship with them. The
Iroquois, however, became dedicated opponents of the French and warfare between the two was unrelenting, especially as the British armed the Iroquois in an effort to weaken the French.
The first agricultural settlements in what was to become Canada were located around the French settlement of
Port Royal in what is now Nova Scotia. The population of
Acadians, as this group became known, reached 5,000 by 1713.
New France (''Nouvelle-France'') 1604-1763
Main articles: New France
Map of New France made by Samuel de Champlain on 1612
After Champlain's founding of
Quebec City in 1608 it became the capital of
New France. The coastal communities were based upon the
cod fishery, the economy along the
St Lawrence River was based on farming. French ''
voyageurs'' traveled deep into the hinterlands (of what is today Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba) trading guns, gunpowder, cloth, knives, and kettles for beaver furs. The
fur trade only encouraged a small population, however, as minimal labour was required. Encouraging settlement was always difficult, and while some immigration did occur, by 1759 New France only had a population of some 60,000.
New France had other problems besides low immigration. The French government had little interest or ability in supporting their colony and it was mostly left to its own devices. The economy was primitive and much of the population was involved in little more than subsistence agriculture. The colonists also engaged in a long running series of
wars with the Iroquois.
Wars in the Colonial Era
Main articles: French and Indian Wars
While the French were well established in
Canada, Britain had control over the
Thirteen Colonies to the south as well as control over
Hudson Bay. The British, however, with greater financial power and a larger navy, were consistently in a better position to defend and expand their colonies than the French. The French government gave very little support to their colonists in
New France and the colonists, for the most part, had to fend for themselves. Britain and France repeatedly went to war in the 17th and 18th centuries, and made their colonial empires into battlefields. Numerous naval battles were fought in the West Indies; the main land battles were fought in and around Canada.
The first areas won by the British were the
Maritime provinces. After
Queen Anne's War, Nova Scotia, other than Cape Breton, was ceded to the British by the
Treaty of Utrecht. This gave Britain control over thousands of French-speaking
Acadians. Not trusting these new subjects, who repeatedly proclaimed their neutrality, the British first tried to dilute their numbers by bringing in Protestants settlers from Europe. Finally the British ordered the
Great Upheaval of 1755, deporting about 12,000 Acadians to destinations throughout their North American holdings. Many settled in southern Louisiana, creating the Cajun culture there. Some Acadians managed to hide and others eventually returned to Nova Scotia, but they were far outnumbered by a new migration of Yankees from New England who transformed Nova Scotia.
During
King George's War,
British colonial forces captured the French stronghold of
Louisbourg on
Cape Breton Island,
Nova Scotia, but this gain was returned to France under the 1748
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
Canada was also an important battlefield in the
Seven Years' War, during which
Great Britain gained control of Quebec City after the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, and
Montreal in 1760.
Canada under British Imperial Control 1764-1867
Main articles: Canada under British Imperial Control (1764-1867)
With the end of the
Seven Years' War and the signing of the
Treaty of Paris on
February 10,
1763, France ceded almost all of its territory in North America. The new British rulers left alone much of the religious, political and social culture of the French-speaking ''
habitants''. Violent conflict continued during the next century, leading Canada into the
War of 1812 and a pair of
Rebellions in 1837.
In 1837, rebellions against the British colonial government took place in both Upper and Lower Canada. In Upper Canada, a band of Reformers under the leadership of
William Lyon Mackenzie took up arms in a disorganized and ultimately unsuccessful series of small-scale skirmishes around
Toronto,
London, and
Hamilton.
In Lower Canada, a more substantial rebellion occurred against British rule. Both English- and French-Canadian rebels, with some American backing, fought several skirmishes against the authorities. The towns of
Chambly and
Sorel were taken by the rebels, and
Quebec City was isolated from the rest of the colony. Montreal rebel leader
Robert Nelson read a declaration of independence to a crowd at Napierville in 1838. ''Les Patriotes,'' however, were defeated after battles across Quebec. Hundreds were arrested, and several villages were burnt in reprisal.
A new Whig government sent
Lord Durham to examine the situation and his
Durham Report strongly recommended
responsible government. A less well received recommendation, however, was the amalgamation of Upper and Lower Canada in order to forcibly assimilate the French speaking population;
The Canadas were merged into a single, quasi-federal colony, the
United Province of Canada, with the
Act of Union (1840).
Once the
United States agreed to the
49th parallel north as the border separating it from western British North America, the British government created the Pacific coast colonies of
British Columbia in 1848 and
Vancouver Island in 1849, They were eventually
united in 1866.
A set of proposals called the Seventy-Two Resolutions were drafted at the 1864 Quebec Conference. They laid out the framework for an independent Canada. They were adopted by the majority of the provinces of Canada, and became the basis for the London Conference of 1866.
