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Socials 10 Chapter 1
Colonies in the Wilderness
In 1791, Britain controlled modern-day Canada. There were five separate
Colonies: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Upper Canada, and
Lower Canada. The Hudson Bay Company controlled much of the rest of
the country (Rupert’s Land), while the Pacific coast was desired by a number
of different countries.
In Newfoundland, fishing (especially cod) and logging were the
main industries.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick also relied heavily on fishing and
logging. Farming was another key industry.
Upper Canada was the area that today is southern Ontario. It was a
thickly forested region that took major efforts to make inhabitable. Most
of the early settlers were of British or American origin.
Bees were popular ways for families to achieve large tasks such as
building a barn, clearing some stumps, or raising a roof.
Clearing the land was a long, laborious process that took many years.
Much of the land was not really suitable for farming. The most desirable
farm land was close to a river or lake for transportation and irrigation.
Huge stumps sometimes had to be left on the property. Other times,
explosives were used to try to break them up.
Blacksmiths were in demand and forged horseshoes, farm tools, and
other metal devices.
John Graves Simcoe, the first governor
of Upper Canada. He wanted to
recreate a British society based on
the class system.
The ruling class in Upper Canada was known as the Family Compact.
This was a group of Loyalist descendents who considered themselves
superior to the other residents of the colony. They dressed in fancy
clothes, put on airs, and associated only with each other.
The Anglican Church was usually a focal point of early Upper Canada
towns. Anglican was the official religion of the colony and members of
the Family Compact often considered other religions to be inferior. Oneseventh of all the land in Upper Canada was classified as Clergy reserves,
to be used by the Anglican Church. This created resentment amongst
many farmers and other settlers in the region.
Another 1/7 of the land was set aside as crown reserves, to be used
by the government (members of the Family Compact). This also caused
anger, as it was often prime farmland that sat unused. To make matters
worse, roads had to bypass the crown reserves, which made travel much
more complicated for the other residents.
John Molson was one of the prominent
British merchants in Montreal and
built a very profitable brewing company.
In Lower Canada, (presently southern Quebec), a group of English
merchants, bankers, and retired army officers formed the ruling class
known as the Chateau Clique. They had many of the same values of the
Family Compact and were more interested in making money than in the
welfare of the average citizen of Lower Canada.
Farms in Lower Canada were set up according to the French seigneurial
system. Each farmer worked a narrow strip of land running perpendicular
to a river or lake.
An immigrant
family
Most immigrants to Canada in the 1800’s came from Britain or the United
States. They often came with high expectations and had been promised
good farming land, and access to the basic amenities. In many cases, they
were disillusioned by the reality.
The trip from across the Atlantic from Britain to Canada was a tough one,
even for the wealthier travelers who had better accommodation and food.
Poorer families voyaged on the “coffin ships,” which carried cargo such
as grain, timber, and minerals to Europe and people back to Canada.
Many new African-American immigrants came to Upper Canada via the
Underground Railroad, a series of secret paths through the United States.
Most were escaping slaves, who were helped by Americans sympathetic
to their plight.
Harriet Tubman was perhaps the most famous organizer of the
Underground Railroad, as she helped thousands of fellow AfricanAmericans to escape slavery.
Other notable immigrants to Upper Canada included United Empire
Loyalists. These were British Americans, who fought for Britain in the
War of Independence, and came to Canada after the war to escape
persecution and to maintain ties to their homeland.
Anger and resentment began to build over land policies and government
practices in Upper Canada. Robert Gourlay met with settlers and produced
a petition that explained some of their grievances. The government was not
pleased and banished Gourlay from the colony.
William Lyon Mackenzie became a very vocal leader of the reform
movement in Upper Canada. He used his Colonial Advocate newspaper
to criticize policies of the Family Compact and to call for American-style
republican government. He stressed that he wanted to remain loyal to
Britain.
Baldwin
Ryerson
Robert Baldwin and Egerton Ryerson were two other Upper Canada
reformers. They were less radical than Mackenzie and hoped to
bring about change by peaceful political methods.
In Lower Canada, Louis Joseph Papineau was the leader of the
reform movement. He was the leader of the Patriotes and hoped to
bring about better conditions for French Canadians.
In Lower Canada, after the Patriote “Ninety-Two Resolutions” (a list of
recommendations for reform) were rejected by Governor James Craig,
Papineau and his followers decided to revolt against the government
with armed force.
The Patriotes were no match for the British army, and after a series of
short battles, the French Canadians were defeated. Many of the rebel
leaders were arrested, but Papineau escaped to the United States.
Sir Francis
Bond Head
Meanwhile, in Upper Canada, Mackenzie thought the time was right to
stage his own revolt while most of the British troops were occupied in
Lower Canada. His plan was to capture Governor Francis Bond Head and
to set up a new democratic government.
Yonge Street
1800’s
Mackenzie’s plan was to meet at Montgomery’s Tavern and march down
Yonge Street in York (now Toronto) to seize guns and ammunition from
the government supply house.
Mackenzie leads reformers into battle.
The disorganized and poorly trained rebels were quickly defeated by
the few militia left in town and a group of Loyalist supporters. The
victors burned Montgomery’s Tavern to the ground. Some rebels were
captured, but Mackenzie escaped to the United States.
Several of the major leaders of the two rebellions were hanged or
flogged, while others were sent to work as slave labourers in
the British colony of Bermuda.
Other rebels were transported
on convict ships to Australia
where they were imprisoned
in penal colonies, but allowed
to earn their freedom by years
of hard work.
The British government was worried about future rebellions and sent
Lord Durham to the colonies to investigate the causes and make recommendations. He suggested that Upper and Lower Canada should be joined as
one separate entity and that the colonies be given responsible government.
Britain was not ready to grant responsible government, but did think joining
the two Canadas made sense.
Despite the protests of French Canadians, in 1840 the Act of Union
was passed that united Upper and Lower Canada into one colony:
United Canada. Montreal became the new capital. There were now
five official British colonies in North America (Canada, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland.)