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Nov 3, 1500
Natives' View of the Environment
The Natives had a lot of respect for their environment because it provided them with what needed to survive (mainly resources). So, out of respect, they only ever took what they needed from nature, and whatever they didn't use, they returned to the environment. They also used everything to the best of their ability so as not to waste. For example, they used the entire animal and not just the meat. -
Period: Nov 3, 1500 to
Culture and Currents of Thought
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Nov 3, 1505
Aboriginal Chiefs
For nomadic societies, the chief was typically the most able hunter, provided that he was extremely well-spoken. They would then become the spokesperson for the tribe when engaging in commerce. For the Iroquois, the chiefs had to have certain valued qualities, which were also to be excellent warrior and good orators. For both cases, the chiefs weren't the rules of the group and had no decision-making power. They were just spokespeople. -
Nov 3, 1510
Gift Giving and Reciprocal Relationships
To maintain their status, chiefs had to be generous. They redistributed community goods to other nations via trade. Generosity was expected of everyone. For example, everyone in an Iroquois community built longhouses, even if they didn't live there.
Reciprocal relationships existed between communities. A gift was given for each one received. This provoked festivities; everyone would sing and dance while the chiefs exchanged gifts and made speeches. This kept relations friendly between groups. -
Nov 3, 1515
Animism and Relationship with the Environment
Amerindians were animists, meaning they believed that all living and inanimate objects were immortal and had souls that existed outside of their corporeal form. This affected how they treated nature. For example, when they killed animals, they said prayers and took special care of them, because they believed that it had given itself to them. They also believed that some spirits were evil, so they would try to appease them using means such as tobacco offerings. -
Nov 3, 1520
Communication with Spirits
There were two main ways of contacting spirits: tobacco and dreams. Tobacco was a way to make contact with them, and they could use tobacco on a fire, but they typically smoked a pipe instead. Dreams were a way for spirits to contact them, and were believed to be able to predict what would happen in the future. -
Nov 3, 1525
The Shaman (Shamanism)
The shaman was a medium between the people and the spirits they wanted to contact. The shaman was also able to explain what a dream meant if the dreamer didn't understand. They were considered to have special access to the spiritual world and to have a clearer understanding of it. However, shaman could not make decisions for the group, just like chiefs. -
Nov 3, 1530
Social Exchanges and Communication
Oral traditions, song and dance, and ceremonies were the main three forms of communication and tradition. Also, when social interactions took place, they had enormous respect for elders, because they were wiser and had more life experience. -
Nov 3, 1535
Changes After European Encounters
After the two groups began trading, new items they acquired became integrated into their culture. The Amerindians were introduced to brass pots (which replaced pottery because of durability), domestic animals (which provided meat without hunting) and rifles, which replaced knives and clubs, made their conflicts more deadly. For Europeans, they were introduced to wool and cotton (which they then used for their clothes), onions, cucumbers, bread and fruit orchards. -
Royal Absolutism
Until 1663, royal absolutism was in place in France/New France, meaning that the King had been given his power by God, and he was the sole ruler. He represented God on Earth. It also entailed the appointment of a governor and intendant. The king mainly exerted control over the colony by granting monopolies to charter companies. Royal absolutism impacted the colony visually as well. For example, the doors of the fortifications of Quebec City have the coat of arms of France on them. -
Everyday Practices
The French colonists adapted their way of life in New France, and this is known as the "Canadien" style of life. This involved moccasins instead of shoes, winter coats and hats. They also started using Aboriginal means of travel, such as the canoe, snowshoes, and sleds. Aboriginal foods and tobacco also became incorporated into this way of life. -
The Catholic Church (Part 1)
The Catholic Church was present in New France since the beginning. Their goal was to evangelize the Native Americans, making New France a Catholic colony, and to introduce education into the colony. There were priests, who were in charge of parishes and were missionaries, and nuns, who worked in hospitals. To convert the Amerindians, they had to learn their language (they wrote the first lexicons of the Amerindian languages). (1/2) -
The Catholic Church (Part 2)
Money for the Church was collected through the church tax (tithe). The Church held all the power in the colony, and one could be excommunicated if they didn't comply with it. (2/2) -
The Parish
The priest was the main representative of the Church in the colony, and he had to oversee the population to make sure that the Church's instructions were obeyed. For example, it was forbidden to work on Sundays, they had to receive communion once per year, and attend Church regularly.
