Canadian Confederation: Causes and Effects (1850-1890)

• In July 1867, some colonies of British North America united to form the Dominion of Canada, known as Confederation
• Confederation aimed to unify colonies and territories with different needs and concerns

Unit 1 Focus: 1850-1890

• Unit 1 explores the causes and effects of Confederation on Canadians
• Key questions include those about continuity, change, consequences, and historical perspectives
• Confederation's success in unifying Canada is assessed through events, impacts on people, and discussions
• It covers identifying changes, determining causes/consequences, evaluating impacts, and using historical sources

Time Period Overview: 1850-1890

• 1850: The U.S. Fugitive Slave Act leads to migration of Black people into British North America
• 1867: Confederation unites three colonies, forming the Dominion of Canada
• 1869: Métis establish a provisional government with Louis Riel as president
• 1870: The Canadian federal government passes the Manitoba Act
• 1875: Jubilee Riots erupt between Protestants and Catholics in Toronto
• 1876: The Blackfoot Treaty becomes Treaty 7 of the Numbered Treaties
• 1878: John A. Macdonald introduces the National Policy
• 1885: The Battle of Batoche occurs between government troops and the Métis
• 1890: Manitoba passes The Public Schools Act

Demographics

• Estimated Canadian population in 1871: 3,736,904
• Approximately 30,000-40,000 Black people migrated to British North America via the Underground Railroad
• Over 17,000 Chinese people immigrated to Canada (1881-1884) for the Canadian Pacific Railway
• Building 3200 km of railway track took 4.5 years and involved 30,000 workers

Chapter 1: Life in British North America (1850-1864)

• The mid-1800s brought significant changes to British North America via technologies
• Steamships, railways, and factories increased production and distribution
• Populations boomed due to urbanization and immigration, straining resources

Atlantic Colonies

• The Atlantic colonies included Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia
• In 1850, British North America consisted of separate colonies and territories under British control
• Territories were governed by the British Hudson's Bay Company

Economy

• Newfoundland: Fisheries
• Prince Edward Island: Agriculture
• Nova Scotia: Shipping and coal Mining
• New Brunswick: Forestry and shipbuilding
• Shipbuilding in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia supported global trade

Business and Class

• Booming Industry led to opportunities and fortunes, but most struggled
• Successful merchants and shipbuilders formed a wealthy upper class
• Joseph Salter was a New Brunswick businessman and politician
• Salter's shipbuilding company was a major employer in the 1850s
• He became Moncton's first mayor in 1855
• Transformed his business to mining to maintain his wealth
• Moncton erected a monument to Salter due to his impact to the community

Trade

• Ports buzzed with activity, particularly lumber and shipbuilding
• The Marco Polo was a famous ship built in New Brunswick
• Farming and Fishing conditions were varied and sometimes challenging
• Farming: good agricultural Resources on Prince Edward Island
• Only 1/3 Owned their land
• Newfoundland: Fishing was a key industry, but families were often in debt to merchants

Changing Trade Relations

• Most goods from the Atlantic colonies were exported to Britain, the United States, the West Indies, and Latin America
• American Railway building increased demand in the Atlantic colonies
• Reciprocity Treaty (1854) allowed free trade with the United States
• The American Civil War (1861) created increased demand for resources
• The U.S. ended the Reciprocity Treaty in 1865, taxing goods from British North America

Flow Maps

• The cancellation of the Reciprocity Treaty affected relationships with British North America
• They demonstrate the movement of goods using arrows, showing flow direction and quantity

Working-Class Children

• Many children had to work to support their families from early ages
• Child labor laws were not as strict as today, and children worked in dangerous environments like factories and mines
• Martin Butler provides an example of changes to industry impacts on children in the Atlantic Colonies

First Nations

• Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy had treaties with Britain, guaranteeing rights to hunt and fish
• European immigrants wanted land, disadvantaging First Nations
• Governments did not protect First Nations territories
• First Nations were excluded from industries developing on what was previously their lands
• Locals tried to harvest maple syrup, berries, and other skills to trade with Colonists

Canadiens

• Canada East had a French Speaking Majority, known as Canadiens
• They were decedents of the early french settlers of New France
• They formed a working class
• The economies of Montreal and Quebec City were dominated by english Businessemen

Seigneurs and Land ownership

• Wealthy landowners (seigneurs) rented land to Canadien farmers
• The Papineau family owned 178,000 acres on the Ottawa River
• The land owner rented or sold land with credit, though tenants could not make regular payments to the Seigneur
• Papineau sold or rented the land to thousands of the Canadiens

