Canadian History: Pre-Confederation John Belshaw Canadian History: Pre-Confederation Canadian History: Pre-Confederation John Douglas Belshaw Unless otherwise noted within this book, this book is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License also known as a CC-BY license. This means you are free to copy, redistribute, modify or adapt this book. Under this license, anyone who redistributes or modifies this textbook, in whole or in part, can do so for free providing they properly attribute the book as follows: Canadian History: Pre-Confederation by John Douglas Belshaw is used under a CC-BY 4.0 International license. Additionally, if you redistribute this textbook, in whole or in part, in either a print or digital format, then you must retain on every physical and/or electronic page the following attribution: Download this book for free at http://open.bccampus.ca For questions regarding this license or to learn more about the BC Open Textbook Project, please contact [email protected]. Cover image: Nanaimo Indians, Vancouver Island, British Columbia by US National Archives bot is in the public domain. Canadian History: Pre-Confederation by John Douglas Belshaw is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Contents Dedication x About the Book xi Acknowledgments xii Author's Notes xiii Preface xv Chapter 1. When Was Canada? 1.1 Introduction 2 cc-by-nc-sa 1.2 The Writing of History 3 cc-by-nc-sa 1.3 Making Histories 10 cc-by-nc-sa 1.4 The Current State of Historical Writing in Canada 20 cc-by-nc-sa 1.5 Summary 25 cc-by-nc-sa Chapter 2. Aboriginal Canada before Contact 2.1 Introduction 30 cc-by-nc-sa 2.2 History without Archives 31 cc-by-nc-sa 2.3 The Aboriginal Americas 38 cc-by-nc-sa 2.4 The Millennia before Contact 45 cc-by-nc-sa 2.5 Languages, Cultures, Economies 54 cc-by-nc-sa 2.6 Summary 59 cc-by-nc-sa iv Chapter 3. The Transatlantic Age 3.1 Introduction 66 cc-by-sa 3.2 Beginnings of Globalism 68 cc-by-sa 3.3 The Seafaring World of the 15th and 16th Centuries 72 cc-by-sa 3.4 England and France in the Age of Discovery 76 cc-by-sa 3.5 The Columbian Age 79 cc-by-sa 3.6 France in the Americas 82 cc-by-sa 3.7 Summary 87 cc-by-sa Chapter 4. New France 4.1 Introduction 92 4.2 Acadia 94 4.3 Canada, 1608-1663 99 4.4 Wendake/Huronia and the Fur Trade 103 4.5 The Heroic Age of New France 106 4.6 Canada, 1663-1763 109 4.7 Canada and Catholicism 117 4.8 Louisiana and the Pays d'en Haut 120 4.9 War in the Pays d'en Haut 125 4.10 Summary 127 Chapter 5. Aboriginal Canada in the Era of Contact 5.1 Introduction 132 cc-by-nc-sa 5.2 The Columbian Exchange 134 cc-by-nc-sa 5.3 The Widowed Land 140 cc-by-nc-sa 5.4 Strategic Encounters 147 cc-by-nc-sa 5.5 Strategic Alliances 153 cc-by-nc-sa 5.6 Belief and Culture: The Wendat Experience 158 cc-by-nc-sa 5.7 The Five Nations: War, Population, and Diplomacy 163 cc-by-nc-sa v 5.8 Summary 167 cc-by-nc-sa Chapter 6. Intercolonial Rivalries, Imperial Ambitions, and the Conquest 6.1 Introduction 171 cc-by-sa 6.2 The British Colonies, ca.1600-1700 172 cc-by-sa 6.3 Competing Mercantile Economies 174 cc-by-sa 6.4 International Fisheries 177 cc-by-sa 6.5 The Plantation Colonies 179 cc-by-sa 6.6 Contrasting Farming Frontiers 181 cc-by-sa 6.7 Triangular Trade 184 cc-by-sa 6.8 The Fur Trade in Global Perspective 187 cc-by-sa 6.9 Colonial Conflict to 1713 190 cc-by-sa 6.10 Acadia 1713-1755 194 cc-by-sa 6.11 The Seven Years' War 200 cc-by-sa 6.12 Summary 208 cc-by-sa Chapter 7. British North America at Peace and at War (1763-1818) 7.1 Introduction 214 cc-by-nc-sa 7.2 Pyrrhic Victories 215 cc-by-nc-sa 7.3 Government 219 cc-by-nc-sa 7.4 Revolutionary British America 225 cc-by-nc-sa 7.5 Interwar Years: The Atlantic Colonies 233 cc-by-nc-sa 7.6 Interwar Years: The Canadas 241 cc-by-nc-sa vi 7.7 Slavery 249 cc-by-nc-sa 7.8 The War of 1812 252 cc-by-nc-sa 7.9 Summary 259 cc-by-nc-sa Chapter 8. Rupert's Land and the Northern Plains, 1690-1870 8.1 Introduction 266 8.2 Northerners 268 8.3 Intrusions during the 17th Century 271 8.4 Commerce, Collusion, and Conflict in the 18th Century 276 8.5 The Montrealers versus the HBC 280 8.6 