unit 1 Flashcards
study for unit 1 test
the creation of the colonies (1672 - 1867)
- during this period the French were allies with the Huron “Indians”
- the British became allies with the Iroquois “Indians”
- this made the French and Iroquois rivals
who were the allies during the creation of colonies?
- British and Iroquois
- French and Huron
what did the Iroquois do to control the fur trade?
- they successfully attacked the Huron villages and French missionaries
what was the French’s response to the Huron attacks
- the attacks made the French nervous
- in 1672 Governor Frontenac arrived in New France determined to end Iroquois attacks
- Governor Frontenac meets with the Iroquois once a year to maintain peace
- peace lasts 10 years
Frontenac’s attacks New England
- 1689
- Frontenac attacks English settlements in New England to restore confidence in his Huron allies
- attacks are so successful that by 1700, he destroyed many Iroquois villages
- this expanded French fur trade and they began to claim to territory
Trading of Alcohol
- the French began trading alcohol for fur with the Native people
- 1st Bishop of New France Francois de Laval was opposed to this
- he created the Reserve Law which gave him power to remove all privileges of the church
- the fur trade became much too profitable for the French so Frontenac held a meeting with 20 leading merchants and ends the Reserve Law by enacting Brandy Parliament
what was the Brandy Parliament?
- legalized the trading of Brandy to anyone who wanted it
what was the Reserve Law?
- gave Francois de Laval power to remove all privileges of the church
- ex. if you were caught selling alcohol to the Indigenous peoples, you could be removed from the church
who was the first Bishop of New France?
Francois de Laval
The Acadians
- Acadia was colonized by the French and Scottish, however it had been earlier claimed as a British colony
- the Acadians saw themselves as neutral
- they refused to take an oath of loyalty to the British King
neutral
- the state of being neither in favour or opposed to something
deportation
- the act of sending someone out of the country
expulsion
- the removal of people by force from their homes or community
the deportation and expulsion of the Acadians (1755)
- 1755
- peaceful Acadians refuse to take an oath of loyalty to the British King
- therefore the British Governor of Nova Scotia ordered the deportation of the Acadians to other British colonies
- soon after, the expulsion of the Acadians is announced
The Final Confrontation: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1758)
- 1758
- British forces are led by James Wolfe
- French forces are led by Marquis de Montcalm
- British Navy participates in the battle
- General Wolfe and his troops defeat Montcalm in a battle that only lasts half an hour and New France surrenders to the British
- Wolfe and Montcalm both die
who were the two leading generals in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1758
- James Wolfe - British
- Marquis de Montcalm - French
the aftermath of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
- new colony of Quebec created
- to prevent the disappearance of French culture, the British government agreed to back the Quebec Act of 1774
the Quebec Act of 1774
- permitted people to worship in the Catholic Church, allowed the Catholic Church to collect taxes, and maintained the French language
Confederation
- July 1, 1867
- 4 provinces united - Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, & New Brunswick
who was the first Prime Minister of Canada and what was his dream?
Sir John A. Macdonald
- his dream was to unite Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
what were the 3 main projects in Macdonald’s National Policy?
1) completion of the CP (Canadian Pacific) railway
2) the raising of protective tariffs to encourage Canadian identity
3) encouragement of immigration to the West
who did Canada purchase the Northwest from?
- the Hudson’s Bay Company
1869 - Northwest Rebellion of Manitoba
- stopped work of government surveyors
- arrested and executed Thomas Scott who led a revolt against the Riel government
- troops sent and Riel escapes to the U.S.
who are the Metis and who led them during the rebellion?
- Metis - half French and Native
- led by Louis Riel
when was the CP railway completed?
- November 7, 1885
1885 - “Second Rebellion” Saskatchewan
- second Rebellion led by Riel
- 12 Mounties (RCMP) killed at Duck Lake
- troops are sent in
- Riel was found guilty of treason and was put to death on November 16, 1885
the South African War (the Boer War) - 1899 - 1902
- marked Canada’s first official dispatch of troops to an overseas war
- 1899 - fighting erupted between Great Britain and their colony in South Africa (Dutch descendants called Boers)
- English-Canadians supported Britain’s cause in SA, most French Canadians and other immigrant groups wondered why Canada should fight in a war halfway around the world
who was Canada’s Prime Minister during the Boar War and what was his response?
- Sir Wilfred Laurier
- concerned with maintaining political popularity, he did not want to commit his government
- as a compromise, Laurier agreed to send a battalion of volunteers to South Africa
what happened during the next 3 years of the Boer War?
- more than 7,000 Canadians served in action
- the Boers inflicted heavy losses on the British but were eventually defeated
- of the Canadians who served in South Africa, 267 were killed
Alaska Boundary Dispute
- territorial dispute along the Alaska panhandle between the United States and Canada
- during this time, Canada’s foreign relations were controlled by Britain
- dispute was resolved by arbitration in 1903
- final resolution favoured the American position because the British Delegate agreed that the panhandle of Alaska and it’s rich gold field was American territory
- the disappointment and anger in Canada was directed less at the US and more at the British government for betraying Canadian interests
when did WWI take place?
