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Nov 15, 1500
Animism
The Aboriginals around the 1500s had a set of beliefs that was called Animism. The aboriginal peoples believe that every animal, every living thing has a spirit that was separated from the body that they inhabited. The spirits of these objects, unlike their bodies that they lived in, were immortal and lived on once that avatar died. This was the reason why they practiced rituals, to connect with the spirits. For example, they used tobacco and smoke as a means of making contact with spirits. -
Nov 17, 1500
Shamanism
The shaman was a middleman between Aboriginals and spirits whose good will they hoped to attract. Shaman were considered to be people who had access to the world of spirits. Although highly respected, they could not impose their will onto their clan, similarly to the chief. The shaman would often be called upon by another Aboriginal to explain the meaning behind a dream they had. -
Period: Nov 17, 1500 to
Culture and Currents of Thought
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Cultural Consequences of Enountering Europeans
The Europeans brought with them metallic tools and utensils. These interested the Aboriginal and gradually became integrated into their trade networks. This changed the way that they waged war. Before, they used knives and clubs, but the integration of rifles made their wars much more deadly. The First Nations also adopted the wearing of wool and cotton. In regards of food, the Aboriginal people slowly introduced new vegetables that the Europeans brought such as onions and cucumbers. -
Catholicism
The french imported many elements of their culture, including the catholic religion. In France, the clergy dominated society and when they arrived in New France, the French tried to impose Catholicism on the aboriginal people along with enforcing the French culture. They tried to do this through missions and had a significant influence on the colony social organization and culture. -
Absolutism
Absolutism is a political ideology by which the ruler receives their powers from God, and they are the sole ruler and representative of God on Earth. Royal absolutism was manifested mostly through control of the king exerted over the chartered companies to which he granted exploitation monopolies. These companies had to answer to the kings, who had the power to get rid of them. In addition, the intendant had to reflect the king and the concept of absolutism because he was chosen by the King. -
Liberalism
The change in empire after the Conquest went hand in hand with the spread of new intellectual movements such as liberalism. This was mostly the fault of the press that had been recently invented, which would help spread liberal ideas. These ideas turned into political demands that were formulated by British and Canadian merchants that had liberal ideas (Like wanting a legislative assembly). During the 1830s, some Canadians adopted a radical position, which led to the rebellions of 1837-1838. -
Imperialism
Imperialism is an ideology that advocates the political, cultural, economic and/or military dominated exerted by the Mother Country on the colony. When the British colonists arrived in the new British colony, they believed heavily in the concept of Imperialism. They wanted that Britain exerted its control over the colony. -
Republicanism
The failure of the liberal reform demands in the 1830s lead to a radicalisation of ideas among Parti Patriote members. Republicanism was then created to lead the patriots revolts in 1837 and 1838 in an effort to guarantee respect for people's fundamental rights. Republicanism advocated a government by the people, for the people. Language, culture and french origin were considered the main characteristics of the Canadian which is why republicanism is closely ties to nationalism. -
Nationalism
Nationalism Identifies a nation as a group sharing common characteristics. During the change of empire, the change to a British colony provoked the idea of Canadiens Nationalism among french Canadians. These Canadians wanted their own government and wanted to live in a french catholic nation. However the British that lived in the colony contested them wanting Canada to be run like a British colony with protestantism and English as the main language. -
Ultramontanism
The failure of the rebellions and the adoption of the act of union in 1840 had an influence on ideas that circulated in the colony.