Fur Trade Wars 284 8.7 Cultural Change on the Plains 287 8.8 Fur Trade Society and the Métis 291 8.9 Community and Crisis at Red River 295 8.10 The New HBC and the New Nation to 1860 298 8.11 Environmental Apocaplyse 303 8.12 Summary 307 Chapter 9. Economic Transformation and Continuity, 1818-1860s 9.1 Introduction 313 9.2 The Dismal Science 314 9.3 British North America between the Wars 319 9.4 The Lower Canadian Economy 321 9.5 Building the Wheat Economy in Upper Canada 323 9.6 The Atlantic Colonies 326 9.7 The Canal Era 331 9.8 Economic and Social Change 334 9.9 Manufacturing, Railways, and Industry: Early Days 338 9.10 Reciprocity and Free Trade 344 9.11 Summary 347 Chapter 10. Societies of British North America to 1860 10.1 Introduction 353 10.2 Demographics 355 10.3 Immigration 359 10.4 Country Life 363 10.5 City Life 366 10.6 Social Classes 370 10.7 Gender Roles 380 10.8 Race and Racism 386 10.9 Education 390 10.10 Leisure and Recreation 394 10.11 Summary 401 vii Chapter 11. Politics to 1860 11.1 Introduction 408 11.2 Politics 1818-1860 412 11.3 Upper and Lower Canada 416 11.4 The Tory Oligarchy 417 11.5 Ultramontanism and Secularism 419 11.6 Republicanism in Canada 420 11.7 The Press 421 11.8 Labour and Its Discontents 424 11.9 Early Reformism and Reformers 426 11.10 Rebellions, 1837-38 428 11.11 Durham and Union 434 11.12 Responsible Government 436 11.13 Seats of Government 439 11.14 The 1850s 442 11.15 Aboriginal Politics at Mid-Century 449 11.16 Summary 454 Chapter 12. Children and Childhood 12.1 Introduction 459 12.2 Childhood in a Dangerous Time 461 12.3 Childhood in New France and Lower Canada 464 12.4 Childhood in the West 467 12.5 Children at Work 470 12.6 Childhood under Attack 474 12.7 Children as Historic Actors 475 12.8 Summary 477 Chapter 13. The Farthest West 13.1 Introduction 480 13.2 Aboriginal Societies in the 18th Century 482 13.3 Fur Trade and Empires 488 13.4 The Canadian Cordillera 498 13.5 Aboriginal Traders 503 13.6 Boundary Disputes and Manifest Destiny 509 13.7 Identity Crisis 513 13.8 The Island Colony 518 13.9 The Gold Colony 525 13.10 A Shrinking Aboriginal Landscape in the 1860s 531 13.11 Summary 536 Chapter 14. The 1860s: Confederation and Its Discontents 14.1 Introduction 542 14.2 Considering Confederation 545 14.3 Confederation as a Cure-All 550 14.4 Crafting a Constitution 556 14.5 Atlantic Canada and Confederation 559 14.6 Canada and the West 564 viii 14.7 On the Brink of Industrialization 569 14.8 Summary 572 Appendix 576 Appendix - Glossary 577 About the Author and Contributors 608 ix x • CANADIAN HISTORY: PRE-CONFEDERATION Dedication Dedicated to the memory of Mr. George Porges (d.2004), whose introductory History courses at Douglas College were truly inspired. x About the Book Canadian History: Pre-Confederation was created by John Douglas Belshaw. This creation is a part of the B.C. Open Textbook project. This book is the first, in a two part collection, by this author; also see Canadian History: Post-Confederation. In October 2012, the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education announced its support for the creation of open textbooks for the 40 highest-enrolled first and second year subject areas in the province’s public post-secondary system. Open textbooks are open educational resources (OER); they are instructional resources created and shared in ways so that more people have access to them. This is a different model than traditionally copyrighted materials. OER are defined as teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others (Hewlett Foundation). Our open textbooks are openly licensed using a Creative Commons license, and are offered in various e-book formats free of charge, or as printed books that are available at cost. For more information about this project, please contact [email protected]. If you are an instructor who is using this book for a course, please fill out an adoption form to let us know. xi xii • CANADIAN HISTORY: PRE-CONFEDERATION Acknowledgments Preparing the first open text on Canadian history has been an exercise in innovation and experimentation.