Transcript The American Revolution or Canadian Evolution

The American Revolution or
Canadian Evolution
• The American revolution created two new
countries.
– The new country of the United States
– The future nation of Canada.
Treaty of Paris
• The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763,
formally ended the Seven Years War
between France and Britain.
• The lands of New France were transferred
to Britain.
• Britain would not influence the French
peoples way of life
• They kept their religion and language.
American Revolution
• Peace for the British empire would be
short lived
• 13 of its North American Colonies would
revolt because they were tired of Britain
not looking out for the best interests of
the colonies.
– Louisbourg given back to the French in 1749
– Royal Proclamation of 1763 giving Aboriginal
Peoples land rights
– Quebec Act of 1774 which gave French
Catholics representation in their government
More Causes
• The Americans also
wanted
representation in the
British government
• The British
government refused
and continued impose
high taxes on the
American colonies
because of the cost of
the Seven Years War
What about Canada?
• The Americans believed that they would
find allies in Quebec, Nova Scotia and
some of the First Nations tribes.
• The French remained Neutral
– They did not see anything to gain from
revolting (The Americans were notoriously
anti-french)
– They enjoyed their life under British rule since
it was not harsh (They had religious freedoms
not seen elsewhere in the British Empire)
• In 1774, George Washington also
denounced French culture and the Roman
Catholic religion.
• The French did not see the point of risking
what they had for the unknown.
First Nations
• The Aboriginals did not side with either
exclusively
• The usually sided with whichever side
guaranteed their sovereignty
• Joseph Brant was a Mohawk chief that
allied with the British
The Aftermath of the Revolution
• On July 4th, 1776, the Declaration of
Independence officially created the United
States of America
• After 8 years of fighting, with the help of
the French, finally defeated Britain in 1781
• This forced the British to give up control
over the American colonies
United Empire Loyalists
• The United Empire Loyalists resisted the
rebels and fought along side of the British.
• The Loyalists were persecuted for their
stand, and their property and possessions
were stolen from them.
• Thousands of Loyalists left the U.S to
resettle in territories still controlled by
Britain.
The Loyalists
• 50,000 loyalists from all backgrounds
came to British North America.
• 34000 arrived in the colony of Nova
Scotia.
• The most prosperous Loyalist settlement
was located along the banks of the St.
John river and the Fundy Shore.
• This saw the formation of places names
Fredericton, St. Andrew, and Saint John.
Black Loyalists
• During the Revolution Britain offered Black
slaves freedom if they sided with them.
• Both Britain and America at the time still
supported slavery
– Slavery was abolished in the British Empire
(including Canada) in 1833
– The United States abolished slavery in 1865
after the American Civil War
Black Loyalists
• After the war Black slaves were forced
with the choice of returning to the life of
slavery or run to the British controlled
Canada and have freedom, as well as the
promise of free land.
• If they returned to their Masters they
would surely be treated worse than before
the war.
Black Loyalists
• Over 3000 Black Loyalists would travel to
Nova Scotia and settle in towns such as
Preston and Shelburne.
• However, when they arrived they would
quickly find out that the land they were
promised was small and not suited to
farming.
Black Loyalists
• They soon found out that freedom did not
necessarily mean equality
• Often the land they were given was so bad they
had to become indentured servants or
tenant farmers.
• This meant they had to work another persons
land for a wage.
• Sometimes they lived on the farm and were
basically slaves once again.
• After a few years, 1200 left for Sierra Leone.
Loyalist Influence on Canada
• 10000 Loyalists also went to Quebec,
where they were given free land grants.
• While they only totaled 10 percent of the
population, they created huge changes.
• They created a huge British influence on a
French society.
Constitutional Act of 1791
• The British brought with them their
English culture. They also brought the
protestant religion and set up the Anglican
Church.
• They major change occurred with the
Constitutional Act of 1791 which split
Quebec into upper Canada(Ontario) and
Lower Canada(Quebec).