1914 - 1918
life in Canada in 1914
- the economy was starting to increase
- business was growing - Canada’s minerals, lumber, and wheat exports were on the rise
- life was still primitive by today’s standards
ex. horses still had right of way over cars in the streets
ex. those working in factories or in construction worked 12 hours a day or more - disease took thousands of lives
- Canada had never been involved in a war
background to the war
- in 1871, the German armies defeated the French in the Franco-Prussian war
- since that day, each side prepared for a time when the conflict would be renewed
- each side tried to draw other European powers on their side
- this was done through a series of alliances
- by 1914, Europe was divided into 2 main camps
- all resources of these nations were channeled into the war effort
what were the two alliances in Europe during WWI
- Triple Alliance
- Germany, Austria-Hungary Empire, Italy
Triple Entente
- France, Britain, Russia
underlying causes of WWI
1) Franco-Prussian War
- France was bitter in defeat and was bent on revenge; they began to seek out allies to match the German power
2) Nationalism
- nationalism was very high in Europe as each country and its citizens tried to claim European supremacy in culture, politics, economics, and way of life
- because there are so many cultures in Europe that have long rich histories and traditions, pride in one’s country can run so excessively that sometimes emotions can overrule reason and common sense
3) Arm Race
- after the Franco-Prussian War, countries in Europe (especially Alliance and Entente countries) began to concentrate their efforts into building as strong a military as possible
- in 1905, the British began work on the Dreadnought, the first of a new class of battleship - larger, faster, and deadlier than anything afloat. This made Germany, and other Alliance countries extremely nervous, and at this point, the arms race exploded
4) Imperialism
- within Europe, Britain was by far the leader in acquiring colonies (especially in Africa, which was filled with minerals); Germany tried to challenge Britain’s imperial power but was unsuccessful; this caused a further rift between Britain and Germany
nationalism
- a policy of national independence and patriotism, sometimes to an excessive degre
Arms Race
- when a country adopts a policy in which vast amounts of money will be spent on advancing that country’s military power
imperialism
- the policy or practice of extending a country’s influence over other territories by conquest and colonization
the spark for war - assassination in Sarajevo
- By 1914, tensions between Austria-Hungary and Russia were at a breaking point.
- The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo Princip of the “Black Hand” ignited WWI.
- Bosnia, previously part of Serbia, had a Serbian majority wanting control from Serbia.
- Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination and demanded arrests and troop presence in Serbia.
- Serbia sought support from Russia, which assured them of protection.
- Austria-Hungary, with German backing, attacked Serbia, prompting Russia to mobilize.
- This escalated the conflict, drawing in Germany, France, and England, leading to the outbreak of WWI.
Canadians at War
- because Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914, Canada automatically went to war because they were a member of the empire
- at the start of the war Canada’s army consisted of 3000 men
- by October, 33,000 volunteers were training near Quebec City
- by war’s end, over 600,000 Canadians served in the armed forces, 425,000 overseas
annexed
- one country takes over another
Battle of Ypres
- in the spring of 1915, the first Canadian troops entered the war and within weeks suffered the first gas attack of the war
- the gas attacks occurred in a place called Ypres
- 2 types of gas were used (chlorine gas and mustard gas)
- at Ypres, Canadians gained fame as soldiers because of all their troops, they were the only ones who stood their ground
what were the 2 types of gas used in the Battle of Ypres
1) chlorine gas - killed by suffocation
2) mustard gas - invisible, burned skin and respiratory tract and caused blindness
The Battle of the Somme
- 1916, 3 Canadian divisions in Europe (under British command)
- they participated in one of the most tragic battles of the war near the river Somme
- British and French troops attack German positions under British General Douglas Haig
- Haig’s attacks were aggressive, but he did not know that the Germans saw it coming and had dug in
- as the British attacked, they fell by the thousands: they were killed in their own trenches, or no man’s land, or at enemy wire
- those that reached enemy lines were driven back or killed
- by the end of the first day, 60,000 British troops had fallen, the worst disaster in the history of British Warfare
- this did not stop Haig, he continued to pour troops at the German lines
- there was no real gain by either side so the attack was called off after 5 months
what were the casualties of the Battle of the Somme?
- 1 million casualties:
- 420,000 British (24,000 Canadian)
- 200,000 French
- 450,000 German
Vimy Ridge
- great moment for Canadian troops
- Vimy Ridge was a point of high ground held by the German open country side all around it
- to break through the German line, capturing the ridge was a must
- many allied attacks on it had failed
- in driving sleet, 4 Canadian divisions charged Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917
- by noon, soldiers under the command of Canadian Major General Arthur Currie had taken Vimy Ridge
1917 - Turning Point of the War
- the communist revolution pulled Russia out of the war
- this would have been disastrous for the allies except that same year, the United States enters the war
- American troops proved to be decisive
the war ends
- November 11, 1918 at 11:00 am, armistice ending the war was signed
- 63,000 Canadians lost their lives
- 175,000 wounded
Canada at the Home Front
- Canadian industries switched over to war production
- Canada’s factories were producing 33% of the shells fired by the British army in 1917
- Canadian factories were producing airplane parts, explosives, merchant ships, etc
- the cost was huge: the war was paid through government bonds and taxation
- in 1917, the government for the first time placed a tax on income, it has been there ever since
- 1917 conscription crisis created a serious political and social crisis that divided English and French Canada for a long time after the war ended
Role of Women
- as men went overseas, jobs were taken over by women
- 1918, 30,000 women employed in key jobs producing supplies for the war effort
- the attitude towards women changed
- 1918, Parliament passed the bill that gave women in Canada the right to vote in federal elections
The Halifax Explosion
- the Halifax Explosion was a maritime disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada which happened on the morning of 6 December, 1917
- the Norwegian vessel SS Imo collided with SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives
- the resulting fire on board the French shop quickly grew out of control
- approximately 20 minutes later at 9:04:35 am, the Mont-Blanc exploded
- nearly all structures within an 800-metre (half mile) radius, including the community of Richmond, were obliterated
- as many as 1,600 people died immediately and 9000 injured