The creation of united canada made french Canadians a minority politically and the liberal ideas began to take traction. The catholic church relied on ultramontanism to reclaim the power it previously had and to become more and more influential. They wanted to insert themselves into itself into all parts of life in the colony, such as in politics and in education. -
Anticlericalism
Despite the growth of Ultramontanism, liberal ideas continued to spread with the help of the press. The ideas that the clergy shouldn’t meddle in political life, or censor cultural and intellectual life began to be discussed amongst intellectuals. In 1844, several French Canadians founded the Institut Canadien de Montreal which was a place for intellectual discussion. The Church was very much opposed to this and the bishop requested that they conform to church degrees which caused some to leave. -
Capitalism
Capitalism emerged during the first phase of industrialization because the wealthy people of private companies built factories and hired an abundance of workers at a low salary. With the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, Capitalism and industrialisation left their mark on the cities, which began to be divided into districts based on socioeconomics, language and culture. -
Survival Nationalism and Agriculturalism
Due to industrialization, many French Canadians began to leave the Quebec countryside to work in factories in the US. Concerned about the exodus of french Canadians, the leaders of the province saw a return to the land as a solution. French Canadian nationalism turning into survival nationalism as the Church wanted to promote a traditional way of life that would allow for the survival of French culture. Agriculturalism surfaced through the encouragement of opening new regions for colonisation -
Reformism
People wanted to combat the effects of industrialization on society so they began to fight for change to fix the poverty and equality problems. Mainly women started up organizations in order to get more involved in certain sectors. These associations followed a traditional view of women, whom they saw as mothers and wives. They believed that as a part of their duty as mothers, was to concern themselves with education and health. -
Feminism During Industrialisation
The reformist organizations didn’t have much influence because women couldn't vote and were considered as minors, so they added feminist demands. These demands opposed the Church and of French Canadian Nationalists who considered women getting the right to vote a threat to social order. Despite their opposition, women got the right to vote at the federal level in the 1920s and in Quebec in 1940. -
Conservatism
As society was evolving and becoming more liberal and secular, the Catholic Church tried to promote a traditional way of life that they valued essential for the survival of the identity and culture of French Canada. In the 1920s, the bishop published several letters in which the Church condemned dancing, movies and theatre. They also encouraged people not to work on Sundays in order to keep Sunday a holy day. -
Cooperatism
Agriculturalism entitle returning to the land and having traditional religious and familial values. However, the French Canadian traditionalists required a large sums of money in order to colonize new areas, which they didn't have individually. The funds for the colonization of the farmland came from Cooperatism. Cooperatism counted on the pooling of savings in order to raise the capital necessary for rural development. Caisses populaires Desjardins is an example of where they could do so. -
Solutions to Capitalism (Socialism and Communism
Socialism was meant to be a critique of capitalist industrial development. Socialists were against the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. Finally, there was no concept of private ownership. Communism wanted the end of the capitalist system and social classes. They did this by sharing the means of production. An example of this is the Young Communist League of Canada (1923), devoted themselves to the union movement in defence of workers. -
Solutions to Capitalism (Fascism)
Fascism promoted the restoration of a traditional order by authoritarian means. Fascism expressed that some nations were superior to others and required an all-powerful leader to make decisions. The basis of Fascism was on military life and discipline.
During 1930, Canadian fascists took their inspiration from the regimes established in Italy and Germany following the stock market crash -
Secularism
While the concept of the separation of the Church and State had been present since the British Rule, after the Second World War criticism of traditionalism resurfaced. Although Traditionalism was defended by the church and the Duplessis government which had been in alliance, criticisms still reached the public. The main critics of Traditionalism were artists and intellectuals such as the Refus Global (A manifesto published in 1948 that denounced the Catholic Church and its traditional values). -
Americanism
After World War II, Quebec was very prosperous which allowed for the purchasing of appliances like televisions (Invented in 1952). Television broadcasted (among other things) dances, music and theatre shows which spread american culture. With the American culture making its way into the population, traditionalism and the influence of the catholic church on quebec society were increasingly called into question. -
Interventionism
The death of Maurice Duplessis in 1959 allowed Jean Lesage who advocated Interventionism to obtain power. The state took control of education, health and social services, becoming more active in culture. The new Liberal Government implemented some measures:
-In 1961, school attendance was now free and compulsory up to the age of 15.
-In 1964, the Ministry of Education was created and the Catholic Church lost its stronghold on education (However, schools were still separated based on religion). -
Feminism After Baby Boom
After the Baby Boom, women wanted to go back to work. No longer considered as minors, they took action and created the Front de Liberation des Femmes was founded in 1970. Inspired by socialism and the struggles against colonialism, they wanted to improve the status of women and ensure legal and societal equality between men and women. In the 1970s and 1980s, feminism diversified as more people joined to defend different races, sexualities and classes from oppression. -
Aboriginalism
In the 1970s, Aboriginals began to assert their conception of the nation. This was because large hydroelectric projects of the 1960s and 1970s required the flooding of lands necessary for maintaining the traditional way of life for some Aboriginals. The Aboriginals hoped that Quebec and Canada would recognize their rights. The provincial government, signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975, promising to consult the Inuit and that Innus regarding everything that concerned them. -
Neoliberalism
The idea that government shouldn't intervene in the economy began surfacing around the 1980s and 1990s. The reason why this opinion comes out is because the population began to believe that Quebec wasn't competitive enough on the global stage. In reaction to this and because the government was in debt due to the heavy costs of maintaining these companies, the government started privatizing companies in order to gain profit.
