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Jan 1, 1500
Bering Strait land Bridge
The Amerindians came to North America from Siberia (Russia) using the Bering Strait land Bridge during the 1500s. It was the first major migration flow. -
Period: Sep 8, 1500 to
Population
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Sep 16, 1500
Amerindians Spread out in Canada
There are three sociolinguistic (the language that defines their society/group) First Nation groups in Quebec: Inuit, Algonquin and Iroquois. The Inuits are found up north in colder territory, the Algonquins are found in the Canadian Shield in territory less favorable to agriculture and the Iroquois are found in lower territory better for agriculture . -
Sep 8, 1534
Jacques Cartier Voyages
During his first voyage in 1534, Cartier only explored the gulf of St. Laurent. He did this with the goals to find a route to Asia, find minerals, spices and/or gold and to claim new land for the king of France. He went on his second voyage in 1535 and explored the St. Laurent River. On this trip he encounters First Nation People at Stadacona and Hochelaga. He does his third and final trip in 1541 and tries to settle land doesn't work out because they were not prepared for the harsh winter. -
Samuel Champlain and the settlement of Quebec
Samuel Champlain settled Quebec in 1608 after 4 voyages. It was the first settlement in Canada. Quebec was established with the goal to facilitate the fur trade with the Amerindians. But since the region is very narrow, it allowed the french to control river traffic. Samuel first makes contact with the Algonquins, Therefore the Iroquois have the mindset that the french are enemies. Champlain became friends with the Algonquins thanks to fur trading. -
Company of 100 Associates
In 1627, the king of France asked the Company of One Hundred Associates to populate the colony of New France in exchange for a monopoly on the fur trade. The Company of One Hundred Associates had to finance their own trips, settle in Canada, protect the land and bring settlers with them to New France. However, this plan failed because the Company didn’t bring many setters nor settle in Canada. The people who came were mostly men who came for the fur trade or to battle against the Iroquois. -
The Settlement of Trois-Rivières
In 1634, Samuel de Champlain put Sieur de Laviolette in charge of founding a second french settlement in Quebec. Champlain wanted it at the junction of the St. Maurice river and the St. Lawrence rivers so that the furriers could communicate with each other and prevent the Iroquois from intercepting their trades. Thus, Laviolette founded Trois-Rivières. -
The Settlement of Ville-Marie
In 1642, Paul Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, founded Ville-Marie. He placed it close to the Iroquois village of Hochelaga with the goal to evangelize the Amerindians. However, it quickly became a major trading post because it was located right in the middle of the Amerindian Territory. Ville-Marie is now known as Montreal. -
Intendant Jean Talon (Part. 2)
The Filles du Roy were girls, often orphans, send to New France to balance out the Male to Female ratio. The king would grant them a dowry or fifty livres to find a spouse in New France. This was called Politics of immigration. Talon also implemented laws called Birth incentives. There were laws that rewarded people who got married early and who had large families. However, there were also laws that punished people who didn't get married or who had kids that weren't married by a certain age. -
Intendant Jean Talon (Part. 1)
In 1663, King Louis XIV Sends Jean Talon to New France to be in charge of New France. Jean Talon implemented various measures to attract people to New France. First off, he focused on attracting 3 main groups: Workers or "engagés" were given free land and a fully paid trip to New France in exchange that they stay for 3 years, Soldiers sent to contain the Iroquois were encouraged to remain in New France by offering them money and land, (Continued in Part. 2) -
Royal Proclamation
This was the document that officially gave New France to the British in 1763 following the Seven Year War. It renamed the territory to the province of Quebec. English laws and Anglican church were introduced to the territory in order to attract British colonists. This meant that Catholicism and French Law were no longer allowed. -
British Takeover
Between 1756 and 1763, there was a war in Europe between the French and the English.Therefore, the tension between them continued in New France and the British wanted the French out of North America. The English started taking over French settlements: Louisbourg in 1758, Quebec City in 1759 and Montreal in 1760. From 1760 to 1763, New France was under British Military rule until 1763 when the Seven Year War ended in Europe. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was made with hopes that the french wouldn’t revolt against the British like the 13 colonists at the time. This act expanded the province's territory, replaced the oath of allegiance with one that no longer made reference to the Protestant faith, guaranteed free practice of Catholic faith and restored the use of french civil law for private matters while maintaining the use of English common law for public administration, including criminal prosecution. -
Loyalist Migration During the American Revolution
In 1776, the 13 colonies officially declared their independence from British control. However, many people still remained loyal to the King of England and chose to come to British North America. Nearly 15-20% of the population remained loyal to the King of England. About 46000 loyalists came to British North America. Among them, two thousand settled in Quebec. -