The parish was a place for social gatherings, where people would converse after mass and get the "news" of the colony. -
Arrival of Nun Congregations (Ursulines)
In 1639, nun congregations arrived in New France to contribute to the missionary effort. For example, the Ursulines arrived in Quebec City and established a school for Aboriginal and French girls. -
Establishment of Hotel-Dieu
Religious groups established the first hospitals in the colony. The Hotel-Dieu was the first hospital in New France. Throughout the 17th century, more general hospitals were built in Montreal and Quebec City, and they were given over to the Sisters of Charity in 1747. -
Liberalism in the Colony (Part 1)
At this time, liberal ideas were spreading via the press, which lead to British merchants and French Canadian professionals to make political demands that were liberal in nature. Both groups requested a legislative assembly, an elected parliament that would allow the people to be represented in the government. The British Merchants wanted it to be completely English-speaking and for French-Canadians to be excluded, because in Great Britain, one had to take the Test Oath to participate. (1/2) -
Liberalism in the Colony (Part 2)
The Canadian professionals, on the other hand, wanted the legislative assembly to be francophone. These opposing ideas were expressed through the press. -
Royal Proclamation
The goal of the Royal Proclamation was to make New France a British, English-speaking, Protestant colony. However, to ensure the loyalty of the inhabitants, concessions had to be made that would benefit them. So, the leaders allowed for a bishop to be appointed in Quebec City in 1766 and for the Catholic Church to exert authority. -
Granting of Legislative Assembly (Constitutional Act)
The Constitutional Act granted the colony a legislative assembly, along with other British laws, such as Habeas Corpus (right to not be detained arbitrarily or without due process). -
First Elections in Lower Canada
The result of the first election in Lower Canada was that a French Canadian majority was elected, and this provoked a lot of conflict between francophone and anglophone representatives in the legislative assembly regarding the language to be used in the House. This lead to the formation of two opposing political parties: Parti Patriote (French) and British Party (English). These two parties also attacked each other via the press, which lead to the creation of the partisan press. -
The Quebec Mercury (Partisan Press, Part 1)
The Quebec Mercury was a newspaper that represented the ideas that the British representatives wanted. It promoted the joining of Upper Canada and Lower Canada in order to make the French Canadians a minority as well as the elimination of French civil law. It essentially promoted British values and the English language. -
Le Canadien (Partisan Press, Part 2)
Le Canadian was a french newspaper that defended the interests of the French Canadians. The main idea it promoted was reform liberalism, which would be done through the establishment of a responsible government (a Cabinet dependant on an elected assembly instead of a monarch). -
Nationalism and Republicanism
The liberal reform demands of the French Canadians failed, and this lead to the radicalization of their ideas. This created Republicanism, the ideology stating that people should govern themselves. This lead to the Patriotes Revolts. The idea of republicanism was deeply rooted in nationalism, because it promoted the idea of defending the French language and culture, the main characteristics of the French Canadians, in the government. -
Patriotes Rebellions and Act of Union
As previously stated, Republicanism lead to the rebellion of certain members of the Patriote Party. However, they failed, and this prompted the creation of the Act of Union in 1840. This act joined the two Canadas, making the French Canadians a political minority and English the main language of the colony. -
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism was the ideology where the Catholic Church dominates in every way, including political power. The Catholic Church used this to gain power after the rebellions. The Church enacted certain education laws, such as the School Act, which established a denominational school system. This meant that schools boards were of a particular religion. The Church was involved in all levels of education and imposed its values, and this increased the literacy of the colony. -
Anticlericalism
The people who continued to follow a liberal ideology instead of Ultramontanism adopted Anticlericalism, the belief that the Church shouldn’t meddle in political life, or censor cultural and intellectual life. This view was opposed to Ultramontanism. This lead to the opening of the Institut Canadien de Montreal. -
L'Institut Canadien de Montreal
This building was opened by young professionals and intellectuals who believed in Anticlericalism. It had a library and was a place for intellectual discussion of liberal ideas. The people there wanted the separation of Church and state. The Church was against this building, and the bishop forced some people to leave in 1858. -
Capitalism and its Consequences
Industrialization resulted in capitalism. This happened because rich businesspeople opened factories and had people work there for very minimal salaries. This resulted in most of the profit going to them. The rich therefore got richer and the poor got poorer. It resulted in the division of cities by socioeconomics, culture and language. For example, Little Italy. -
Agriculturalism
Industrialization posed a problem for French Canadian nationalists. French Canadians were leaving the countryside to go work in factories in the United States. So, agriculturalism surfaced, the idea of returning to the land and having a traditional way of life.. It was thought that Quebec should control its economy. Later, in the early 20th century, this required the colonization of new regions and modernization of agriculture, leading to cooperatism. -
Reformism and Feminism
