Quebec and British North America SS9 – Mr. BilAn

Recalling from Last Class What had just happened to Quebec where we left of last class?

After the Fall Even though the fortress of Quebec surrendered in 1759 after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, Canada did not surrender to the British until September 1760 In 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which brought peace between France and Britain But it also meant France gave up almost all of New France to England

Before… France had the largest area of control in North America

…and after France controls almost none of North America, except for Haiti and small islands of the coast of Newfoundland

Living with the Enemy The French were not given much input into how they would be governed; they were still considered the enemy by the British But the French did not expect many rights, they did not have a parliament like Britain did so they were unfamiliar with democracy Therefore, New France came under military rule at first. Soldiers patrolled cities and the most powerful person was a British General, Jeffrey Amherst Many feared that they would be deported like the Acadians

New Life For the Canadiens After the Treaty of France was signed in 1763, Guy Carleton became the civilian governor of Quebec He soon realized that he could not make the French abandon their language and culture, so he allowed them to maintain them Under Carleton, he allowed Quebec to keep French law, maintain the seigneurial system and keep the Catholic church Many British governors admired how the Canadiens handled British rule

Native Resistance However, the Native Peoples who had traded with New France were not as peaceful Rogue French fur traders encouraged Natives around the Great Lakes to resist the British Pontiac, a powerful chief of the Ottawa, tried to unite the Native tribes to fight against the British But he could not get support from the French, and he failed to defeat the British

The Royal Proclamation Although Pontiac’s resistance failed, it forced the British to rethink their policy towards Native peoples Britain issued a Royal Proclamation in 1763 that stopped land speculation west of the Appalachian Mountains This pleased Natives, because they could live without harassment from the British settlers in the 13 colonies But this angered the Americans, because they could not settle the fertile lands past the mountains What event do you think this leads to in the future?

The Quebec Act In 1774, Britain passed the Quebec Act, which made it a full colony This made the Canadiens happy, as it officially made many of the rights they had enjoyed under Guy Carleton official, keeping them loyal to Britain But this further outraged the Americans, who were still blocked from expanding west They called this act intolerable, and is considered to be a direct cause to the American Revolution