Chapter 3 – Culture and Currents of Thought Mr. Wilson History 404

 As discussed in Dossier 2, during the French Regime ( ) the Catholic Church dominated the cultural landscape of New France.  But after the Conquest and the Treaty of Paris (1763), the British did not cooperate with the Clergy as much with regards to politics and educational policy.

 After the issues with Richard III (made famous by Shakespeare) Henry VII of the Tudor family took control of the English throne.  His son, Henry VIII was born in 1491, he married Catherine of Aragon (Spanish) and became king, all in  He was 17 years old at the time.

 Henry loved being King – nearly bankrupting the British economy with his lavish lifestyle.  However, his main problem was that the Catholic Church was largely in control of the country – under the Cardinal Thomas Wosley.  The main issue between the Church and the King revolved around Henry’s desire to divorce his wife.

 Although historians may argue that Henry had several other motivations, it was his divorce that served as the main reason for the break with Rome.  Many see Henry’s Reformation of the English Church as a Protestant movement, when in reality, he was a traditionalist Catholic!

 Catherine of Aragon (mother of Mary I) Annulled  Anne Boelyn (mother of Elizabeth I) Executed  Jane Seymore (mother of Edward VI) Died  Anne of Cleves (too ugly) Annulled  Catherine Howard (executed)  Catherine Parr (survived)

 The Pope refused to recognize Henry’s annulment of his marriage to Catherine.  As a result, Henry passed laws that prohibited any contact with Roman officials and reclaimed all lands which belonged to the Monasteries.  Suddenly, the Church of England was under the control of the King!

 The main thing to remember about Henry is that he split the Church of England from Rome’s great influence.  This is something France never did!  As a result, the British did not let things like the Roman Catholic Church dictate what would be taught in schools.  Instead, the British were much more focused on making money!

 With the rise of Liberalism, the Clergy had to put up with constant criticism.  Most of all, the Liberals wanted to separate the Church from Education.  Oddly enough, it was the members of the Parti Patriote who opposed the reign of the Catholic Church over education.  But they also refuse to submit to the rule of British Government…

 After the Parti Patriote was dissolve due to the Rebellion, the Parti Rouge started to speak out against the Catholic Church.  They believed the Catholic Church was keeping them in a state of ignorance – and they were right!  Mostly, these opinions were circulated by the Newpapers: L’Avenir and Le Pays

 The Clergy got a bit of its power back during the Ultramontanism period of the 19 th century.  Ultramontanists preached complete submission to Rome and promoted a very strict religious practice.  In 1864, the Vatican published a list of things they considered to be against the faith : liberalism and socialism were on the list!

 In Canada, Ultramontanism appeared like this:  Catholics obligation to the Church  The control of the Clergy on education  Increased interventions of Bishops into politics  The creation of religious Brotherhoods (e.g.: The Knights of Columbus)

 In response the Liberalist ideas being spread, the Catholic Ultramontanist revival spared no expense.  They created newspapers (La Vérité), influences elections, condemned books (Les Misérables), they even refused to give some political members the sacrament because of the affiliations!

 Bottom line?  The Catholic Church went to great lengths to combat the Liberalist ideas that were sprouting up.  Were they successful? For a time…But in the end the separation of the Church and the State would be finalized during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960’s.

 In the 1840’s, out of children from Eastern Canada – only 5000 of them went to school (that’s only 4.5%).  There were not enough schools and little organization.  In 1841 the government pass a law creating public school boards to collect taxes and to organize the schools.  However, they created one Catholic board and one Protestant.

 School attendance started to increase.  The number of elementary schools in 1842 was 804, but by 1866 it was  There were two reasons for this increase: first, school had become mandatory up to a certain age and second, the Canadian population started to believe in creating a better life for their children.  As a result, schools started to overflow with children…

 In response to the British desire for professionals trained in Canada – two English speaking Universities were created:  McGill (1821) Montreal  Bishops (1843) Sherbrooke  The Clergy started to worry about the influence of these English Universities, so they created their own: in 1852 the Université Laval was created in Quebec City.  Followed by the Université of Montreal in 1878

 Of course, the Francophone and the Anglophone schools were split.  The Anglophone Universities received most of their funding from English businesses who favored sciences – like Engineering and Medicine.  The Francophone Universities were funded by the Church, so naturally they had programs like Theology, Law and Art.

 The Universities however, were only for the bourgeoisie – very few farmers got to attend!  The 20 th century would bring even more growth in the area of education – especially after the 1930’s and two World Wars.  And naturally, the cultural landscape would change yet again…