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1500
Land Bridge
-It connected Russia and Asia together
-It was formed by the ice age
-The first group came to North America over 30 000 years from Asia
-They crossed the Beringia land bridge
-They went south and northeast of North America -
1500
Inuits
-They were a small group
-They were nomads
-They used to fish and hunt
-They lived in tents
-In the winter, they built igloos -
1500
Algonquians
-They lived in wigwams
-They were nomads
-They lived in large camps of 500 people
-They lived near rivers
-In winter, they spread out in bands -
1500
Iroquois
-They lived in longhouse villages with 500 to 2 000 people
-They were sedentary
-They were protected by a palisade and were surrounded by crops
-They moved every 10 to 15 years depending on the depletion of their soil -
Period: 1500 to
Population and settlement
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Social groups
-Most of the people who settled in New France were craftsmen or traded fur
-By 1760, there were lots of peasants and most people worked in the farms
-There were 3 principal social groups
-The secular elite: administrators, aristocrats and bourgeois
-The church: bishop and secular and regular clergy
-The people: farmers, craftsmen, labourers, small merchants, servants and slaves -
Port Royal
-Samuel de Champlain tried to create a permanent settlement but it failed. -
The first 3 permanent settlements
1608 : Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec to facilitate the fur trades with the Amerindians near the St. Lawrence River
1634 : Sieur de Laviolette founded a settlement to allow furriers to communicate with each other and to prevent the Iroquois from intercepting their trades near the St. Maurice and St. Lawrence rivers
1642 : Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve + Jeanne Mance founded Ville-Marie to evangelize the Amerindians near the Iroquois village of Hochelaga (heart of the Amerindian territory) -
The seigneuries
-The seigneuries, land granted to seigneurs (individual or group), were subdivisions of the territory bordering the St. Lawrence River and it's tributaries
-Seigneurs divided the land into portions, which he gave to the peasants (censitaires) who owned no land and had to pay the seigneurs a yearly annuity and taxes
-They were also responsible to reside in his estate and build a mill
-The land was divided into rectangular ranks
-Everyone had access to the water, through waterways -
The settlement of Canada
-One third of 30 000 French men and woman that left France, stayed in New France
-These people had to overcome many obstacles by living there
-They had harsh winters
-They had difficulties crossing the Atlantic
-They received lots of threats from the Iroquois -
The Filles du Roy -- French Immigration
-The King encountered girls, usually orphans who were old enough to get married and emigrate to New France
-He gave them each a dowry of fifty livres in order to find a spouse (they had many choices since there where lots of men)
-These girls wanted a man who owned a house
-The King sent around 800 'Filles du Roy' who eventually gave birth to 4450 children -
The Company of One Hundred Associates
-The King of France mandated the Company of One Hundred Associates in order to populate the colony (only had 100 European inhabitants)
-Several hundred (under 4000) colonists got involved with this company
-The main colonists who came were men (sometimes with wives) who wanted to trade fur or to battle against the Iroquois
-Religious groups recruited more than 200 girls
-By the end, there were more than 3000 people (1850 immigrants and the rest were born in New France) -
The soldiers -- French Immigration
-The King sent 1200 soldiers to contain the Iroquois and to ensure the colonists' security
-Jean Talon offered each soldier money and land as incentives to remain in New-France after their military service
-Around 600 of them stayed and started their families by marrying a 'Fille du Roy'
-All soldiers were considered inhabitants of higher value because in case a war started, they could protect their colony
- The highest ranking soldiers were given a seigneury -
The engagés or the 'Thirty-six Months'
-Almost half the immigrants were trades men, apprentices or woodworkers, building, ship transport, clothing or textile craftsmen and lacked work experience
-They were hired for 3 years by an employer who payed for their travel fees
-Most of them had to clear lands of the St. Lawrence Valley
-Those who were trades men could return back to New-France, having become a master craftsman
-At the end, they were able to stay in New France and practice agriculture on a seigneury -
The French Canadian population
-18th + 19th century: many more French Canadians (high birth rate)
-1830: birth rates slowed (French Canadians moved to Canada West and to New England) because of agricultural crisis
-There wasn’t land for cultivation (high population + peasants couldn't live off land)
-They moved to foreign regions
-1840-1870: 200 000 French Canadians moved to the States
-Factory workers, craftsmen and farmers left Québec and became construction, textile and shoe industry workers (low wage and were obedient) -
Amerindian population
-Native territories were expanded
-During the mid of the 19th century, the amount of fur trades declined drastically
-The British government wanted the Amerindian people to become sedentary and become civilized
-They set up reserves, territories reserved for Native people
-The Amerindians were the only people who could hunt or fish although they had to give up vast territories to the Great Britain
-Great Britain gave them allowances and exempted them from taxation and income -
Slavery
-There were around 4 000 slaves (Amerindians from the Panis nation United States) during the French regime
-Around one third of them were Africans from the Caribbean and the British colonies