Constitutional Act
The Constitutional Act had two major impacts on British North America. Firstly, it opened up land to be given to Loyalists entering Canada Following the American Revolution. Secondly, divided British North America into parts: Upper Canada (Ontario) which was mainly English-Canadian and Lower Canada (Quebec) which was Mainly French Canadian. This division was due to the conflicts between the French and English. -
British Immigration To Canada
In 1815, Great Britain had some major problems. The population was increasing rapidly, the unemployment rate was high and there were periodic outbreaks of famine and epidemics. So, the British government encouraged unemployed families to emigrate to its colonies. Canada was heavily promoted in the newspapers as a welcoming land for settlement. At first, the British government funded settlement in Canada but ended the program after ten years due to it being too costly. -
Exodus of French Canadians to the United States
starting in 1830, many French Canadians emigrated to the United States. This was due to an agricultural crisis. Many of the harvests were damaged or destroyed by disease or bad weather. Also, there wasn't enough land suitable for cultivation due to an increase in population. Fewer people could live off the land and there were few factories in East Canada. This exodus slowed the birth rate after a staggering one in the 18th and 19th centuries. This exodus continued for many years. -
Act of Union
In 1840, a French Canadian rebel group called the Patriotes wanted better representation for the French speaking people and businessmen. The result of this demand was the Act of Union. This act united both lower Canada and Upper Canada into one territory, Canada. The goal of this was that with the merge, the french would be assimilated. English became the official language of Canada. -
The Great Famine
Between 1845 and 1852, there was a period of mass starvation in Ireland. The main food source was potatoes and this disease made the potatoes not fit to eat. Approximately 1 million people died in Ireland due to the disease. Therefore, many Irish emigrated to Canada, around 1 million immigrated. However, To make sure they are fit and well, they made a quarantine station at Grosse-Île which all incoming immigrants had to pass through to prevent disease from spreading. -
The Confederation
In 1867, Under the British North Act, the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario and Nova Scotia join together to create the Dominion of Canada. There were nearly 3.4 million people in the Dominion at the time of the confederation and more than 1 million were French Canadians which represented about 30% of the population in the dominion. This Confederation also entrusted the responsibility for Indian affairs to the federal government. -
The Federal Government
1867 was the birth year of the Canadian federation. The federal government was led by John A. Macdonald. Macdonald suggested an immigration policy to either stimulate or restrict immigration. They decided to implement an immigration policy to stimulate immigration and the government encouraged massive immigrant settlements to Western Canada at the end of the 19th century. The Canadian Pacific along with other railroad companies advertised in Europe to attract immigrants. -
John A. Macdonald's National Policy.
In 1876, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald implemented his National Policy. The goal of this policy was to build a railroad to make it easier to settle in Canada. However, he needed workers to build the railroad. He got his workers through the immigration efforts of the federal government and the advertisements in Europe from the Canadian Pacific and other railroad companies. He also wanted to settle the west of the dominion through immigration. -
The Indian Act
In 1876, John A. Macdonald started construction on his railroad plan. But, he needed to own the land to build on it. Some of the land more West in Canada was owned by the Native groups at the time. So in exchange for their land, the natives would live on reserves. The Amerindians were the only people who were allowed to hunt and fish in these regions and they wouldn't have to pay taxes. Another motif of the British Government for the reserves was to "civilize" the Natives. -
The Immigration Act of 1952
In 1952, Canada had specified criteria for immigrants. Some groups of people were prioritized while other people were excluded. These criteria were enforced depending on needs. However, the government eliminated any criteria that were racially discriminatory in 1962. The immigration Act was replaced with “The White Paper” which was based on skills, knowledge of French and English and level of English. -
The Baby Boom
After the second World War, the return of the troops and an economic prosperity lead to the growth of the population with marriages and births increasing. In 1960 The fertility rate rose to 3.84 children per woman and the mortality rate decreased due to the fact that 94% of women were giving birth in hospitals now compared to only 16% in 1940. Due to the Baby Boom, the average age of the population decreased and the State had to invest in Hospitals, Schools, and other public institutions. -
the Quiet Revolution
By the 1960s, with the modernization of Quebec through the Quiet revolution, the baby boom ended as many women no longer wanted to have as many children and wanted to have their own jobs. As well, contraception was now widely used so many families only had one or two children and many people were not getting married traditional way and lived in common law or had civil marriages.
