CANS 200: Understanding Canada PDF

CANS 200: Understanding Canada Dr Jodey Nurse McGill Institute for the Study of Canada The Conquest in Quebec and the Aftermath Monday, September 16, 2024  Conferences start Week 5, but I am still waiting for room and time confirmations––I will keep you informed. Questions about your wr...

CANS 200: Understanding Canada Dr Jodey Nurse McGill Institute for the Study of Canada The Conquest in Quebec and the Aftermath Monday, September 16, 2024  Conferences start Week 5, but I am still waiting for room and time confirmations––I will keep you informed. Questions about your writing assignment instructions? Remembering 1759… This class, you will learn about: The Creation of New France The significance of the Conquest, past and present Francophone-anglophone relations after the Conquest The Rise of Quebec Nationalism Contemporary issue: Can Canada reconcile fractured anglophone-francophone relations? Can an “inclusive nationalism” exist?  The Creation of New France “The power of the cross, the gun, and the microbe, and that unshakeable European assumption of superiority and possession… would challenge Indigenous ways of life throughout the continent over the next two Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain centuries.” – H. V. Nelles New France Religion The French regime introduced a Christianizing mission early into settlement While different orders had different approaches to Christianizing Indigenous peoples, few found great success during this period because of significant differences in culture and spirituality Female religious orders had more success administering schools and hospitals than converting Indigenous women European diseases devastated the Wendat and other Indigenous populations; loss of life, knowledge, leadership French fur-trade partners left vulnerable; Haudenosaunee attacks led to Wendat diaspora and the destruction of Saint-Marie Among the Huron New France Administrative control New France given economic, political structure and stability when proclaimed a Royal Colony by absolutist King Louis XIV in 1660s Jean-Baptiste Colbert attempts to diversify Canada’s economy by creating a “compact colony” Policies to increase population largely successful State Tool: Family → Les filles du roi Challenges to plan include settlers desire for farmland, the lure of profits in the fur trade, failed assimilation of First Nations, difficulty diversifying the economy, shortages of currency, slow communication, corruption, and the continued challenges of defending the colony from attacks Empires in Conflict  The Fall of New France: The Seven Years’ War Growing concerns about Acadian neutrality result in their expulsion from Acadia in 1755 France begins war with important victories, but loses Louisbourg and the St. Lawrence in 1758 Resulting naval blockade makes Canada vulnerable to attack Quebec, Montreal fall in 1759, 1760 Britain emerges as the dominant imperial power in North America The Battle of the Plains of Abraham Took place on 13 September 1759, also known as the Battle of Quebec A pivotal moment in the Seven Years’ War and subsequently in the history of Canada A British invasion force led by General James Wolfe defeated French troops under the Marquis de Montcalm, leading to the surrender of Quebec to the British (both commanding officers died from wounds sustained during the battle) The French never recaptured Quebec and effectively lost control of New France in 1760 At the end of the war in 1763 France surrendered many of its colonial possessions, including Canada, to the British Video: Iconic: The Death of General Wolfe (Royal Ontario Museum). The Conquest in Popular Memory Canada had to be incorporated within the British Empire First few years British imperial policy was tentative and changing Shifted from policy of conformity outlined in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 to policy of exceptionalism in 1774 with the passage of the Quebec Act More than a series of events that followed; the Conquest was experienced differently by different groups, and over time it has also represented different things to different groups Historian Jocelyn Létourneau argues the events of 1759 have been transformed into “mythistory” (or popular memory): Creation of the Grand Narrative: “…The vision of 1759 currently predominating in public discourse – that of the Conquest as cataclysmic and essentially destructive – is largely the creation of [those] who seek to use history to foster a national consciousness among the Québécois that is founded on a belief in destiny usurped and progress thwarted.” (Létourneau, 2012, p. 297) Létourneau argues that no one interpretation exists, but he promotes a new methodological context that “leads inevitably to the recognition of an ambiguous conquest.” (p. 294) After the Conquest The Royal Proclamation of 1763 (policies to assimilate failed) The Quebec Act of 1774 (guaranteed freedom of worship and restored French property rights and civil law) – British sought sought legitimacy by balancing old and new instruments of rule The Constitutional Act of 1791 (a compromise that divided the colonies and created separate, elected Legislative Assemblies) The Constitutional Act (1791) Quebec becomes two colonies: Upper and Lower Canada Upper Canada: British laws (freehold land tenure) prevail Lower Canada: Retains seigneurial system, French civil law Each colony granted a bicameral legislature Appointed legislative council, elected assembly Most power resides with governor and legislative council British North American Politics Conservative Power Oligarchies in Reformist Political Parties in British North America, 1820s-1830s British North America Lower Canada: Parti Lower Canada: Château Clique Canadien/Patriote Upper Canada: Family Compact Upper Canada: Reformers Nova Scotia and New Brunswick: Nova Scotia and New Brunswick: Reformers/Liberals The System Prince Edward Island: The Escheat Party Rebellions of 1837–38  The Durham Report “I expected to find a contest between a government and a people. I found two nations warring in the bosom of a single state; I found a struggle, not of principles, but of races; and I perceived that it would be idle to attempt any amelioration of laws or institutions, until we could first succeed in terminating the deadly animosity that now separates the inhabitants of Lower Canada in the hostile divisions of French and English.” – Lord Durham, Report on the Affairs in British North America (January 1839) The Rise of Quebec Nationalism The Quebec nationalism is most associated with the sovereignty movement and the Parti Quebecois, and has deep roots in Quebec’s history going back to the nineteenth century Important expressions during the Rebellions in 1837– 8 and during the deadlocked politics in the lead up to Confederation Nineteenth-century French nationalism in Quebec largely a conservative phenomenon By the twentieth century, strong nationalists such as Abbé Lionel Groulx (image→) occasionally flirted with the idea of a separate state Les Nationalistes So long as the majority of Canadians have two countries, one here and one in Europe, national unity will remain a myth and a constant source of internecine quarrels. – Henri Bourassa, 1907 Francophone-anglophone relations “…the character of francophone-anglophone relations over the past 200 years has ebbed and flowed in response to changing socioeconomic, political and ideological factors as well as to the commitment of Canada's majority and minority francophone communities to survival and equality.” – The Canadian Encyclopedia To be continued next class… Next class: The Conquest in Quebec and the Aftermath, Part 2