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Period: Nov 11, 1500 to
Culture and Currents of Thought
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Nov 17, 1500
Animism
Animism is the belief that the spirits of all objects were immortal, and existed outside of the bodies housing them. It was the religion held by the Native Americans before the arrival of the Europeans. -
Nov 17, 1500
Shamanism
The shaman was seen as the link between humans and spirits. They were considered to be people who had access to the world of spirits and they explained the meaning of a dream however they dont have any power. They could give their opinions but they can't impose they will on the group. -
Nov 17, 1500
Chiefs
The chief in native groups are usually the strongest hunters, orators and possessed qualities that the group values. They are chosen as a spokesperson for trading but had no real power. Decision making was a community event meaning everyone decided together what to do whether it be deciding who to trade with to deciding who to go to war with. -
Nov 17, 1500
Spirituality and Gift Giving
Native peoples believed that everything outside the human body also possessed a spirit and are immortal. They respected the animals they hunted by saying a prayer and smoking tobacco (revealed spirits) because they believed the animal they had just killed gave its life to them so they could survive. Dreams were a way to come in contact with the spirits. The gift giving between groups was a common courtesy to maintain good relationships. -
Power of the Church
- Priests were in charge of parishes
- Priests worked as missionaries
- Nuns worked in hospitals and schools
- No work on Sundays
- Priests are trained at the seminary and only the brightest and most elite could study there
- Church collected a tax called the tithe
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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. Before 1663, absolutism was manifested through control that the king exerted onto chartered colonies. For example, the king had the power to dissolve the companies and make any law he wants and kill anyone he wants because that was his power given to him by god which therefore means he can do what he wants. It emerged with the arrival of the French colonists. -
Imperialism
Imperialism is an ideology that advocates the political, cultural, economic and/or military dominated exerted by the Mother Country on the colony. With the change of empire, the English Canadians were imperialists, meaning that they believed in Great Britain exerting its control over the colony. -
Liberalism
Liberalism is a political ideology based on individuals having equal fundamental rights, including protection from the abuse of the monarch’s power. Liberal ideas emerged through the press, and these ideas soon turned into political demands.This led to the demands of the British merchants and Canadian professionals for a legislative assembly. -
Nationalism
Nationalism identifies a nation as a group sharing common characteristics and refers to an individual’s sense of belonging to a nation.
French Canadian Nationalism: French Canadians got the idea of Canadiens Nationalism, they wanted their own government and wanted to live in a french catholic nation.
English Nationalism: English wanted the Canada to be run like a British colony with protestantism and English. -
Republicanism
Republicanism is an ideology suggesting that people should govern themselves. Came to be after the failure of the rebellions, some of the French Canadians adopted a more radical point of view when it came to nationalism. This became known as republicanism. Like nationalism, French Canadian republicans wanted to protect the French language and culture. -
Anticlericalism
Anticlericalism is the idea that the clergy shouldn’t be part of political, cultural and intellectual life. It opposed to Ultramontanism. After 1840, liberal ideas continued to spread through the press. In 1844, some French Canadians opened the Institut Canadien de Montreal , a place for intellectual discussion. The Church was very against this since the church wanted to keep everyone locked into traditional values like family and anticlericalism went against all that. -
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a political and religious doctrine where the Catholic Church dominates in every way, including political power. After 1840, as liberal ideas were spreading, the Church wanted to get its authority back. Ultramontanists wanted the Church to insert itself into all parts of life in the colony. -
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system where private companies run the economy. It benefits only the rich and the poor people stay poor. Capitalism emerged with industrialization, because wealthy people opened factories and had the poor people work there for a very low salary and in terrible conditions. This allowed for the factory owners to get richer. -
French Canadian Nationalism
French Canadian Nationalism is the view that encouraged a French Canada. Desire for Canada to be autonomous and separate from Great Britain. Due to industrialization, many French Canadians began to leave the Quebec countryside and go work in factories in the US. So, French Canadian Nationalism became survival nationalism, because they wanted to keep their culture alive. They also wanted Quebec to control its economy. This led to agriculturalism. -
Agriculturalism
Agriculturalism is the view that agricultural life was the solution to counter urbanization. Agriculturalism was seen as the solution to industrialization and capitalism and the emigration of French Canadians. It promoted the idea of returning to the land and having traditional religious and familial values. The funds for the colonization of the farmland came from cooperatism. This continued in the 1920s. -
Reformism
Reformism encourages social change that fights poverty and other consequences of industrialization. People wanted to fight the effects of industrialization on society, and so this meant fighting for equality and against poverty. Mainly women created organizations where they wanted to involve themselves in health and education, because they still saw women as having their traditional role (homemakers, educators, etc.) -
Church conservatism
The Catholic church promoted traditionalism and values essential for the survival of French Canadian culture. As society was evolving and becoming more liberal and secular, the Church wanted to promote a traditional way of life that would allow for the survival of French Canadian culture. For example, they tried to close movie theatres, keep Sundays as the holy day, and ban films. -
Co-operatism
Co-operatism is when the French Canadians raise capital for rural development. Allowed for the pooling of savings. French Canadian traditionalists used this to allow for the pooling of savings, which were used to modernize agriculture and colonize new areas. Caisses populaires were opened, such as Desjardins. -
Socialism, Communism and Fascism
Socialism is an ideology against the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. No private ownerships and against capitalism.
Communism wanted the end of the capitalist system and social classes by sharing everything.
Fascism wanted the restoration of a traditional order by authoritarian means.
All of these "isms" were seen as a solution for capitalism. -
Americanism
Americanism is the influence of American ideas and culture on Quebec’s society. After the Second World War, Quebec was prosperous, and people had more money to invest in entertainment. Thanks to TV, movies, songs, dances, etc., American culture made its way into Quebec society. -
Interventionism
Interventionism is the ideology encouraging state to take control of education, health, and social services. After the death of Maurice Duplessis, Jean Lesage’s liberal government was able to take power and implement interventionist policies. -
Feminism
Feminism is a social movement in which women fight for suffrage and equality. The reformist organizations didn’t have much influence since women didn't have political equality but then women added suffrage to their demands but clashed with those of the Church and French Canadian Nationalists, but they got the right to vote in Canada in the 1920s and in Quebec in 1940. -
Aboriginalism
Aboriginalism is when aboriginal people assert their concept of a nation. In the 1970s, hydroelectric projects expanded and required the flooding of traditional Amerindian land. The Aboriginal peoples hoped that they could get their rights recognized, and the government signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement which promised to consult the Innus and Inuits concerning these conflicts. -
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is the idea that the government shouldn’t intervene in the economy and should let it function on its own. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Quebec government started privatizing companies because they were in debt. In reaction to this, this ideology emerged. -
Secularism
Secularism is the separation of church and state. Although this idea had been in place since the British Rule (see anticlericalism), it became relevant once again as society became more liberal. In 1948, the Refus Global was published, a manifesto written by artists and intellectuals denouncing the Church and the traditional way of life. Politicians such as Pierre-Elliott Trudeau and Gerard Pelletier also denounced traditionalism.
