Transcript document

British North America
Introduction
History Overall Expectations
British North America
Explain the origins of English settlement in British
North America after the fall of New France, and
describe the migration and settlement experiences
of various groups of settlers, and outline the
causes, events, and results of the War of 1812
Use a variety of resources and tools to gather,
process, and communicate information about the
beginnings and development of the new British
colonies
Identify some themes and personalities from the
period, and explain their relevance to
contemporary Canada
Big Ideas
With so many groups of people under
the rule of the British, how did Britain
meet their needs?
After the Treaty of Paris (1763)
The British took over New France and
named it Quebec
The people in Quebec got to keep
their language, culture, and religion
The British learned quickly that there
were many different groups in the
region with many different wants and
needs
Canadiens
Wanted to keep their keep their
language (French) and religion
(Roman Catholic)
Wanted to expand their territory for
the fur trade
Merchants and Farmers
English speaking
Wanted to take the fur trade from the
French
Wanted to change the “way of life”
from French to English
Wanted free land in the interior to set
up farms
First Nations
Wanted to keep their traditional way
of life
Wanted to gain control of the fur trade
Wanted to stop more settlers from
coming in the area
Wanted to keep control of the Ohio
Valley region
The Thirteen American Colonies
Wanted to expand their settlements
into Quebec and the Ohio Valley
Wanted to expand their control of the
fur trade
The “Carrot” or the “Stick”
The Carrot
People who believed
this argued that you
can gain more
followers by being nice
to people and listening
to their wants
British officials in
Quebec favoured this
approach
The Stick
People who believed
this argued that you
had to show people
who the boss was and
rule strictly
British officials in
England favoured this
approach
Rules suggested in each approach
Stick
Restrict Roman Catholic
religion
Return government and
church officials to France
Give British control of fur
trade
Restrict Quebec’s territory
to a small area
Carrot
Let Roman Catholics
practise their religion freely
Allow R.C. and Protestants
to become involved in
government of Quebec
Let French continue in fur
trade
Allow Canadiens expand
into the interior and
guarantee some land to the
First Nations
Supporters of Each approach
Stick
Earl of Shelburne,
the Colonial
Secretary (in
charge of all British
colonies)
Carrot
Sir Guy Carleton,
governor of
Quebec
Dealing with the First Nations
Mineweh, chief of the Ojibwe
“Although you have conquered the French
you have not yet conquered us! We are not
your slaves. These lakes, these woods,
and mountains were left us by our
ancestors. Our Father, the king of France,
employed our young men to make war
upon your nation. Many have been killed
and it is our custom to retaliate. Your king
has not sent us any presents, nor entered
into any treaty with us, therefore we are still
at war.”
The leader of the Alliance
Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa First
Nations, formed an alliance of many
native groups to fight against the
British
In 1763, the alliance attacked Fort
Detroit. The five month battle ended
with several smaller forts being
captured
The British Response
Germ Warfare
The British gave metal boxes filled with
pieces of blankets to the First Nations
peoples as a gift.
They told them they had “special powers”
and were not to be opened until they
returned to their villages
The blankets were infected with smallpox,
a disease that the First Nations had no
immunity to
As a result, many died
Royal Proclamation of 1763
The first British attempt to make peace with the
First Nations
Issued by King George III
Key points
Britain controlled all of France’s territories in the region
Boundaries of Quebec were the St. Lawrence River
English Civil law replaced French law (no more
seigneurial system)
The rest of New France (Ohio Valley) was First Nations
territory
All French living in the Ohio Valley had to leave
Only the British Crown could buy First Nations land
Fur traders had to have a license
The Thirteen Colonies
The British controlled 13 American
colonies on the east coast
The 13 colonies began to cause
problems for the British after they
tried to pass special taxes on the
colonists to help pay for the Seven
Years War
Special Taxes
Sugar Act- takes on imports of many
popular goods (wine, coffee, sugar,
cloth)
Stamp Act- government stamps on all
documents and printed materials
Declaratory Act- Colonies were under
British control
Coercive Acts- Controlled discussion
of issues to public meetings
Response to the British Acts
The Thirteen Colonies had their own
governments and felt that the British
did not have the power to place these
laws/taxes on them
Some colonies resisted the taxes
1770, 5 people were killed in Boston by
British troops during a protest
The Boston Tea Party
1773- Rebels dressed as First
Nations people snuck into Boston
Harbor and threw chests of tea into
the water in protest
The Quebec Act
With fighting over the Ohio Valley and
the issues with the 13 colonies, the
British replaced the Royal
Proclamation with the Quebec Act in
1774
Enlarged the territory of Quebec
Created a Council of Representatives to
pass laws
Replaced Civil Law with French Civil
Law (seigneurial system back)
Reaction to the Quebec Act
The British North Americans strongly
disliked the Quebec Act and the
Quebecois loved it
The First Nations did not like having
the French in the Ohio Valley, but
preferred them to the British North
Americans
Declaration of Independence, 1776
As a result of the Quebec Act and the
new taxes, the 13 Colonies met in
Philadelphia
July 4th, 1776 they declared the
United States of America an
independent nation
The American Revolutionary War also
started between USA and Britain
What should Quebec do?