Post-Confederation Canada 1867-1914
Main articles: Post-Confederation Canada (1867-1914)
On
July 1 1867, with the passing of the
British North America Act by the
British Parliament, the
Province of Canada,
New Brunswick, and
Nova Scotia became a
federation, regarded as a kingdom in her own right.
[3] John A. Macdonald had spoken of "founding a great British monarchy" and wanted the newly created country to be called the "Kingdom of Canada."
[4] Although had its
monarch in London, the
Colonial Office opposed as "premature" and "pretentious" the term "kingdom." It might antagonize the
United States. The term ''
dominion'' was chosen to indicate Canada's status as a self-governing colony of the
British Empire, the first time it was used in reference to a country.
With the construction of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, the new country expanded East, West and North, to assert its authority over a greater territory. A major means to achieve this was the foundation of the
Northwest Mounted Police (now the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police) which patrolled the territories.
Manitoba joined the Dominion in 1870, and
British Columbia in 1871. Westward expansion encountered serious resistance from the region's
Métis inhabitants, in the form of the
Red River Rebellion and the
North-West Rebellion. In 1905,
Saskatchewan and
Alberta were admitted as provinces.
Canada in World Wars and Interwar Years
Main articles: Canada in the World Wars and Interwar Years
Strikers from unemployment relief camps climbing on boxcars as part of the On to Ottawa Trek
Canada's participation in the
First World War helped to foster a sense of Canadian nationhood. The highpoint of Canadian military achievement came at the
Battle of Vimy Ridge on
April 9 1917, in which the
Canadian Corps captured a fortified German hill that had resisted British and French attacks earlier in the war. Battles such as Vimy, as well as the success of Canadian flying aces including
William Barker and
Billy Bishop, helped to give Canada a new sense of identity. As a result of the war, the Canadian government became more assertive and less deferential to British authority, because many Canadians were dismayed by what they saw as British command failures.
Canada is sometimes considered to be the country hardest hit by the
interwar Great Depression. The economy fell further than that of any nation other than the United States. It hit especially hard in
Western Canada, where a full recovery did not occur until the
Second World War began in 1939. Hard times led to the creation of new political parties such as the
Social Credit movement and the
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, as well as popular protest in the form of the
On to Ottawa Trek.
Amphibious vehicles taking Canadian troops across the
Scheldt in Holland, during World War II
Canada's involvement in the Second World War began when Canada declared war on Germany on
September 10 1939, one week after Britain. Canadian forces were involved in the failed
defence of Hong Kong, the
Dieppe Raid in August 1942, the
Allied invasion of Italy, and the
Battle of Normandy. Of a population of approximately 11.5 million, 1.1 million Canadians served in the armed forces in the Second World War. Many thousands more served in the merchant marine. In all, more than 45,000 gave their lives, and another 55,000 were wounded. Countless others shared the suffering and hardship of war. By the end of the war, Canada had, temporarily at least, become a significant military power. However, the Big Three paid little attention to Canada.
Conscription legislation was enacted during both wars (though on the initial promise of home-front service only in World War II), leading to increased tension between French and English Canadians. During the
First World War, Prime Minister
Borden's government enfranchised women who had close male relatives serving overseas, in the hopes of securing their support in the 1917 federal election.
History of Canada (1945-1960)
Main articles: History of Canada (1945-1960)
Prosperity returned to Canada during
Second World War. With continued Liberal governments, national policies increasingly turned to social welfare, including hospital insurance, old-age pensions, and veterans' pensions.
The financial crisis of the Great Depression, soured by rampant corruption, had led Newfoundlanders to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a crown colony ruled by a British governor. Prosperity returned when the American military arrived in 1941 with over 10,000 soldiers and huge investments in air and naval bases. Popular sentiment grew favourable toward the Americans, alarming the Canadian government, which now wanted Newfoundland to enter into confederation instead of falling into the American orbit. In 1948, the British government gave voters three
Referendum choices: remaining a crown colony, returning to Dominion status (that is, independence), or joining Canada. Joining the U.S. was not made an option. After bitter debate Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a Province.
[5]
Canada's foreign policy during in the
Cold War was closely tied to that of the U.S., demonstrated by membership in
NATO, sending combat troops into the
Korean War, and establishing a joint air defence system (
NORAD) with the U.S.
History of Canada (1960-1981)
Main articles: History of Canada (1960-1981)
In the 1960s, a
Quiet Revolution took place in Quebec, overthrowing the old establishment which centered on the Catholic Church and modernizing the economy and society.
Québécois nationalists demanded independence and tensions rose until violence erupted during the 1970
October Crisis. During his long tenure in the office (1968–79, 1980–84), Prime Minister
Trudeau made social change his political goal for Canada.