Abandoning farm Life

• Parcels became smaller
• Land division among children reduced farm sizes
• The Government invested and profited in Railways, mining and lumber

Canadiens in Urban Areas

• Many moved to cities due to debt, impacting available jobs.
• Many could not earn enough, forcing them to find work in cities or the United States

Quebec women in the Workforce

• 1800's forced Canadiens to look for work in factories as farms closed
• Clothing manufacturing industry provided jobs for women in factories
• Surplus population enabled exploitivly low wages
• Several family members needed to work long shifts in order to survive

French Nationalism

• Many Canadiens fought back against attempts to assimilate them into English culture
• Nationalism is a belief that people with a common language, land, history, and culture should form their own independent nation

Catholic church's role in Canadien identity

• Catholic Bishops and priests promoted the use of the French language across cities and rural communities
• Louis-Francois Laflèche spoke a lot in his writings about French Patriotism

Canada West

• Canada West became a lively network of farms, towns, and cities
• Before the 1850s, ships transported resources to Europe and the United States

Introducing the Railway System

• Railroads transport crops and Other items efficiently
• The darker lines on the map showed railway routes connecting Canada West and Canada East
• With the railway, populations migrated around fertile soil, lakes, and established towns due to new access

Relationship between town and cities in rural communities

• Towns and cities (Toronto and Brantford) Became centers of Commerce from remote Settlements
• Expansion of railways lead to the establishment of towns for resources
• Thoronton Blackburn and his family were black americans, previously enslaved who set up their own business

Growth and change in population

• The Population in Canada West Tripled the 1840s and 1860s
• Many immigrants came as a result
• Irish Catholics VS The orange Order tensions
• Tensions were high between irish protestants and Catholics
• They formed secret meetings
• Orange order formed with irish protestants, but non-irish joined
• Constables were attacked travelling around Orange Order Members

The Underground Railroad

• Harriet Tubman Made 19 secret missions as the conductor, she lead approximately 300 slaves to the North across the Underground Railroad
• Slavery was abolished in British North America in 1833
• Developed the Underground Railroad: A secret network developed which became known as the Underground Railroad
• Mary Ann Shadd established 2 abolitionist news papers

Framing and Industry

• The railway and demand for products led to more Farming
• Entrepreneurship begain to produce the necessary machinery

Archaeology and History

• Dr. Karolyn Smardz Frost studies Archaeology
• She unearthed the back story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn
• They had escaped from american slavery and lived in Kentucky

Impact of farming on First Nations

• In the mid 1800s, some first nations communities adopted european styled agriculture, the Mississaugas of credit river were one such Community
• As a result of the expansion, the land was sold
• Catherine Sutton and Kezhegowinninne were leaders from two Ojibwe Bands that helped farming
• Their efforts proved to be successful and inspired government involvement
• A quote from England was noted which expressed opinion against the event, and pleaded the case to respect first nations living in British North America

Northwest and Pacific Coast

• The mid 1800s were a period When Britain and the United States both wanted to own more land, resulting in potential conflict

Timeline

• In 1857 Hudson's Bay Company Estimated That there were 1,40000 natives and 10,000 Europeans
• European and natives were in conflict with the Natives receiving poor treatment and little resources

The Metis

• The Metis were a combination of natives and descents from European heritage

Settling of the Red River Area

• The area grew as a combination of the natives, Scottish immigrants, and HBC Company workers
• In 1860 Settlers from Canada West Began to arrive and change/ disrupt the existing society
• New commerse, especially from Canada brought racism, conflict and diasgreement

The Colonization of the Pacific Coast

• In 1849 Vancouver Island Became a British colony
• James Douglas tried to keep a peace between European Settlers and native populations such as Songhees first nation

Historical Perspective

• Historical View: to try to infer the view of people from the past, and the context in which they lived in, with different cultures
• the study includes beliefs, perspective, feelings, and decision making

Case Study the Small pox epidemic in British Columbia 1862

• Contagious Disease: It was thought to have entered British colonial when brought from S. an Francisco

Impact of Fraser River Gold Rush on first Nations

• 1858 Gold discovered in a territory that becomes a new british colony: British Columbia
• Arrival of Prospectors Impacted traditional first Nations cultures
• Douglas instructed Agents to reach Territory based contracts with the first Nations to create disputes