Social reformism is an ideology that fights poverty and other consequences of urbanization. Women from the British business class and French Canadian bourgeoisie formed charitable organizations, as they wanted to be involved in health and education. They followed the traditional view of women as wives and mothers. But these associations were limited, because women couldn't vote. So, women added suffrage (feminist views) to their demands. The Catholic Church and nationalists were against this. -
Cooperatism/Caisse Populaire Desjardins
In order to acquire the money needed for agriculturalism, French Canadians used cooperatism, which allowed for the pooling of funds. An example of this is Caisse Populaire Desjardins. -
Canadian Imperialism
Imperialists were people who saw Canada as part of the British empire and wanted an English way of life. This was the opposite of French Canadian Nationalism, which saw Canada as French and autonomous. This conflict manifested itself in times like World War 1, when the imperialists wanted conscription (as they wanted to help their mother country) and the nationalists wanted voluntary participation. -
Church Conservatism
The Catholic Church promoted traditional values in order to promote the preservation of French Canadian culture. So, in the 1920s, the Church published letters in which they condemned mass culture, such as dancing, movies and theatres. The Church tried to close theatres, keep Sunday as a holy day, and banned some films. -
French Canadian Nationalism from 1920 to 1950
From 1920 onwards, French Canadian nationalists were very against capitalism. In the 20s, they believed that agriculturalism was the solution to counter the negative effects of urbanization. After the Great Depression, they believed it to be the cause, and brought back the themes of agriculturalism: family, Church and agriculture. They wanted Quebec to control its economy. -
Socialism, Communism and Fascism
All three of these ideologies had the goal of combatting the effects of urbanization and were against capitalism. Socialists were against the distribution of wealth in the hands of few and private ownership. Communism wanted to end social classes by sharing means of production. Fascism wanted to restore traditional order via authoritarian means (i.e. an all-powerful leader, military way of life). -
Refus Global (Secularization)
After the Second World War, society continued to secularize and the power of the Church was called into question. People supported the separation of Church and state as opposed to traditionalism, which was supported by the Duplessis government and nationalists. The main critics of traditionalism were artists and intellectuals, and they published a manifesto called the Refus Global, which denounced the Church. Pierre-Elliott Trudeau and Gerard Pelletier also denounced traditionalism. -
Americanism and Mass Culture
After the Second World War, Quebec was very prosperous, so people had more money to spend on a better way of life. So, many of these purchases lead to the influence of American culture on Quebec via mass culture. For example, people bought television sets, saw dances, listened to music and saw theatre shows, and these forms of mass culture all contributed to Americanism. -
Inteventionism
After the death of Duplessis in 1959, Jean Lesage's liberal government took power, and the government began intervening in society. Education was affected, as school attendance was made free and obligatory up to the age of 15 and the Ministry of Education was created. The state also intervened in culture, and Quebec hosted events such as Expo 67 and the Olympic in 1976, which opened Quebec to diversity. -
Feminism After 1960
In the 1960s, feminism expanded. Feminists wanted to improve the status of women and to ensure equality in all spheres of life. An example of a feminist organization is Front de Liberation des Femmes, which had radical views, and believed that women should fight for freedom from oppression. In the 1970s and 1980s, feminism diversified, and began to represent women of all races, classes, sexualities, physical ability, etc. -
Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ)
The Front de Liberation du Quebec was an example of an independentist group that was more radical. It wasn't a political party; it was a group of militants. They believed that to gain their independence, armed struggle would be required. They had anti-colonial and socialist views. -
Formation of the Parti Quebecois
In the 1960s, there were two main political organizations that promoted the ideas of Quebec Nationalism. The first was the Rally for National Independence (RIN), which was inspired by the decolonization movement in Africa. The other was the Sovereignty Association Movement, founded by Renee Levesque. In 1968, the two combined to form the PQ. -
Aboriginalism (James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement)
Aboriginal people began to assert the concept of a nation. This began when large hydroelectric projects required the flooding of traditionally Aboriginal lands. The First Nations people wanted the government to recognize their rights, so the government signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which promised to consult the Inuits and Innus for issues like this. -
1st Referendum
The PQ held 2 referendums to see if Quebec's population wanted to separate from Canada. On May 20th, 1980, the first one was held. The result was 59.44% no and 40.66% yes. -
Neoliberalism
In the 1980s and 1990s, the government decided to privatize many companies, as it was in debt. The Neoliberalism ideology emerged from this: the idea that the government should not intervene in the economy and let it function on its own. Supporters wanted to make Quebec more competitive on a global stage. -
Oka Crisis
A golf course wanted to expand onto Aboriginal land, which upset the Mohawk nation. They were fighting for their rights and wanted the federal and provincial government to recognize their rights. -
2nd Referendum
The 2nd referendum was held on October 30th, 1995, but it failed, just like the first one. The results were 50.58% no and 49.42% yes.
