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Treaty of Utrecht signed
The Treaty of Utrecht was signed on this date in Utrecht in the Netherlands. It basically marked the end of the War of the Spanish Succession between France and Spain. Through this treaty, France gave up Acadia but gained the Caribbean Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Acadia now basically was a British colony, with the exception of Ile Royale (present day Cape Breton Island). New France now was surrounded by the British. -
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Grade 7 Canadian History
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Announcement of the Expulsion of the Acadians
On this date, the British announced to the Acadians that they were to be expelled from their land. They had previously signed an oath declaring them to be British subjects, but didn't have to bear arms in the case of war. As tensions increased between the French and British, the British wanted the Acadians to sign a new oath, declaring that they would fight against the French in the event of war. The Acadians refused and thus were ordered expelled from their lands. -
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
This painting is a depiction of General Wolfe dying in the battle. The French and British fought this battle on the Plains of Abraham just outside of Québec. The British used a strategy called the "Thin Red Line" and defeated a disorganized French force in a very quick battle. Both the British commander (Wolfe) and the French commander (Montcalm) died as a result of the battle. With the victory, Britain now controlled New France. -
The Royal Proclamation of 1763
Now that Britain had control of New France, it needed to have some rules on how to govern this territory. Some of the key parts of this law included: smaller boundaries for Québec, more First Nations territory, English civil law replacing French civil law, abolishment of the seigneurial system, those involved in the fur trade would now need a license. -
The Quebec Act, 1774
The Quebec Act of 1774 replaced the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It established French rights, many of which had been lost by the Royal Proclamation. The British realized that they needed to be allies with the French in case of an attack from America. -
American Declaration of Independence
The American Revolution, also known as the War of Independence, broke out in 1775 as a result of the anger of the British North Americans to the Quebec Act and the new taxes imposed by the British. Representatives from the Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia on this date and declared the United States of America to be an independent nation. -
Birchtown established by Black Loyalists
On this date, Black Loyalists founded the community of Birchtown, near present-day Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, many Blacks were not treated well by the white Loyalists, and over time became disheartened and eventually went to Africa in hope of a better life. -
North West Company established
The North West Company was a fur trading company established as a competitor to the Hudson's Bay Company which had a monopoly on fur trading at the time. The two companies competed with each other for a number of years, even having wars with each other, before merging in 1821. -
Constitutional Act, 1791
Due to the influx of the Loyalists, the British government passed the Constitutional Act. The Act made some changes to the Quebec Act of 1774, but the British didn't want to give the Loyalists too much power. It divided Quebec into two parts (Upper and Lower Canada), each Canada would have a lieutenant-governor, legislative council, and legislative assembly. Landowners in Lower Canada could land under the seigneurial or freehold system, but only under the freehold system in Upper Canada. -
Tecumseh helps Brock in winning the Battle of Detroit in the War of 1812
Tecumseh uses bluff and deception techniques to cause General Hull to surrender at the Battle of Detroit, even though the American forces substantially outnumbered the British forces. -
Isaac Brock dies in the Battle of Queenston Heights
Isaac Brock had come to Canada in 1802 as a soldier. He originally thought that his life in Canada would be boring but it soon changed once the War of 1812 began. Brock was a great leader and worked with the First Nations leader Tecumseh to win the Battle of Detroit in August of 1812. The British also won the Battle of Queenston Heights in October of 1812, but Brock was killed by a sniper during this battle. A battle had been won but a leader was lost. -
Battle of York
The Battle of York was a crushing defeat for the British. In this battle, 16 American ships attacked the shoreline of Lake Ontario, easily taking control of Fort York. The British general, Roger Sheaffe retreated and negotiated the terms of the surrender. This battle showed major problems in the British defences, and also led to another attack in July of 1813, where the Americans landed and burned several buildings and boats, and even made off with a number of supplies. -
Laura Secord talking to James FitzGibbon about American plans to invade
On this date, Laura Secord travelled approximately 32 km on foot to warn British commander James FitzGibbon of an impending American attack at Beaver Dams. -
Battle of the Thames (Moraviantown)
The Americans defeated the British at Moraviantown on this date, raising fears that the war may end soon, with the Americans winning. The battle marked the death of the great First Nations leader Tecumseh. General Henry Procter of the British could not contain the American invaders who scattered the defenders and even caused Procter to run for his life. -
Battle of Lundy's Lane
The Battle of Lundy's Lane was one of the bloodiest battles in the War of 1812, resulting in heavy losses for both the British and American forces. The battle ended the American offensive in the Niagara region as they retreated shortly afterwards. -
Treaty of Ghent signed
The War of 1812 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium on this date. The treaty took five months to negotiate. In the treaty, impressment and the naval blockade were not mentioned, even though these had been among the major reasons the USA had declared war. Boundaries between the USA and British North America went back to the way they were before the war. -
Battle of New Orleans
On December 24, 1814, Britain and the USA signed a treaty in Ghent, Belgium that effectively ended the War of 1812. News was slow to cross the ocean, however, and on January 8, 1815, the two sides met in one of the biggest and most decisive engagements. In the bloody Battle of New Orleans, future President Andrew Jackson and his militia fighters, frontiersmen, slaves, Indians and even pirates soundly defeated the British. The British now had to take the terms of the Treaty of Ghent seriously. -
Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company Merger
The Hudson's Bay Company was formed on May 2, 1670. It started as a fur trading company, but with the decline of the fur trading industry, the company began to sell other important goods. It originally owned much of Canada (Rupert's Land) but the land later became part of the new Dominion of Canada in 1870 as part of the Northwest Territories. The HBC was in competition with the North West Company from 1783 until 1821 when it merged with the North West Company, but kept the HBC name. -
Joseph Howe starts writing articles in Novascotian (newspaper) demanding reform
After writing his articles in his newspaper and bringing the issue of responsible government out in the open, Joseph Howe was elected to the Nova Scotia legislature in 1836. He worked with the Reformers to press for responsible government and eventually succeeded in February 1848. Nova Scotia was granted responsible government and was the first British colony in the world to achieve this. -
Louis-Joseph Papineau publishes Ninety-Two Resolutions to demand reform
Papineau's Ninety-Two Resolutions document contained grievances (complaints) that the Lower Canadian legislative assembly had with the British government. He wanted to make the legislative council into a body elected by the people. He also wanted the executive council to "be responsible to" the legislative assembly. Also, he wanted to abolish the seigneuries and turn them into freehold (privately owned) farms. The British did not want to grant major reform and a rebellion occurred in 1837. -
William Lyon Mackenzie expresses anger towards the government
Mackenzie was angry with the government system and claimed that the officials at the top had all of the power. He used his newspaper, the "Colonial Advocate" to publish articles that insulted his political enemies. His anger eventually led a rebellion in Upper Canada just north of Toronto in December, 1837. -
John Franklin sets sail for North America from England
On this date John Franklin and his crew set sail from England on the beginning of their Northwest Passage expedition during which they would chart the area. His ships ("Erebus" and "Terror") were state-of-the-art and included three years of canned food and a water distillation system. The boats ended up getting trapped in ice in present-day Nunavut, and it is thought that many of the crew died from lead poisoning.
