Canada EQ1: To What Extent Did The Political Nature And Government Systems Of Upper And Lower Canada Minimise The Perceived Threat From The USA? Flashcards
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
What type of people were in LC? And in UC?
LC: French settlers and loyalists
UC: British
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
How were Newfoundland and Nova Scotia governed? What did the 1791 constitution do for the reason of the Canadas?
ruled directly from London
self-contained colonies with own governors/assemblies
1791 constitution introduced same political structure in both LC and UC
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
What 3 areas did the British control in Canada?
defence
foreign affairs
external trade
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
Did LC and UC share governors? Where were the governors in the politics system?
no
at the top under the Crown
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
Who appointed the Executive council? What was the councils role?
the governor appointed the executive council by royal nomination
role:
to advise governor
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
Who controlled the legislative council?
Who was in the council? How may members of LC and UC?
executive council controlled the legislative council
members appoint by the crown for life
UC: 7 members
LC: 15 members
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
Who elected the legislative assembly? But why was this not as it all seemed?
the voters
but their vote was subject to blackmail, intimidation and abuse
ORGANISATION OF UC AND LC
What was the role fo the legislative assembly? How many members for LC and UC?
responsible for taxation and domestic matters
LC: 16 members
UC: 50 members
LANDOWNERSHIP IN LC
Lay out the steps in LC land tenure?
- land granted to a seigneur
2. they would grant land to tenants who farm, in exchange for rent
LANDOWNERSHIP IN LC
In what way was it unfavourable to the UC system?
it was essentially a feudal system
LANDOWNERSHIP IN LC
What was one major advantage of this system?
Canadians were protected by contracts under seigneurial sysetm
the relationship between tenant and seigneur was overseen by the state
LANDOWNERSHIP IN LC
What percentage of LC lived in seigneurial land until mid 1800s?
75-80%
TENSIONS IN LC
Who were the racial tensions between?
British settlers/loyalists
vs
French-Canadians
TENSIONS IN LC
What did the Quebec Act 1774 grant French-Canadians? And more generally?
- free practice of catholicism
- the use of French civil law for matters in private law
- preserved their system of land tenure
also generally,
established legislative assemblies with financial autonomy (to stop American phrase of ‘no taxation without representation’)
TENSIONS IN LC
What were the reasons for the racial tension?
- Quebec Act 1774
- French-Canadians reamiend fiercely attached to identity, language and institutions
- French formed an important political block in Assembly
- French were worried British loyalists would make an attack on their cultural identity
- French quick to attack any move by Chateau Clique that was deemed an attack on their French identity
TENSIONS IN LC
How was the Chateau Clique created?
1791 constitution meant Governors tended to select loyalists to be on executive council.
this created the Chateau Clique
LANDOWNERSHIP IN UC
What was the land system in UC?
- based on British freehold tenure
- most of land was held by Crown
- so judged to be free to grant to settlers
LANDOWNERSHIP IN UC
What was different about how the British treated UC?
they recognised that indigenous Canadian people had claim to the land
treaties were signed with native groups to increase Crown lands
LANDOWNERSHIP IN UC
What fraction of UC lands were designated as ‘clergy reserves’? What does this mean?
1/7
all profits of their slae when to Anglican Church in UC
LANDOWNERSHIP IN UC
Was reform of the land system possible?
no, control of the Anglican Church meant that no reform of the system of clergy reserves was possible
TENSIONS IN UC
Name 4 sources of tension.
- lacked infrastructure and capital investment
- fragmented settlements and limited resources
- small population to raise revenue (350,000 in 1835)
- Opposition to Family Compact grew in 1820s
TENSIONS IN UC
If the population was too small, where was revenue raised from? What was this revenue used to do?
by the sale of land to the Canada Company
used to pay the salary of the officials
TENSIONS IN UC
Did the assembly have any say in the spending in UC?
no, the gov decided to sidestep the assembly and denied them the opportunity to influence spending
TENSIONS IN UC
What did all these tension increase calls for?
‘responsible and cheap government’
PERCEIVED THREAT FROM THE USA
Lower Canada:
Why were British more confident that they had ruined any attempts made by USA to stir a rebellion?
- because due to the threat of the USA, they had set the reasonable Quebec Act 1774
- this had continued after the 1837 rebellion, too
PERCEIVED THREAT FROM THE USA
Lower Canada:
What was the real reason that raised tensions?
executive power lay in hands of a British-appointed lieutenant governor
(lieutenant governors, were normally the main governors too)
PERCEIVED THREAT FROM THE USA
Upper Canada:
What did UC have far more of than LC? Why had this number increased too?
British settlers
those who considered themselves British increase during the evacuation of ‘loyalists’ during American War of Independence
PERCEIVED THREAT FROM THE USA
Upper Canada:
Who were these settlers that continued to arrive from the 1790s? Why was their loyalty questionable?
‘loyalist’ settlers from America
they were principally seeking free land
