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Oct 15, 1492
European Exploration
In the 15th century, European countries began explorations in order to find precious metals and find a route to Asia (for trade) to avoid middle eastern trading centres. The first person to arrive in North America was Christopher Columbus in 1492, funded by Spain. This encouraged European powers to continue the exploration of the territory. -
Oct 15, 1497
John Cabot and European Fisheries
In 1497, John Cabot discovered Newfoundland, and noticed that there was a lot of cod in North America. At the time, European demand for fish was extremely high, because the vast majority of inhabitants were observant Catholics. The Church would prescribe fasting periods in which they couldn't eat meat, so fish became their primary source of protein. So, the Europeans took control of these waters in order to fish for cod and whale. (1/2) -
Oct 15, 1497
John Cabot and European Fisheries (continued)
They would set up temporary camps in the summer and leave in the winter after having dried the fish. They had to dry the fish in Newfoundland because the journey to Europe was too long to be able to transport fresh fish. There were 2 preservation techniques: green fish (preserving it in salt) and dried fish (laying it out to be dried by the sun and wind). (2/2) -
Oct 15, 1500
Aboriginal Trade Network
The Natives engaged in trade to acquire resources that they didn't have in their own territory. This was called the Barter System. For example, the Iroquois would offer the Algonquians farming surplus in exchange for the other group's hunting surplus. This occurred on land occupied by Algonquian bands. The Huron-Wendats were middlemen between the different Algonquian nations that were trading. The Natives traded in the Great Lakes region, Outaouais, the St. Maurice Valley and James Bay. -
Oct 15, 1500
Obsidian tools
Obsidian tools were one of the most commonly traded items among Native peoples. They were of value because they were extremely sharp and effective. -
Oct 15, 1500
The Significance of Trade
Trade was done in order to survive, and the Natives had no intention of profiting, as they preferred to share things. Trade was meaningful on a political and cultural level. It helped to build and maintain relationships between Natives as well as pay war tributes, formalize meetings between chefs, and help peace negotiations. -
Oct 15, 1500
Amerindian-European Trade
The European fishermen came into contact with the Natives when they were in North America, and these two groups began trading. European objects (mainly metal, beads, mirrors, etc.) were exchanged for furs from the Natives. The furs would then be sold in Europe and would be a second source of profit for the Europeans (after fish). The Natives found the metal objects useful and valuable, more so than the Europeans did. -
Period: Oct 15, 1500 to
Economy and Development of Quebec
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Oct 20, 1500
Economic roles of genders (Natives)
For the Natives, men and women had set economic activities that contributed to society. The men mainly engaged in trade, hunted, commerce and war with other nations. The women farmed (if applicable), put up houses, were gatherers, hunted small game and were in charge of children. Note: These are generalizations, as there were small variances for different sociolinguistic groups depending on their lifestyle. -
Oct 20, 1500
Slash-and-burn agriculture
This was a method used by the Natives for farming. They slash the vegetation nearby and then burn it, and this would prepare the land for farming, because it would provide the ground with certain nutrients. -
Fur Trade Between Natives and Frenchmen
The French and the Amerindians engaged in trade. The French provided things like metal tools and beads, The Natives provided furs, especially beaver furs. Champlain established alliances with the Algonquins, which meant that the French became enemies with the Iroquois, since those two nations were enemies themselves. -
Commerce and Exploration
Throughout the 17th century, the French settled more of North America in search of furs, specifically the Great Lakes region and further south, to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. They built trading posts and forts. This expansion benefitted the French fur trade. -
The Company of 100 Associates (Charter Company System)
The King of France granted monopolies of the fur trade to different companies. Because before 1627, only a few people were settling in the colony, the King made it mandatory to populate the colony. The Company of 100 Associates was tasked with this in 1627, and consisted of 100 shareholders who would receive some profits from the fur trade. It failed because of a British attack on the convoys and because they didn't want to populate the territory. The entire system failed and ended in 1674. -
King Louis XIV
King Louis XIV's was the king of France. His reign began in 1643, and lasted until 1715. He put the company system into effect for France in order to gain control of the economy of New France. He eventually ended this system in 1674. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the economic system used by New France and its mother country. New France would export natural resources to France, and it would in turn transform the materials into finished products and export them back to New France, where they would be sold. Production within the colony was restricted to increase demand. This also ties into triangular trade, because both places would also trade with the Antilles. This system was kept after the change of empire and lasted until protectionism. -
Jean Talon's Diversification of the Economy
The French economy was mainly based on fur, but Jean Talon tried to introduce new economic activities into the colony, specifically agriculture, ironworks, shipbuilding, commerce, and craft activities. Agriculture, since the population was low, however, remained an activity of subsistence. He also distributed weaving looms to encourage linen production.