-Most of them were servants in the cities
-In 1709, slavery was legalized
-Each slave belonged to an owner
-It was later abolished in 1833 -
Jean Talon (first settlement in New France)
-He was the first intendant
-He carried out the first census and introduced policies to encourage population growth
-He offered money to men to got married at the age of 20 or less and created a bonus for families with certain amount of children
-He also created many punishment policies such as a fur-trade ban for men who weren't married within 15 days after the "Filles du Roy" arrived and a taxation on fathers with single 20 year old sons or single 16 years old daughters -
Colonial Society
-There was an hierarchy: nobility, clergy and the common
-In 1750, the population was mainly formed of Canadians and slaves
-Amerindians and immigrants formed the minority -
Effects of the European on the Amerindians
-They brought diseases, which led to the death of many Amerindians
-The Europeans brought war
-The Amerindians became dependant on the Europeans because of their colonial expansion and their fur trades
-Missionaries later on tried converting them to Catholicism
-1750 = around 5000 Amerindians in the St. Lawrence area -
Effects on the colonial population (British Rule)
-The was of the Conquest wasn't too successful (1754-1760)
-10 000 immigrants and Natives died
-Thousands of Acadiens were deported
-4 000 colonists returned to New France
-1763: British immigrants settled in Québec -
The British immigration -- The loyalists -- American Revolution
-British and Scottish people (around 2 thousand), who were administrators or merchants and worked in the fur business, settled in the Province of Québec
-Farmers settled in Gaspésie and and Sorel
-Many people went to the south of the St. Lawrence River
-In 1780, there was an influx of the loyalists
-This led to the division of Upper and Lower Canada
-Immigrants settled in townships
-They built Protestant churches and English schools
-In conclusion, they established the Eastern Townships -
Contagious diseases
-Immigration had negative consequences, one being the spread of contagious diseases.
-In the 1830's British immigrants brought cholera, a deadly disease with no treatment.
-In 1832, there was a devastating cholera epidemic.
-In Québec City, more than 3 000 people died, around 10 to 15% of their population.
-Finally, after that devastating cholera attack, all immigrants who arrived in Canada, went into quarantines on Grosse-Île, around 48km away from Québec -
Religious diversification -- British regime
-Most people arriving weren't Catholics.
-The Irish people (most people arriving in Canada) were Protestants or Catholics.
-The British were Protestants or Jews. Interesting facts
-St. Matthew's Cementery is one of Canada's oldest Protestant cemeteries in Québec.
-Shearith Israel was the first Jewish congregation in Canada, founded in Montreal. -
Evolution of the birth rate
18th and 19th century
-High fertility rate (encouraged by the Catholic church)
-It was important for farmers since children could help on farms.
20th century
-Birth rate dropped (feeding many kids in the city was really hard)
-There was a baby boom after World War 2
-Ever since 1960, birth rate levels have decreased (change of mentality)
-Women aren't seen as housewives but as people who can work
-Contraceptives and birth pills have been created and have helped decrease birth rate -
Great Britain's immigration policies (immigration +population growth)
-The British government funded the settlement of immigrants in Canada, which ended 10 years later because it was too expensive.
-In 1815, people emigrated in towns and cities
-English people grew through immigration while the number of French people increased naturally
-Private companies got lands in Canada and ran advertisements in Europe to attract immigrants.
-The government didn't allow the arrival of the British in Canada -
Immigration diversification
-1867: John A. MacDonald suggested the Canadian federation
There were settlements in Western Canada from Great Britain + Eastern Europe
-1901-1931: 4 600 000 immigrants (population stopped growing due to the ‘Depression’ + World War 2)
-William Lyon Mackenzie allowed immigrants in again
-Canada helped Europeans + North Americans settle with a -sponsorship
-1960: no more discrimination
-Québec chose immigrants and refugees
-1978: Canada + Québec had immigration responsibilities -
French Canadian emigration
-1870-1930: French Canadians went to Ontario (farmers), to Manitoba + Saskatchewan (railroad to get to British Columbia) or New England (Industrial)
-10% of the people left Québec in the coming years
-1870-1930: 700 000 French Canadian emigrated
-In New England, they established parishes, churches, hospitals, schools, convents and newspapers (‘Franco-Americans')
-They saved their language and culture but were assimilated
-During the 20’s, people returned to Québec to cultivate new land -
Migration and colonization
-British and Irish immigration declined
-French Canadiens left Québec
-Migration in Québec was negative
-Industrialization led to urbanization
-There were poor living conditions and many epidemics
-In 1890, they created pro-farming policies, which helped agriculture and led to regional colonization -
Relationships with the Amerindians
-In 1876, the federal government adopted the Indian Act = government owns the reserves
-Québec explored the Amerindian territory (mines and water) for its hydroelectrics
-The James Bay Cree and the Innu of the North Shore were disconnected
-The government of Québec made an agreement with Native people to explore their territory -
Current Issues
-Population is aging (people are moving to urban areas)
-Provincial government favours French speakers
-Greater Montreal area received 90% of the immigrants
-The government wants to increase birth rate to avoid labour shortages and rising healthcare