History of Canada (1982-1992)
Main articles: History of Canada (1982-1992)
As the highlight of his nearly 16 years as prime minister, Trudeau negotiated the
Patriation of the
Canadian constitution in 1982, which included the introduction to Canada of a
Charter of Rights and final independence from Britain (though Canada had been effectively independent for many decades). The Patriation negotiations led to renewed antagonism between Quebec and the rest of Canada, which later Prime Minister Mulroney's
Meech Lake Accord failed to smooth over. During the same decade, Canada engaged in violent conflict both abroad in the
First Gulf War and at home, during the
Oka Crisis. Also this period saw the
Mount Cashel Boys Home Scandal.
History of Canada (1992-Present)
Main articles: History of Canada (1992-Present)
In the past decade and a half, Canada experienced the tenure of another one of the longest continuously serving prime ministers (
Jean Chrétien), a second
Quebec referendum on sovereignty, and the creation of a new territory,
Nunavut. While long standing issues like
immigration continued to demand attention, new debates over
same-sex marriage and international
peacekeeping would increasingly take the forefront.
As of 2007,
Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister of Canada, leading the Conservative Party in a minority government.
References
''Please see
Bibliography of Canadian History for an extensive list of sources.''
★
''The Dictionary of Canadian Biography''(1966-2006), thousands of scholarly biographies of those who died by 1930
★ Bliss, Michael. ''Northern Enterprise: Five Centuries of Canadian Business''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1987.
★ Brune, Nick and Alastair Sweeny.
History of Canada Online. Waterloo: Northern Blue Publishing, 2005.
★ J.M. Bumsted. ''The Peoples of Canada: A Pre-Confederation History''; and ''The Peoples of Canada: A Post-Confederation History.'' Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2004.
★ Margaret Conrad and Alvin Finkel. ''Canada: A National History.'' Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2003.
★ Margaret Conrad and Alvin Finkel, eds. ''Foundations: Readings in Post-Confederation Canadian History.'' and ''Nation and Society: Readings in Post-Confederation Canadian History''. Toronto: Pearson Longman, 2004. articles by scholars
★ Gerald Hallowell, ed. ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian History'' (2004) 1650 short entries
★ Ian McKay, ''Rebels, Reds, Radicals: Rethinking Canada's Left History'', Between the lines 2006, ISBN 1896357970
★ Desmond Morton. ''A Short History of Canada'' 5th ed (2001)
★ Desmond Morton. ''A Military History of Canada'' (1999)
★ Desmond Morton. ''Working People: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Labour Movement'' (1999)
★ James C. Marsh, ed.
Canadian Encyclopedia'' 4 vol 1985; also cd-rom editions
★ Norrie K. H. and Owram Doug. ''A History of the Canadian Economy'', 1991
★ Kenneth G. Pryke and Walter C. Soderlund, eds. ''Profiles of Canada.'' Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2003. 3rd edition.
★ M. Brook Taylor ed. ''Canadian History: A Reader's Guide''. Vol. 1. Doug Owram, ed. ''Canadian History: A Reader's Guide''. Vol. 2. Toronto: 1994. historiography
★ Statistics Canada. ''Historical Statistics of Canada''. 2d ed., Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 1983.
★ ''
Canadawiki'' features hundreds of stories from Canadian History as well as the ''
CanText text library'' and ''
CanLine Chronology'' of Canadian History.
★ Bliss, Michael. ''Northern Enterprise: Five Centuries of Canadian Business''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1987.
★ Thomas Thorner with Thor Frohn-Nielsen, eds. ''"A Few Acres of Snow": Documents in Pre-Confederation Canadian History,'' and ''"A Country Nourished on Self-Doubt": Documents on Post-Confederation Canadian History'', 2nd ed. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, 2003.
★ Mason Wade, ''The French Canadians, 1760-1945'' (1955) 2 vol
Notes
1. Canada's population clock Statistics Canada
2. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia, ''Tadoussac'', retrieved 1 September 2007.
3. The Crown in Canada
4. Farthing, John; ''Freedom Wears a Crown''; Toronto, 1957
5. Karl Mcneil Earle, "Cousins of a Kind: The Newfoundland and Labrador Relationship with the United States", ''American Review of Canadian Studies'', Vol. 28, 1998
See also
★
Territorial evolution of Canada
★
List of Canadian monarchs
★
History of monarchy in Canada
★
List of conflicts in Canada
★
The Famous Five (Canada)
★
History of medicine in Canada
★
★
List of Canadian historians
★
History of Britain
★
History of England
★
History of France
★
History of North America
★
History of present-day nations and states
★
History of the petroleum industry in Canada
Film, television and culture
★ ''
★
Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
★
History of Canadian animation
★
History of cinema in Canada
★
Postage stamps and postal history of Canada
External link
★
"Living History," an NFB educational site
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