HISTORY OF CANADA

The Pre-French Years Viking settlements John Cabot - sailed from Bristol, in an attempt to find a trade route for King Henry VII to the Orient. He ended up landing somewhere on the coast of North America (probably Newfoundland) in 1497 and claimed it for King Henry VII of England Humphrey Gilbert, armed with letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I, formally took possession of Newfoundland in St. John's harbour on behalf of England

The French Jacques Cartier – voyage into the St Lawrence River. He mistook the Indian word for village, ‘Kanata’, for the natives name of their homeland”, thus proclaiming the name of the land. The French soon lost interest in exploring the New World, and it was only in 1608 that Samuel de Champlain established the first French foothold on the cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence at Quebec City.

Acadia In 1604 the fur trade monopoly was granted to Pierre Dugua Sieur de Monts. The origin of the designation Acadia is credited to the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who on his sixteenth century map applied the ancient Greek name "Arcadia" to the entire Atlantic coast north of Virginia Arcadia derives from the Arcadia district in Greece which since Classical antiquity had the extended meanings of "refuge" or "idyllic place". The meaning remained only in Canada.

The before mentioned Samuel de Champlain was one of the settlers of Acadia. But when the fur monopoly ran out, Champlain, allong with others settled in the St. Lawrence, while those who remained continued to develop Acadia.

New France Originally based in Quebec It was the fur trade and not agriculture that dominated French interest in this part of the world. Each year saw the French push further into the depths a continent unknown to Europeans, usually with the assistance of Indians

Louis Jolliet, attempted to discover the Mississippi River This river was described to the French by the Indians Cavalier de La Salle went down the river, discovering new territory which he claimed for King Louis XIV and called the land Louisiana.

The conflict with the British Colonies The conflict arose over fur trade and the control of land in the Ohio River Valley George Washington leads militia forces to push the French out in order to make way for the inflow of British settlers (French and Indian War) 1763 – Treaty of Paris - made New France another British Colony. French settlers settle in the Maritimes Quebec Act decreed the Ohio-Mississippi Valley an are of fur trading that would be governed by Quebec.

British North America After the war Britain gained control over North American colonies - British North America American Revolution - in a geographical sense, the American Revolution fathered not only the United States, but Canada, too. The most important outcome of the Revolution, as the conflict helped to define the Canadian English speaking population with over Americans who had remained loyal to the British Crown being forced to move north to remaining British colonies. They fled to the North and settled in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Upper Canada, as Ontario was known at the time

Constitutional Act - Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada). The beginning of the Napoleonic era in Europe and the resulting battles had their way into North America. The Americans toyed with the idea of annexation of the British colonies in the North and the Loyalists had high hopes that the Revolution could be undone. As a result, The United States declared war on Canada in The end of the Napoleonic wars and the defeat of the French Emperor allowed Britain to ship a large number of troops to Canada to fight the war with the United States. Overwhelmed by English forces, a peace treaty was signed that restored the status quo

The British allowed colonial products into the country without having to pay tariff duty. Because goods which came from the United States, shipped through Canada into Britain, could also pass duty free, the Americans transported their products. the British adopted free trade and the colonies ceased to receive special treatment. Colonial products would now have to compete with European and American on an equal level. Thankfully, there was demand for Canadian products, which increases especially during the American Civil War

The amount of multicultural immigrants is growing along with a sense of unity. A united economy as in the United States might allow survival. Furthermore, there existed a danger that the United States might soon take control the Prairies in the West and the Pacific area as, more probably, thousands of Americans came to the colony of British Columbia after the discovery of gold (Saywell, 1994: 32). An event which unified Canada was the building of a trans-continental railway. Immigrants, and not only, could now easily travel westward

Towards the Confederation Union Act - uniting Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. July 1 st 1867, three British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Upper/Lower Canada - Confederation of Canada 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.