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Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Population and Settlement
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Feb 2, 1500
The Land Bridge
-The Land Bridge is a strip of land that connects Asia to North America. -While Europe was developing, people from Asia and Russia crossed the land bridge, otherwise known as Bering-Strait, which led them to America. -People first crossed 30 000 years BC and reached the Quebec territory roughly 12 000 years ago. -
1510
First Settlers: Natives
-Algonquins: These natives were nomadic hunters who followed the animals for survival all throughout the Canadian Shield. They traveled in small groups, living in tepees. -Iroquois: This group was semi-sedentary, moving every 10-15 years because of depleted soil. They settled in the St-Lawrence lowlands because of fertile soil used for agriculture and lived in longhouses, The Iroquois lived in big groups of around 1500 to 2000 people. -
1515
Relationships between Natives
Hurons: cultivated corn, beans, squash and tobacco
Algonquins: has surplus of animals they hunted and fishing goods
-These two groups traded these items between each other, which sealed a political alliance between them. -Although they had alliances, they also had plenty of wars
Example: Iroquois and Hurons were often war, which was mostly driven by commercial issues. -
1535
Three Jacque Cartier Voyages
1534: The Gulf of St-Lawrence was explored, which is abundant in fish, fur and timber. 1535: He reached Stadacona where Natives showed the French how to survive the winters. However, Native captives died since their immune system wasn't used to European illnesses. 1541: Missionaries attempted to convert Natives and Cartier tried to set up a colon. Both were unsuccessful. Outcome: King of France lost interest since there was no gold and Natives died because of illnesses. -
Two Samuel de Champlain Voyages
Goal of Voyages: Establish a settlement and trading post. First Voyage:
Where: Port Royal (Nova Scotia)
Outcome: It failed because of Port-Royal’s position; the French were allied with the Algonquins but Port-Royal was too far away from the Natives so trading became difficult. Second Voyage:
Where: Stadacona
Outcome: Succeeded since cliffs were hard to climb so it’s hard for their enemy to defeat them in war. Also, easy for the French to defend since they can shoot down on opponents. -
First Three Permanent Settlements
Quebec (Stadacona) 1608: Founded by Samuel de Champlain to facilitate fur trades with Natives. Trois-Rivieres 1634: Sieur de Laviolette founded this second settlement. It allowed furriers to communicate with each other and it prevented Iroquois from intercepting the trades. Montreal (Ville-Marie) 1642: Founded in the heart of Amerindian territory, the founded by Jeanne Mance and Paul Chomedy became a popular trade post, even if the original purpose was to evangelize Amerindians. -
Seigneurial Regime
-To increase population, the King of France creates a seigneurial regime. -Seigneurs are rich French men to which the King gives a piece of land. They pay for a mill on their land so censitaires can use it. -Land given is shaped in rectangles and is located near water. -Censitaires are peasants who get a chunk of land from a seigneur. In exchange for this free land, they must give a percentage of their crops to the seigneur, work constantly and cut wood to survive the winters. -
The Company of One Hundred Associates
-Because of the low numbers in New France population, the King of France created this company to populate the colony, with a goal of 4000 immigrants. -Several hundred immigrants came to New France, majority of them being trade men. Roughly two hundred girls came to New France to wed but single men were still outnumbered. -As a result, by 1663, the population had more than 3000 people, 1850 being immigrants. -
Filles du Roi
-Jean Talon was hired by King Louis 14 to balance proportion between men and women since men were numerous. -In exchange for a dowry given by the King, orphaned girls from France came to New France. -Once the girls arrived in New France, each man chose a wife, based on looks, and quickly got married and had kids so they can increase New France population. -As a result, more than 800 girls settled and got married in New France and gave birth to 4450 children. -
Social Groups
-Three main social groups during the French Regime. -The elite/nobility was the wealthiest of the three groups, consisting of governors or lords who were born into their position. -The middle class is generally well off. They're full of businessmen who worked to get to their position. -The lowest class is composed of peasants and habitants who are poor. -
Soldier Immigration
-1200 soldiers from the Carignan-Sallière regiment came to New France to fight against the Iroquois. -Jean Talon encouraged the soldiers to stay in New France once their service was completed. -Many of the soldiers accepted to stay permanently in exchange for land or money. Several higher ranking soldiers even became seigneurs. -Around 600 soldiers ended up staying and starting a family with a Fille du Roi. -
The Engagés or the Thirty-six months
-Half the immigrants consisted of trades men, textile or clothing craftsmen, apprentices and woodworkers. -They were hired by employers, who paid for their travel expenses across the Atlantic. -After working for three years, some returned to France with the title of master craftsmen, which was a difficult title to obtain. The rest were encouraged to settle in New France and practice agriculture on a seigneuries. -
Native and French Relationship
Allies:
-Algonquin, Hurons and the French.