Shipbuilding: In 1738 a royal navy shipyard was built in Quebec City, and thus began the creation of other industries like tar and ropes. (1/2) -
Jean Talon's Diversification of the Economy (continued)
Ironworks: Developed thanks to the availability of iron in Trois-Rivieres. This led to the creation of more industries, such as wood stoves and ploughing equipment.
The commercial and craft activities were grown by developing a rural market. Despite these efforts, though, the economy still remained largely a fur economy. (2/2) -
Hudson's Bay Company
In 1659, Groseilliers and Radisson, two French coureurs de bois, explored Hudson's Bay to get furs. They brought back high-quality furs, but the French authorities refused to finance an expedition. So, they went to the British authorities and they accepted. A maritime expedition was funded in 1668 and the Hudson's Bay Company was officially created in 1670. -
Conquest of New France
In 1760, New France was ceded to the British, and this was made official in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris. After the conquest, the economy was taken over by British merchants. -
North West Company
The North West Company was created in 1783, after the American Revolution, in order to compete against the Hudson's Bay Company. -
Decline of the Fur Trade
The decline of the fur trade had multiple causes: (1) There was no longer demand for it in Britain, (2) there was war in Europe and less focus on commerce, (3) Britain was more interested in timber than fur, (4) the growth of the timber trade reduced the hunting grounds, (5) the union of the North West company and the Hudson's Bay company hurt the relations with the Natives, who only had one buyer after. The tipping point, though, was Napoleon's barricade, which gave New France a timber economy. -
Changes in agriculture
At this time, Great Britain no longer had enough food to supply the entire population with wheat. So, Canada started exported wheat to Britain. -
Economic Policies Before 1846
Great Britain maintained a protectionist policy in Canada up until the mid-19th century. This meant that external products were taxes, which encouraged people to purchase things locally. This benefitted local industries. For example, there were Corn Laws, which taxed wheat/farming produce coming from outside Canada. This policy lasted until 1846. -
Napoleon's Barricade
Before 1806, Great Britain got their timber from northern Europe. But in 1806 Napoleon, the French Emperor, set up a barricade preventing the British from accessing this wood supply, because the two countries were at war. So, Great Britain had to get wood from Canada, its colony, instead. This really kicked off the expansion of the timber economy, which also triggered the creation of new jobs, such as carpenters, loggers and mills. Wood was used for barrels and production of potash and pearlash. -
Seigneurs and the Timber Economy
The timber industry ended up being very profitable for seigneurs, because they were able to earn extra money by cutting down the trees from the forests located on their land. They would then sell this timber. So, farmers who didn't have reliable revenue from their farm now had another source of income. -
Colonization of New Regions
The timber trade affected the territory of Canada, because it encouraged the colonization of new regions, such as Outaouais, Saguenay, Lac St. Jean and Mauricie. They were also crossed by waterways that allowed for timber transportation and activating sawmills to get hydraulic energy. This colonization was made easier with the railroad. -
Bank of Montreal (BMO)
The Bank of Montreal was created in order to allow the British merchants to have access to credit and investment. They could use this credit to grow their business and, eventually, to industrialize. -
Merge of Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company
The rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company was very costly, because they both constantly competed with each other and spend a lot of money on building trading posts, even though the fur trade was on the decline. So, they were encouraged to merge in 1821 under the name Hudson's Bay Company. -
Canals and the Railroad (Transportation)
In order to reduce transportation costs and make trade easier, the Canadian government built canals, where steamboats circulated. The main canals were the Lachine Canal, the Rideau Canal, the Ottawa River and the Chambly Canal. The railroad was built for the same reason, and allowed access to new parts of the territory as well. -
Free Trade
The protectionist policy was disliked by people in Great Britain who supported liberalism, who didn't want to pay more for European products. The liberals took control of the government and replaced the protectionist policy with free trade. So, less people were now buying products from Canada and it had to find a new trade parter and a market for its products. -
Reciprocity Treaty
The United States became Canada's trading partner, because it a rapidly growing economy and a lot of demand for timber and farming produce. The Treaty of Reciprocity solidified this deal, and was a free trade agreement between them. It lasted for ten years, until it was cancelled by the United States. -
1st Phase of Industrialization
During the first phase of industrialization, production style went from slow, costly artisanal production to factory production (cheap, efficient, unskilled workers). Capitalism emerged. Capital from Britain funded businesses. The main source of energy at the time was coal/steam engines, but industries also made use of hydraulic energy by putting their factories next to waterways. The main industries were food processing, leather, textiles, tobacco, transportation equipment, and wood. -
Urbanization/Rural Exodus
During industrialization, since many industries put their factories near waterways, these parts of Canada became large industrial centres. So, since many people worked in these factories, they started moving from the countryside into these industrial centres to be closer to their job. This phenomenon is known as urbanization (or rural exodus). Workers' neighbourhoods were created, where the conditions were unsafe and unhygienic. -
