Chapter 7: Life In British North America. British North America – Politics Vancouver, NS, PEI, Province of Canada, NL and NB were all colonies of Great.

Unit 3: Toward ConfederationChapter 7: Life In British North America

British North America – Politics

• Vancouver, NS, PEI, Province of Canada, NL and NB were all colonies of Great Britain. A colony is land owned and controlled (governed) by another country.

• The Royal Proclamation of 1863 protected First Nations land.

• Rupert’s Land, The NWT and New Caledonia was owned and controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company.

• The Province of Canada was made up of Canada East (French) and Canada West (English), it was also called Upper and Lower Canada before it was renamed. These provinces later became Ontario and Quebec.

• The country of Canada came into existence in 1867.

The map above shows all of the colonies owned by Britain by the end of the 19th century. Canada was one of many territories they governed and controlled.

British North America - Population• In 1851, the population in

BNA was approx. 2,536,000; today’s population is closer to 31,717,637

• Most of the population in BNA was in the Eastern colonies. The largest city was Montreal (58,000), the largest in the Maritimes was St. John (30,000).

• In BNA Europeans were the majority, FN were the minority

• In HBC lands, FN and Inuit were the majority

• By the mid 1800s, 85% of the population was rural (farms, forest or country), 15% was urban (cities and towns)

Montreal was a fairly large city by the early 1800s, with sophisticated city planning, harbours and buildings.

British North America - Economics• In the mid 1800s, the

economy was controlled mostly by the European settlers. It was a pre-industrial economy based on natural resources. Some manufacturing had started, but it was minimal.

• FN and Inuit in the Atlantic region struggled to survive in the European economy. Some joined and became a part of it, for example some worked in the lumber industry.

• In the HBC lands, Aboriginals took part in the fur trade and maintained traditional economies.

While some cities were emerging (St. John NB street pictured above), most of the economy was pre-industrial, based on the fur trade and other natural resources.

The New Economy of British North America

British North America included the following Colonies and Commercial Territories:

• The Province of Canada• Newfoundland• New Brunswick• Nova Scotia• Prince Edward Island• North West Territories, Rupert’s

Land, Vancouver Island and New Caledonia

Each economy was based on the resources available to the people that lived there.

Read: A Closer Look, p. 79-81

This map is found on page p 76 of your textbook, and shows the political divisions in BNA in 1853. These borders changed several times before 1800 and continued to change after.

The Province of Canada

Main Resources: Water, Lumber, Farmland

Canada East (Lower Canada):• Main economy was based on

farming and lumbering. • Some manufacturing was

beginning for goods such as furniture, carriages and wool products.

• Montreal was important for shipping, due to its location on the St. Lawrence River.

• The wealthiest typically lived in Montreal.

Canada West (Upper Canada):• Most people were farmers• Largest population was around

the Great Lakes, making it easier for travel and shipping.

Newfoundland

Main Resources: Water, fish

Newfoundland• Main economy was the cod

industry and trade with Britain.

• Many outport communities.• Majority of the population

lived in St. John’s.

Labrador• Most of the population

along the coast was Inuit (the border does not look like it does today, see small picture below for a more accurate depiction)

• Fishing and fur trade were main industries

New BrunswickMain Resources: Lumber, Water

• World centre for ship building, with 100 ships a year built.

• Much of the interior of the colony was thick forest, and logging became a major industry because the wood was used for ship building.

• The many rivers in NB also meant that logs could easily be shipped from the interior to the coast.

• Farming and logging communities along the coasts and interior.

• Most of the population was in St. John, where there was a heavy trade industry with the US and Britain.

Nova Scotia

Main Resources: Water, fish

• Most of NS’s economy was based on the water, mostly fishers, sailors and ship builders.

• Halifax was the navy’s main port and trade centre.

• Shipping to US, Britain and the West Indies

• Some small farms along Annapolis Valley and in the north.

• Some manufacturing starting for wood, leather and metal goods.

Prince Edward Island

Main Resources: fertile soil, water

• Shipbuilding was a large part of the economy

• The island has red earth which was very fertile for growing crops, so farming became a major industry.

• Most of the farmland was owned by absentee landlords (landlords who did not live there) and they had to pay rent to live and farm on the land.

NWT, Rupert’s Land, Vancouver Island, New Caledonia

Main Resources: beaver, caribou, moose, etc. (fur)

• The Hudson’s Bay Company set up fur trading posts throughout the area.

