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Aug 30, 1500
Land Bridge
The Land Bridge existed during the Ice Age and was used by the Nomads to migrate from Russia to Alaska. The first occupants of the territory would follow the animals that they would eat to survive and by doing that they found North America. -
Period: Aug 30, 1500 to
Population
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Sep 6, 1500
Relations between Europeans and Natives
When the Europeans arrived to New France and encountered the Natives, they had a big influence on each other. The Europeans learned how to survive winter with proper clothing, learned how to travel and were introduced to corn, pumpkins and maple syrup. The Natives were introduced to weapons, tools and bread as well as alcohol that was addictive therefore they would always get drunk because their bodies couldn't digest it. They were also subjected to diseases their bodies couldn't fight. -
Aug 30, 1534
Jacques Cartier's First Voyage
On Jacques Cartier's first voyage to America, he explored and mapped the Gulf of St-Lawrence, but didn't find any gold or other riches, so, the King of France viewed this voyage as a fail. Even though he might not have found gold or riches, he found fish, timber and furs -
Sep 1, 1535
Jacques Cartier's Second Voyage
On Jacques Cartier's second voyage, he reached Quebec (which was once Stadacona) by sailing up the Gulf of St-Lawrence. Therefore, he drew a map for the next explorers who came to North America and wanted to get to Stadacona too. Cartier met natives who then taught him and his crew members how to survive the cold winters and scurvy (lack of vitamin C) -
Sep 1, 1541
Jacques Cartier's Third Voyage
On Jacques Cartier's third voyage, he attempted to colonize New France but was not successful. After Cartier failed (in the King of France's opinion) his third voyage, the King of France lost interest, in what was going to potentially be his colony, for 60 years -
The Settlement of Port Royal
The king of France sent a voyage to Nova Scotia to establish this settlement. Samuel de Champlain was part of this Port Royal, but it failed because of its position. It was too far from the Natives, which was a big issue because the Europeans in New France needed the Natives to survive. -
The Trading Post of Stadacona
In 1608, Samuel de Champlain returned to North America to establish a trading post near Stadacona (Quebec), which would be called New France. This is the first permanent settlement of Quebec City. -
The Seigneurial Regime
The Seigneurial Regime was the first incentive to get people to live in New France. The king divided the land and developed a seigneurial system. He would give the land to Seigneurs and they would give a portion of their land to censitaires who lived and cultivated on it. The Seigneur and Censitaire had responsibilities to each other. For example, the censitaire would have to use the Seigneurs windmill. -
Before Jean Talon Arrived
Before Jean Talon arrived to New France and became the intendant, the population of the colony wasn't developing. It was compromised of many men who were middle aged fur traders and almost no women. -
Jean Talon in New France
When Jean Talon arrived in New France, the population went from 3000 people (1663) to 70 000 people (1760) because of the new tactics that he tried. For example, he encouraged immigration by offering veterans free land after their services were done and encouraged marriage by sending over the Files du roi and giving fathers of unmarried girls fines. He also encouraged population growth by crossbreeding between the Europeans and the Natives. -
British Regime
First immigrants to come are wealthy businessmen who are looking to take over. All the noble Frenchmen left the colony because they lost power so they didn't see the point in staying in New-France. The rest of the colony stayed because New-France was their home and they didn't know anything about France. The colony then become 99% French Canadian and 1% English speaking Canadian -
Arrival of British Merchants
The British Merchants came to the cities because they saw opportunities to take control and start a new life. Not enough merchants came to change the composition of the population though, therefore the French were still the majority. -
Immigration of Loyalists
After the American Revolution of 1776, where the United States wanted to be an independent country, some people who were loyal to the Crown of Great Britain and were against the war immigrated to its other English colonies (thats why they're called loyalists). For example, Quebec received 6000 people while Canada in general received 36000 people. English population of Quebec increased to 10% therefore French population decreased to 90% -
Immigration Policies
From 1791, measures were taken to encourage immigration. For example, shipping and railroad companies were offered land and immigration agents would help immigrants in 1828 to facilitate their travel. Also, in 1812, laws discouraged American immigration so that people will stay (or come) to Canada and in 1840 their was a permanent immigration office in London. All these measures were taken to ensure that immigrants will stay (or come) to Canada. -
Irish Immigration
Due to the Potato Famine, there were waves of Irish immigration (as well as Scottish and English) who came to the cities. The conditions during the boat ride were extremely difficult therefore a lot of people got sick. If someone was sick or was on the boat with an ill person, they would be put in quarantine in Grosse-Ile until they got better or they died. -
Emigration to United States
More opportunities existed for people in the United States compared to in Canada especially after the overpopulation of the seigneuries and the awful living/working conditions. There were better factories in the US because people would work less but still get a higher pay. -
Colonization of New Regions
Due to overpopulation and exploitations of forests, new rural areas like Laurentides and Outaouais were opening up. The church encouraged people to move to these rural places because they believed it had less sins than the cities. However, these new areas were only successful if natural resources were present. -
Relations with Native Population
The Natives and Europeans were still business allies for the fur trade, however reserves existed for them around 1850. They were once free to practice their traditions anywhere but due to the European arrival they are restricted to only certain areas. At this time, they weren't majority anymore either because French-Canadians were due to their high birth date and English-speaking Canadians were minority but growing due to waves of immigration. -
Immigration Policies under the BNA
At this time, the federal and provincial governments were in charge of immigration to Canada. They adopted a National Policy in 1878 where land in the west was granted to rail road companies and immigrants were recruited to populate Canada in general. Luckily for Canada, economic crisis', wars and famines were good for the population because people saw Canada as a place of opportunity. However, there was still discriminatory immigration policies until the end of the Second World War. -
Increase of Urban Population
Around this time, people were leaving their farms to go work in the city in factories, which is known as a rural exodus. They left their farms because they found more working opportunities in the city, considering the rural areas were overpopulated. -
Urban Population and Colonization of New Regions Under the BNA
People were leaving their farms to work in the factories in the city because even though the working conditions were awful, they were making more money for their families. At the same time, people were also leaving their farms to emigrate to the Unites States. The government countered the emigration by creating new communities, opening up new regions like Abitibi and The Laurentians and offering land to people. -
Emigration to the Unites States
Due to lack of employment in the agricultural sector and the 2 phases of industrialization the Unites States went through, a lot of people immigrated there. Also, the most educated and skilled people were also emigrating there to seek better opportunities, known as the brain drain. -
Colonization of New Regions Under the BNA
A lot of Canadians wanted to move to the Unites States due to the fact that there are better opportunities as a factory worker. To counter emigration towards the States, the governments created new communities and opened up new regions like Abitibi, Gaspésie and the Laurentians. -
Emigration to the Unites States
With the lack of employment in the agricultural sector, people were immigrating to the Unites States to find new jobs. Also, the start of the first industrial revolution encouraged a lot of people to move there and the second industrial revolution that happened right after did the same. -
James Bay Agreement
In 1975, the James Bay Agreement treaty was signed so that the government can build a hydro dam on native land without the natives complaining and rebelling. They needed this agreement since they knew that flooding the Aboriginal people's land without them knowing was wrong and going to upset them. -
The Oka Crisis
In 1876, the Indian Act was put into play to give aboriginal people rights for their land, culture, traditions, etc. However, in 1990, a golf course wanted to expand its 9 holes on the native land and the natives were extremely against that idea so they established road blocks on their boarders to prevent anyone from intruding. Canadian Forces were called in to handle the situation that lasted 78 days, but the issue still remains.
