Canada West in the 1850s

Canada West in the 1850s

• As British immigrants arrived, Canada West transitioned from isolated settlements to a network of farms, towns, and cities.

Transportation Before the Railway

• Before the 1850s, ships transported crops and timber for export to Europe and the United States.
• Those near ports, rivers, and canals benefitted from ship transportation.
• Land transport was cheaper for those farther from the Great Lakes.
• Farms faced difficulties getting crops to market due to the challenges of ship transport.

Impact of the Railway

• Towns and cities like Toronto and Brantford became commerce centers for remote settlements.
• Fertile land stretching north from Lake Ontario and Lake Erie was farmed.
• More towns were established to serve rural populations with services like blacksmiths and general stores.
• Small, local industries developed near resources.

New Opportunities and Economic Growth

• The railway led to new economic prospects for immigrants in Canada West towns and cities.
• Thornton Blackburn and his family, who escaped slavery in the United States, established Toronto's first cab service after arriving penniless.

Population Changes

• The population of Canada West tripled between the 1840s and 1860s due to British, Black American, and Irish immigrants.
• Social tensions arose due to financial struggles and job competition among Irish immigrants, Canadians, and other immigrants.

Irish Catholics vs. the Orange Order

• Tensions increased between Irish Catholics and Protestants in Canada West.
• The Orange Order, founded by Irish Protestants, expanded to include non-Irish members in the Protestant population of Canada West.
• Orangemen influenced politics, policing, and firefighting in Toronto during the second half of the 1800s.
• Conflicts between Catholics and the Orange Order led to major riots in Toronto, including attacks on a Catholic Cathedral.

The Underground Railroad

• Slavery was abolished in British North America in 1833.
• The Underground Railroad was a secret network that helped enslaved Black people escape to the northern states and British North America.
• It consisted of people and safe houses, not an actual railroad.
• The Fugitive Slave Act allowed slave owners to recapture escapees, even in places where slavery was illegal.
• Several Black settlements were established in Southern Canada West.
• Mary Ann Shadd, a Black Canadian activist, founded abolitionist newspapers to inform the public about slavery and the Underground Railroad.
• Abolitionists were people who worked to end slavery.

Harriet Tubman's Role

• Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave, was a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
• She led approximately 300 Black people to Canada West on 19 secret missions into the southern states, aided by white and free Black individuals.
• A reward for Harriet Tubman's arrest was posted throughout the southern states.
• Slavery was officially abolished across the United States in 1865.

Farming and Industry

• Farming in Canada West was spurred by the railroad and demand for agricultural products.
• Entrepreneurs began manufacturing farm machinery.
• Farmers borrowed money to buy new technology due to increasing wheat prices.
• The railway facilitated the transport of equipment to farms.
• The Massey Company farm machinery was the largest factory in Toronto in 1886.

Impact of Farming on First Nations

• By the mid-1800s, some First Nations communities adopted European agricultural practices.
• New immigrants and land development companies desired fertile land.
• Settlers progressively took over more land.
• Two Ojibwe leaders helped local bands start farms.
• The government of Canada West forced First Nations to sell their assigned land.
• The Canadian government prevented First Nations from buying back their land.
• First Nations and British individuals protested this unfairness.

Key Changes in Southern Ontario

• Initial isolation ended, enabling all farmers to sell products, which ushered in a new era of prosperity.
• Towns grew, connecting farms and cities, and new businesses offered services.
• Positive changes included job opportunities for those with little money and employment for Black individuals escaping slavery.
• Negative changes involved First Nations being displaced and Catholic immigrants facing discrimination.

Migration and Black Communities

• Thousands of Black people migrated to Canada West, forming several Black communities.

Questions About First Nations and Land Ownership

• Which First Nations were affected, where were their settlements, and were there supporters who tried to help?
• Did First Nations and non-First Nations have different perspectives on land ownership?
• Why did some in Britain want First Nations land rights recognized, why were they unsuccessful, and what were the responses in Canada?

Claims to the Northwest and Pacific Coast

• Britain aimed to claim land in the Northwest and on the Pacific Coast before the United States.
• Britain and the United States competed for land.

Population in the Early to Mid-1800s

• First Nations outnumbered Europeans during the first half of the 1800s.
• Métis are people of both First Nations and European descent.

Red River Settlement

• By the mid-1800s, the Red River Settlement comprised Métis, Scottish immigrants, and retired Hudson’s Bay Company workers with First Nations wives.
• Métis families sent their children to European settler schools to learn First Nations culture and skills.
• In summer, Métis worked on farms, in autumn they hunted and trapped, and in winter they worked as merchants.
• As fertile land in the East became scarce, more people moved to Rupert’s Land.
• Settlers from Canada West began to arrive in the Red River area starting in the late 1850s.

Colonization of the Pacific Coast

• Vancouver Island became the first British colony in 1849.
• James Douglas was appointed as the first governor, attempting to maintain peace between settlers and First Nations.
• Douglas offered First Nations Aboriginal title to a small part of the island.
• Aboriginal Title is the legal recognition of a territory belonging to a specific First Nations group.

Fraser River Gold Rush Impact

• Prior to 1854, the Pacific Coast region consisted of Vancouver Island and New Caledonia.
• Gold was discovered in New Caledonia in 1858.
• Governor James Douglas declared New Caledonia a British Colony, renaming it British Columbia.
• The population of New Caledonia increased rapidly.
• The thousands of mines disrupted lives and polluted First Nations fishing waters, leading to conflicts, including the Fraser Canyon War in 1885.
• Douglas instructed government agents to settle territorial disputes by creating reserves to protect First Nations land.
• After Douglas's term, the new government ceased the treaty process and offered no compensation for the takeover of First Nations territories.

A Colony of Many Cultures

• The gold rush attracted people from the United States, Britain, France and also Black people, people of Jewish faith, and people from China.
• Chinese people were not welcomed into the community.
• By the 1860s, coal mining and lumber became leading industries but struggled after the Reciprocity Treaty ended and British Columbia goods were heavily taxed.
• Business owners sought cheaper labor to reduce expenses.
• Chinese people provided cheap labor, leading to job competition and resentment from white people.

Cultural and Lifestyle Differences

• The Métis were diverse but united, involved in fur trade, and adapted to the seasons.
• New arrivals envisioned a European Protestant-dominated region with a farming and commerce based lifestyle.
• Métis life was influenced by European and First Nations culture, dependent on the natural ecosystem, and impacted by similar European settlement as First Nations.

Impact on First Nations Population

• The First Nations population lost position of clear majority in Pacific Coast regions.
• The heavy non-First Nations traffic disrupted ecosystems, pollution threatened food and water, violence erupted, and First Nations were forced to sign treaties ceding their territories.

Cultural Groups and Discrimination

• Some groups appeared very European and some offered cheaper labor, attracting business owners.
• The new western colonies were historically a diverse population who had shared ways of life.
• Many people, like the Irish, had suffered discrimination and recognized the unfairness of discriminatory treatment.