Chapter 5

War and Peace

Superpower: a country which is more powerful than almost all other countries

in the 1700s, Britain and France were superpowers against each other

They had almost competed against each other for more power, which included the amount of land each owned

Take a look at the “Perspectives on War” section on p.99 of your textbook. This shows you how various people felt about the war

P.100 Fact: information that is accepted as correct

and true Opinion: when people give a point of view Bias: an opinion you have about something

you are connected to

Read the “Skillcheck” on page 100

Canada was highly populated with francophones: people who’s first language is french

France had built strong fortresses, such as in Quebec and Louisbourg

Britain had a lot more colonists than France They wanted to move into the centre of

Canada for farmland and more furs Also, in the east, they wanted control of the

fishery Everywhere, France stood in Britain’s way

P.102 shows the strengths and weaknesses of each group

Read the chart. Which side was stronger, and why?

P. 103: Fortress Quebec (can a volunteer read this aloud for the class please?)

George Washington (before he became the 1st president of the United States) attacked the French in 1754, but lost

Britain promised to return again, but with more soldiers

An “Acadian” was a descendant of the first French colonists

The ownership of Acadia went back and forth between the French and English

1710: it was under British control Britain changed Acadia’s name to “Nova

Scotia”

10,000 people lived in Acadia Many married with the Mi’kmaq Economy was based on fishing

Britain had never liked the Acadians, and the Acadians would not swear to be loyal to be Britain

Also, the First Nations were friends with the Acadians, but not with the British

British Governor Lawrence finally threatened the Acadians. He told them to make a choice:

1. Swear to be loyal to Britain and fight against the French

OR2. Leave!

*everyone open to page 107-108 and read as a class

Imagine being forced from your home, separated from your family, and sent to a far away land for the rest of your life!!

P.109 “A Lasting Identity” Read this as a class Complete and pass in question (b) at the

end of page 109 for homework

In order for the British to take control of Canada, they had to capture 2 French centres of power: Louisbourg and Quebec

The British sent a huge force of ships to siege Louisbourg – they blocked all of the ways in and out of the fortress

They sank the French ships, then fired canonballs at the fortress for 7 WEEKS!

Eventually, Louisbourg surrendered

The British immediately went to Fortress Quebec

Quebec was very heavily guarded, and it would not be easy...

French commander:

Marquis de Montcalm

British commander: General James Wolfe

The Quebec fortress was very well-defended. It had huge, strong walls, and could not be surrounded – Wolfe needed in, but couldn’t get in

Montcalm was safe, but needed reinforcements from France – his only hope was to wait

The 2 sides fought for 9 weeks The British even started to burn habitant

farms Time was running out for Wolfe – winter was

coming, and his army would not be able to survive it

Wolfe decided to send a large army (4400) towards the fortress to surprise the French during the night. The place was called the “Plains of Abraham”

The next morning, Montcalm and 4000 soldiers left the fortress walls to meet the British.

This decision led to the defeat of Quebec

Both Montcalm and Wolfe died in the battle

Marquis de Montcalm General James Wolfe

1300 soldiers died – the bloodiest battle in Canadian history

Most FN fought with the French The Haud. Fought with the British

After the war, the French and English signed a peace treaty

It gave most of the land to the British FN lost their land They considered going to war with the

British…

A FN man named Pontiac began getting FN ready for war

He was leader of the Odawa 1763: the Odawa take control of a British

fort near Detroit They captured 10 English forts He hoped the French would help, but they

didn’t

P.115: “tactics” vs. strength

FN wanted to stop the wars and live in peace

French citizens wondered if they would be able to keep their traditions

The British were worried:1. Many of their “citizens” were French –

they spoke a different language, followed diff. Laws, and had a diff. Religion

2. How could they make the French and FN loyal to Britain?

Choices:1. Eviction: send the French to live

somewhere else2. Assimilation: force Canadiens to give up

their language and religion and become “British”

3. Accomodation: leave the French alone and let them live like they wanted

Britain decided to assimilate

FNs and French would have to lose their culture and language

Any British person who wanted to move to Canada had to move to Quebec!

Britain realized it had to give the FNs some of their demands

FNs were given land to live on in the West

Britain’s choice to assimilate the French failed

Not many English-speaking people would move to Quebec

In the South, Britain began having trouble with the 13 colonies – they did not want the French to fight back again

1. More land2. Aboriginal land around Quebec was given

back to FNs3. French language recognizedBilingualism: Canada had (and still does

have) 2 official languages1. French had their own government2. Freedom of religion3. French system of law