Quebec had to decide what side to take in
the Revolutionary War
The Continental Congress recommended
that Quebec join the American side, but the
people were unsure
When Quebec did not pledge immediate
support, America invaded Quebec City and
Montreal (Led by Richard Montgomery and
Benedict Arnold)
What happened during the
invasion?
The American invasion of Quebec
failed
Why?
The defense of the two cities
The harsh winter conditions that the
American army was not prepared for
United Empire Loyalists
The people in the Thirteen Colonies were divided
into two distinct groups
1. Patriots- Those who favoured independence
from Britain
2. Loyalists- Those who supported British rule
When it became clear that the Americans were
going to win independence, many Loyalists took
free land in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and
PEI that was offered to them by the British
About 50 000 Loyalists left the Colonies during the
war
The Loyalists
Many of those who left the 13 colonies
were minorities who felt like they needed
protection from the American rebels
(Huguenots, Quakers are examples of
religious minority groups)
Many Black soldiers joined the British side
of the war when they were promised free
land at the end of their service. However,
once the war ended, they were largely
ignored and many left to found their own
communities (e.g. Shelburne, N.S.)
Loyalists in Ontario
In the 1780s, most of “Ontario” (area
around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie) was
populated by First Nations people only
After the war ended, many Loyalist
regiments disbanded and were given land
in this area (Butler’s Rangers founded
Niagara-On-The-Lake)
Loyalists in Ontario
Several First Nations groups (Iroquois) helped the British during the
war. As a reward, they were relocated to Ontario (from New York)
Land was given to various Aboriginal groups in British North
America as “Reserves”-which were supposed to be guaranteed to
be theirs forever
The problem was, some land was given to more than one group.
Laws and treaties were constantly changing and the British crown
was also buying some of the land back from various Native groups
to give to other Native groups
Because these treaties changed often, and were usually poorly
recorded (if at all), it was difficult to prove certain treaties existed.
Eventually, cities and towns were built over Reserve land
Today, less than one-tenth of the land allotted as Reserves in
Ontario is still reserve land
Disputes over who owns the land occur often (Caledonia- 2006)
The Treaty of Paris, 1783
The American defeated the British in the
Thirteen Colonies
The Second Treaty of Paris (First one gave
New France to Britain in 1763) was
negotiated by Benjamin Franklin
Britain recognized America as an independent
nation
The US got control of the Ohio Valley
America could fish the costal waters of British
Colonies (Quebec)
All British Troops must leave the US
Loyalists could no longer be prosecuted
The War of 1812
Who?- United States of America vs. the British
Empire (Great Britain and British North America)
What?- A fight over land and power in North
America
Where?- Mostly in North America (along the east
coast and waterways)
Why?- 1) trade restrictions 2) forced enrollment
into Royal Navy 3) British support for First Nations
peoples
When?- 1812-1815
How?-
Causes of the War of 1812
Long-Term Causes in Europe
In the late 18th Century (1700s), France and
Britain were are war to become the world’s
leading military power
-Napoleonic Wars (1799-1812)
-Earlier, Britain defeated France in the Seven
Year’s War (1756-1763) so France got revenge
by helping the 13 colonies gain independence
from Britain
-France and Britain tried to weaken each other by
restricting their trade (Blockades, searches)
Causes of the War of 1812
Immediate Causes in North America
Since they shared a common “enemy”, France
and America had been helping each other
Britain tried to harm France by stopping
American merchant ships going to France to
harm their trade
During these inspections, the British often
found British citizens on board, so they
captured them and forced them to work on
British warships (Impressment)
Impressment was legal if the sailors were British
citizens, but some were not and the Americans
protested
More immediate causes
Battle for expansion
In the Treaty of Paris (1783), Britain gave
America the Ohio Valley BUT they also had to
respect the treaties that had already been
signed with the First Nations peoples there
America wanted to settle the Ohio Valley, so
when people started moving into the area, First
Nations peoples protested
Britain was worried that America would get
