1. The Great Migration: British Immigration 1815 - 50
Canadian History

2. Population of BNA,

3. Why leave Europe?
The Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815 causing an economic depression & high unemployment
Massive population growth
Higher life expectancy (more people were surviving famines & disease due to new farming methods & better diets)

4. Population Explosion Effects
Pop had outpaced economic opportunity
Land & jobs were scarce for many
People crowded into urban areas & lived in slums
Many decided to leave for America for better opportunities

5. British Govt Reaction
Increased policies for emigration to solve the problems such as high unemployment, poverty, & social unrest

6. Scotland
Many Scottish farmers were evicted from their homes in a process called clearances
Landlords reclaimed farmland from settlers & created huge sheep farms to provide wool for English textile mills
Over 50,000 Scots moved to Nova Scotia

7. Ireland…..1840s Potato was the main crop & staple of the Irish diet
Mid 1840s “potato blight” spread to Ireland & destroyed the crops
Famine set in killing approx. 1 million Irish between
In 1847 over 90,000 emigrated to BNA

8. The Voyage Out Immigrants arrived at Halifax, St. John, & Quebec
Cargo ships were used to bring the immigrants from Britain to earn extra profits
Cramped conditions, disease,
little food, sea sickness, death
“Coffin Ships”

9. The Voyage Out (Pp 44-46) Summarize the voyage to North America for:
An English gentlewoman
Regular immigrants
Where is Grosse Isle?
What purpose did it serve?
Why was Canada considered a ‘poor man’s country” in the mid 1800s?