• Posts were always along rivers to make transportation easier.

• A few Europeans and Metis (mix of French and First Nations) lived at and maintained the posts.

• First Nations and Inuit did the work in hunting, trapping and prepping furs to be traded at the post in exchange for European goods.

The People of BNA: The British and IrishThere was a massive population boom in the 1800s,

mostly because of immigration from Great Britain and Ireland; this accounted for 2/3 of the population in BNA. And experiences were different depending on what social group they were a part of.

The Elite• The people with the most economic, social

and political power• In BNA, these were people of British heritage

who had been in the colonies for several generations

• Most lived in Canada West, NB, NS and were descendants of the Loyalists, that is those who remained loyal to Britain after the USA separated

• They were wealthy because they were given land for their loyalty and they sold it to make a profit

• In some colonies these were the merchants who controlled the fishing industry

The Elite often had high society gatherings, such as balls. Women dressed in the latest fashions.

The People of BNA: The British and IrishNewer Immigrants

• Between 1818-1850 80 thousand English, Scottish and Irish immigrants arrived in BNA because of hard economic times in their home lands. They came to BNA to make a better life.

• They worked hard clearing land, but if they worked hard enough, they could move into positions of wealth and power, but only if they were English or Scottish (British)

• Many people were prejudiced against the Irish because of war back home (based on Roman Catholic and Protestant conflicts). Because of this, the were kept out of better paying jobs and positions of power, especially if they tried to gain employment in English-owned businesses.

Read A Closer Look on page 84.

Famine was common in Europe in the 1800s, and many left to make a better life for themselves and their families.

The People of BNA: The French

The French in Canada East• They had been in this colony long

before the British, and were the majority in this colony.

• Small elite, but most were habitants (farmers)

• The colony was taken over by the English in 1763, but the French were given special rights to keep language, customs, laws and religion, just so they wouldn’t rebel against the English.

• More and more British started moving into the area, taking over lands owned by habitants and starting businesses, and the French feared they would become a minority and be forced to follow English laws and customs.

The Habitants of Canada East lived in rural areas, and celebrated their French heritage.

Canada East was once a colony owned by France, but was taken over by the English in 1763 following a major war.

The People of BNA: The FrenchThe Acadians• The French in PEI, NS and NB, the Acadians

were the descendants of the very first settlers of the oldest French colony.

• 16-1700s their strong economy was based on farming and fishing, but they were forced to leave the area after it was taken over by Britain. This was called the Grand Derangement of 1755 (the Great Expulsion) and up to 10,000 Acadians were forced out of their homes. They resettled in different areas, some moving to Canada East, to the coasts of NL, inland to the woods, or France or Louisiana.

• Many eventually returned to the Maritimes, but faced discrimination because they were French and Catholic. They started over as fishers or loggers, but it was difficult because all land and businesses were owned by British. They started rebuilding communities, but they lived in great poverty.

The Grand Derangement forced Acadians from the land they had lived on for generations.

Today, Acadian culture is still visible and celebrated in much of the Maritimes. And many Acadians still fly their flag:

The People of BNA: The Aboriginals• The people of BNA started seeing FN as

under their control, and they were discriminated against.

Loss of Land• The BNA settlers took over more and

more FN land, some through treaties, sometimes the land was purchased.

• In the Martimes, the colonial government let settlers take what land they wanted, and eventually FN were left with only small areas of land put in reserve, and it was the poorest quality land, typically further away from necessary resources and waterways.

• Most lived in poverty and faced starvation.

The Aboriginals were slowly being forced out of their traditional lands, and moved into reserved land by the British settlers, who wanted to use the best land to set up towns, cities and for other economic opportunities.

The People of BNA: The AboriginalsDrop in Population• The First Nations’ population rapidly

declined, from 500,000 before contact to 102,000 by 1871 as a result of disease and starvation.

• The Europeans introduced diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis and measles, and when a disease is introduced that the population has no immunity to because it has never been exposed to it before, it is extremely deadly. Thousands died from diseases that were picked up from European contact, and entire communities were wiped out by illness.

The smallpox epidemic decimated the aboriginals. Some felt that the Europeans had purposely traded infected goods with them to wipe out their population.

The People of BNA: The Metis

• By the Mid 1800s, the largest Metis settlement was in the Red River area (around present day Winnipeg), and their culture honored their French and FN heritage.