Economic Factors Related to Confederation
4 provinces joined to form the Dominion of Canada: Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. There were 4 economic reasons for this: (1) Great Britain replaced protectionism with free trade, so the provinces had to trade with one another, (2) the railroad strengthened economic relations between them, (3) the US was trying to claim Western Canada, so a large army was needed, and (4) in 1866, the US cancelled the Reciprocity Treaty; they needed a good internal market. -
National Policy
An economic crisis started in 1873, because the price of raw materials and exports fell. John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, was elected in 1878 and attempted to fix the problem with a 3-part policy. Firstly, he wanted to increase customs/duties to protect Canadian industries. Secondly, he wanted to have a railroad that goes across Canada. Finally, he wanted to populate Western Canada to increase the labor force and benefit the internal market. -
Development of Dairy Industry
Agriculture developed and modernized a lot with industrialization, as farmers started using more efficient tools. The sector that developed the most was dairy, which was sold locally and exported (to Britain and the US mainly). Farmers produced milk, butter, cheese and cream. To support the dairy industry, the government set up specialized dairy farming schools in places like St. Denis. -
Creation of Unions
Because working conditions were bad for factory workers, the government put in place the Manufacturer's Act, which protected the workers. It protected their health, provided a minimum working age (12 for boys and 14 for girls), and limited hours (72.5 hours/week for men and 60 hours/week for women). Despite this, some employers still treated workers badly, so this led to the creation of unions like Knights of Labour, which used lockouts and strikes to protest being treated badly. -
2nd Phase of Industrialization
Started after the National Policy. There was exploitation of oil and hydroelectricity (the main energy source). Canadian/Quebec companies settled near waterways, reducing production costs. There were 3 conditions for industrialization: wheat which was exported, helping the economic crisis, foreign investors who funded companies, and the 1st world war, which stimulated sectors like agriculture, mining, and steel. Resources (hydroelectricity, pulp and paper, mining, electricity) were exploited. -
The Roaring Twenties
The twenties were a time of economic prosperity. After the first world war, industrial production was up and Europeans were pumping money into the world economy. At the time, many new products were on the market, like the radio, and people were making a lot of purchases. This resulted in companies producing more products to respond to the buying demand, but they produced a surplus. This leads to the Great Depression -
The Great Depression
The overproduction of the 1920s lead to the surplus accumulating in company warehouses. So, companies slowed their production and fired workers, and this decreased the value of these companies on the stock market. So, investors stopped investing on a massive scale, and this culminating in the crash of 1929; stock prices in New York City collapsed. This lead to the major economic crash throughout the globe. The wheat sector was hit the hardest, because farmers had upgraded their farms on credit. -
Government Solutions to the Great Depression
The first government solution was to implement a protectionist policy, but this didn't work because it decreased demand even more for Canadian products. So, the next solution was to implement social and economic measures. For example, public works, work camps, direct aid, and encouraged farming. However, it was the Second World War that really solved the economic crisis. -
The Second World War
This war ended the Great Depression. Canada had allies (like Great Britain) in Europe, and they sent food and military supplies. This stimulated the economy, increasing industrial production. The government also raised taxes and introduced victory bonds (people lend money to the government that's paid back with interest). There's the expansion of textiles, food, iron, and natural resources. Economic prosperity followed the war until 1960 and the number of tertiary sector employees increased. -
The Quiet Revolution
Quebec experienced major social, political and economic changes. Quebec became a welfare state, because the government took charge of certain programs and created jobs. At this time, the government wanted to help local companies compete against American companies (American Imperialism), so they nationalized certain economic sectors, mainly natural resources. The tertiary sector also continued its expansion. -
Nationalization of Hydroelectricity
The main sector that the economy of Quebec was focused on was Hydroelectricity, because Quebec had a large amount of waterways, so it was ideal for this. So, to encourage Quebec business, the government integrated private companies into one public company: Hydro-Quebec. -
The economy in the 1970s
Economic prosperity halted somewhat in the 70s because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC) curbed oil production and made it more expensive. Because the western world was heavily reliant on oil, it damaged the economy. So, there was an increase in the price of goods. -
Economic Recessions in the 80s and 90s
The government was in a lot of debt, because funding social programs was very costly. So, to restrict their spending, the federal and provincial governments privatized a lot of corporations that were previously public, such as Petro-Canada. -
CUSFTA and NAFTA
In 1986, trade negotiations began between Canada and the United States. In 1989, The Canada United States Free Trade Agreement began, which got rid of duties and customs. In 2004, it was renegotiated to include Mexico, which created the North America Free Trade Agreement.