-Iroquois and the British. Wars: Violent wars between Iroquois and French/Algonquins that ended in 1701 with the signing of the Great Peace of Montreal. Europeans learned: How to survive the long winters, how to travel, introduced new foods such as corn, pumpkins and maple syrup. Natives introduced to firearms and iron pots, foods such as bread and salt and European epidemics. -French tried to evangelize the Amerindian, who they considered inferior. -
Slavery
-During the French Regime, there were roughly 4000 slaves, majority of them being Amerindian and the remaining one-third were African. -Slaves worked in cities as servants. -Owners of the slaves were usually wealthy, belonging to the elite/nobility social group. -Slavery was only abolished in Canada in 1833. -
Jean Talon's Immigration Policies
Policy 1: Anybody except for French Protestants was allowed to come to New France. Policy 2: Bonuses were given to men who married under 20 years old and to women who married at 16 or less. Policy 3: Couples who had over 10 kids were given bonuses. Policy 4: Bachelor's over 21 and father's of unmarried daughters who were over 16 had to pay fines. Policy 5: A fur-trade ban was given to anyone who didn't marry within the 15 days upon the arrival of the Fille du Roy. -
Loyalists
Cause: 13 colonies declared their independence from the British.
Outcome: People from the 13 colonies who were still loyal to Britain move away from the now independent Americans. Where loyalists went:
36 000 to Canada (Maritimes)
6 000 to Quebec
Outcome: English population increases to 10% Problem: English population wants to change dynamics of the province by adding in their own ways. Examples of changes made by English:
-Change seigneuries to townships. -
Irish Immigration
Cause of Irish coming to Canada:
-French form majority of the population so loyalists want English to immigrate.
-Potato, one of the main sources of food in Ireland, has a disease so starving Irish agree to come. Trip across the ocean:
-Hard conditions
- People got sick, food with insects and no way to wash. Solution for sick people:
-All the sick went to live on a quarantine station called Grosse-Ile.
-Once they were healthy, they returned to the main land to continue with immigration. -
Religious Diversity
-During French Regime, the majority of people were Catholics. -During British Regime, new immigrants weren't all Catholics.
Example: Irish immigrants were not only Catholic but also Protestant and some other British were Jewish. -In the 19th century, the majority of immigrants were Irish and so the Irish Catholics integrated with the French Canadian community. -
French Canadian Rural Exodus during British Regime
Cause of rural exodus:
-Agricultural crisis: Bad weather and disease damaged harvests.
-overpopulation in seigneuries. -Many moved to cities to work in factories but they had to endure terrible work conditions. Where they went:
-200 000 people emigrated either to the United States or to Canada West.
-Many worked in construction, textile and shoe industries. -
Amerindian Population during British/Contemporary Period
-The British government wants to assimilate Natives into Western society and force them into a sedentary lifestyle. -Indian Act: The creation of reserves, made only for Natives, which is owned by the government. Notable Events:
-James Bay Cree: A hydro dam was built on Native land, who were unhappy but ended up accepting in exchange for their education and money.
-Oka crisis 1990: Golf course wanted to expand onto native land. Negotiations didn't work so Canadian Forces were brought it. -
French Canadian Emigration to the West of Canada
-The rural exodus continued from 1830-1930. -Many settled in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British-Columbia. -With the National Policy of 1878, railroad companies such as The Canadian Pacific allowed immigrants as well as commerce goods to be transported across Canada. -From 1901-1931, over 4 600 000 were welcomed into Canada. -
Evolution of Life Expectancy
18th century: Low life expectancy due to poor sanitary conditions, wars, periods of famine and illness. 19th century: Medical advances such as vaccines that prevented certain diseases. Death rate was higher in the city compared to the countryside because of sanitary conditions, especially in poor neighborhoods. 20th century: Life expectancy much higher compared to the 18th century because of pasteurized milk, chlorinated and filtered water and advancements in hygiene as well as medicine. -
Development of Regions
-In the 19th century, the government tried keeping people from leaving to the United States and Western Canada. It gave access to new regions for colonization and new lands offered to French Canadians.
Examples of developed regions: Saguenay Lac St.Jean, Laurentians and Abitibi. After WW2: Regions developed because of their natural resources such as wood and mining.
Examples of developed regions: Nord-du-Quebec and Gaspésie. -
Evolution of the Birth Rate
18th and 19th century:
-High fertility rate since it was encouraged by the Catholic church.
-Important for farmers since children could help on farms. 20th century:
-Birth rate dropped since feeding many kids in the city became a burden.
-Baby boom after WW2.
-Ever since 1960, birth rate dropped again because of the change of mentality; women were no longer seen as housewives but as people capable of working. Also, the creation of contraceptives and birth pills helped decrease birth rate. -
Immigration Diversity
1920 until WW2: Canada began selecting their immigrants, allowing only people who would integrate well with Canadian society. Example: Asians and Africans were denied access into Canada. After WW2: Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie allowed immigrants of different races into Canada to ensure the country's economic growth. Canada became more accepting to different cultures such as Asians and Africans ever since 1960. 1978: Canada and Quebec have been sharing immigration responsibilities.