• This area was under control of the HBC and they were employed by the fur trade, doing hard labour of transporting goods or supplying the trading posts with farmed goods and buffalo meat.

• Racists attitudes meant they wouldn’t be promoted to positions of power or given better paying jobs.

The Metis kept the fur trade going in the West, and were the main fur and food suppliers to the HBC forts.The Metis lived mostly around the Red River and Lake Winnipeg.

The People of BNA: Black Colonists• Until 1834, slavery was legal,

although most Black colonists in BNA were free. Many Black people immigrated from the southern USA because they would have some rights in the British Colony.

• Black Loyalists immigrated at the time of the American Revolution, and settled in the Maritimes, like the British Loyalists, but they were not given as much land, and were not given title (a legal record of land ownership), meaning they could be forced to move.

• They set up communities, medical care, places of worship, and education.

Many Black Loyalists fought on Britain’s side during the USA’s war of Independence. When the US won it’s freedom from British rule, many Black Loyalists immigrated to Canada.

The People of BNA: Black Colonists• After slavery was outlawed in

BNA, between 1840 and 1860, approx. 30,000 women, men and children immigrated to escape slavery in the USA and settled all over Canada.

• Although they were not enslaved, they did not have the same opportunities as the White colonists; they faced discrimination, were given poor paying jobs, and the poorest quality land. They were forced off land as White colonies grew.

Many Black colonists had escaped slavery from the USA, although they still did not have total freedom in Canada because they faced a lot of racism and were not given the same opportunities as White colonists. But they persisted and strong Black communities emerged.

Study Guide: People of BNAThe Economy of Each Colony

• Province of Canada (East and West)• Newfoundland• New Brunswick• Nova Scotia• Prince Edward Island• North-West Territory, Rupert’s Land, Vancouver Island and

New Caledonia The People of BNA

• The Elite class• The Newer Immigrants• The French in Canada East• Acadians• Aboriginals• The Metis• Black Colonists

You will be given class time to make notes…

your test for this chapter will be linked with Chapter 6’s test

Minor Assignment: People of BNA

Answer the following two questions using DSSC on the handout provided. Submit for grading.

Which group(s) do you feel was the most empowered? How? Why?

Which group(s) do you feel was the most disempowered? How? Why?

Daily Life in British North AmericaLives were different depending on wealth and societal

position, heritage and where people lived. Summarize the following information found on pages 90-93 using the chart provided.

HOMES     

TRANSPORTATION HEALTH CARE

EDUCATION       

PASSTIMES What were some of the most interesting details

you discovered? Explain why!

Major Assignment: Journal of a BNA Citizen

Image you are a settler in British North America. Write a diary describing a week in your life. This will mean 7 diary entries total. They should be assembled in a book format when you are finished (I will show you some ideas for this in class.) 

Things to consider:• Who are you? • What social class were you a part of? • What is your age? • Where did you originally come from?• Why did you come here? Who did you come with?• Where are you living now?• What does your family do to survive?• What is your daily life like?

Major Assignment: Journal of a BNA Citizen

More things to consider… • There were no computers back then, so no typing! • If you plan on aging your pages, age the paper before

you go over words in pen, unless you are sure that your pen won’t bleed.

• The information from this chapter SHOULD be very clear in your diary entries.

• Need ideas? Check out the diary pages on page 95.• You may work with a friend so that your stories coincide,

but you will each be responsible for handing in your own 7-entry diary!

• The rubric below explains major points you have to develop in your diary entries.

• When is this diary being written? Consider the year, time of year, etc.

 Plan your week before you start writing, so you know which major events happen which day… not every single diary entry will explain every single detail of your life!

Major Assignment: Journal of a BNA Citizen  4 3 2 1 0

Description of Individual

Very well developed

Well developed

Somewhat developed

Unclear/minimally developed

Missing

Employment Opportunities

Very well developed

Well developed

Somewhat developed

Unclear/minimally developed

Missing

Access to Health Care

Very well developed

Well developed

Somewhat developed

Unclear/minimally developed

Missing

Educational Opportunities

Very well developed

Well developed

Somewhat developed

Unclear/minimally developed

Missing

Recreation and Creative Arts

Very well developed

Well developed

Somewhat developed

Unclear/minimally developed

Missing

Assembly of Book

Very neatly done, well assembled

Neatly done, well assembled

Somewhat neat, assembled

Messy, assembled

Not assembled, or very messy