stronger if they did not step in
More immediate causes
Fur Trade
The Americans were arguing that the First
Nations were making fake claims about settlers
in the Ohio Valley to keep control of the fur
trade
America was also accusing the British of
providing the First Nations with guns to attack
American settlers
America demanded this stopped, or there
would be a war between settlers and the First
Nations peoples
More immediate causes
Jingoism
“Aggressive talk and opinions that justify
military action”
America is extremely confident after gaining
their independence
Many politicians are trying to convince America
they need to expand further (into Upper and
Lower Canada) to protect their new country
They claimed that America would be welcomed
in these areas because UC and LC needed to
be freed from the British
Thomas Jefferson- Capturing BNA would be “a
mere matter of marching”
Major Battles
June 1812, US declares war on
Britain
US had larger army, Britain had larger
navy (but most of it was in Europe)
Britain had a large amount of territory
to defend (only 10 000 troops for
2000 km)
British Leaders
Sir Isaac Brock
Tecumseh
Important Battles
Detroit
Brock and Tecumseh attacked a fort at Detroit
They were outnumbered but marched their
soldiers in a circle so they passed in front of the
Americans over and over again
Thinking he was outnumbered, General Hull
surrendered
The victory secured the west and allowed the
defenses to move to other parts of Upper and
Lower Canada
Important Battles
Queenston Heights
Fought at Niagara-on-the-Lake (Oct.
1812)
American troops crossed the Niagara
River from New York into Upper Canada
and captured the high ground (where the
British were firing down at the river)
The British were able to push the
Americans back over the river, but Brock
was shot and killed
Important Battles
York (Toronto)
American ships sailed across Lake
Ontario and defeated the British at York
They stayed a few days, burned down
the town and went home
An important battle because it showed
the Americans could successfully attack
“the heart of Upper Canada”
Important Battles
Stoney Creek
The British attacked the Americans in
Upper Canada at night
They got lost, missed the main camp,
and many died (from both sides) in the
confusion
The Americans retreated to their side of
the Niagara River
Important Battles
Beaver Dams
Americans were staying at an inn owned
by Laura Secord
She overheard their plans for attack
She travelled by foot to tell Colonel
Fitzgibbon so he could be prepared for
the attack
The First Nations surrounded the
Americans, and Fitzgibbons offered to
protect them if they surrendered
Important Battles
Crysler’s Farm
A failed attack on Montreal
Lundy’s Lane
Heaviest casualities of any battle in
Canadian history on Canadian soil
Washington and Baltimore
– In retaliation of attacks on Upper Canada, the
British attacked and destroyed many gorvernment
buildings (Including the White House)
The end of the War
The Treaty of Ghent
Britain and America met in Belgium to
reach a peace agreement
December 1814, the treaty was signed
ending the war
The boarder remained the same
The war was declared a stalemate, but it
was a major development for British
North America
Effects of the War of 1812 on BNA
Agriculture declined because farmers were
called to fight
Food supply dropped
An increased demand for war materials
(importers made lots of money)
Politicians and religious figures banded
together to fight for a common goal (and
militia volunteers)
Canadiens say the Americans as “antifrench” so their support for the British
increased
Key Figures
Sir Isaac Brock
Sent by the British to Lower Canada
(Quebec) in 1802 to build up the city’s
defenses
1810, he was promoted to major-general
(in charge of all the defenses of LC and
UC)
Got the First Nations to join the British in
defending against the Americans
Key Figures
Tecumseh
A Shawnee Chief who lived in the Ohio
Valley
Was opposed to First Nations people
selling their land to Americans
Helped organize the First Nations people
and helped set up the alliance with the
British
Killed in 1813 in battle (near Chatham)
Key Figures
Laura Secord
After being forced to take care of
Americans at her inn, Secord heard
about the plans of an American attack
Secord walked over 20 kms (longer
because she had to avoid American
troops) through rough terrain to warn the
British of the attack
Was one of the first female spies
Key Figures
Lieutenant- Colonel John By
An engineer who designed canals and
fortifications
Designed the Rideau Canal, which
provided a waterway from Kingston to
Ottawa that was north of the St.
Lawrence River and safe from American
attack