War & Peace

Chapter 5

Unit 1: Pre Confederation

 Chapter Concept
Conquest and Consequences
 Lesson 5.1
How did the military events and their
consequences contribute to the
foundations of Canada?
Conquest and Consequences
● Canada is known for
peacekeeping

○ Working together to solve problems

● Countries don’t always get along

○ Disputes can lead to conflict

● France vs England was a common

conflict
● A country that is more powerful than almost all other
countries

● Current superpowers:

○ USA

○ China

○ Russia

○ Germany

● 1700s, France and England were competing

superpowers
○ Wealthy

○ Huge armies

Superpowers
French & English at War
● French and English were in
constant conflict (1690 -
1763)

● Similar interests
○ Wanted more territories
(including North America)

○ Wanted resources

● Rivals on land and sea

Perspectives on War
 Lesson 5.2
Why were France and England drawn into
conflict in North America?
 Crash
Course:
The
Seven
Years War
Background to War
● Seven Years War (1756) was
almost a world war
○ France and England had
territories around the world -
India, Africa, Caribbean, North
America

● Wanted resources and

territories

● Wanted to be the only

superpower
 French very well established in North
French Perspective ●
America

○ Had colonists in Prince Edward Island, Cape

Breton, Louisiana

○ Also in Acadia (Nova Scotia)

● Main French area was along St.

Lawrence River

○ Most born there, not in France

○ Saw themselves as Canadiens

● Sense of security

○ France for protection

○ Fortresses at Quebec and Louisbourg

 ● Thirteen Colonies outnumbered Canadiens
English Perspective ● Needed more farmland

○ Move into French territory

● Wanted to trade with more First Nations

● France controlled Ohio access to Valley

○ English felt trapped

● Atlantic region

○ Control the fisheries (cod)

○ Huge profit that Thirteen Colonies wanted

● St. Lawrence River

○ Gateway to the interior

Strengths & Weaknesses
Fortress at Quebec
● Strong sense of security

● Largest town in New France (8000) by 1750

● Center of power for French in North

America

● Quebec is two towns

○ Upper - walled fortress

○ Lower - port, shops, warehouses

● Quebec is at a narrowing of the river

○ All ships going into interior had to pass Quebec

and its range of cannons
Rumblings in the West
● War began in Ohio Valley

○ George Washington, 1754

○ Later become first President of USA

● Washington lost war in Ohio Valley

● British tired a second time and lost

○ French adopted battle tactics of First Nations

 Lesson 5.3
Why did the English expel the Acadians
from their land in Nova Scotia?
Prelude to War: Acadia
● Acadians were French descendants

● Acadia was under control of many

powers during the 1600s

● By 1710, British had stronghold on

Acadia

○ Acadian developed their own unique culture

○ Britain changed name to Nova Scotia

○ Britain allowed Acadians to live in peace

Way of Life in Acadia
● By 1750, 10 000 Acadians lived in
Nova Scotia

● Many married Mi’kmaq

● Most were French-speaking

Catholics

● Economy based on fishing and

farming
Caught in the middle
● Britain wanted more English in Nova Scotia

● Governor Charles Lawrence began

questioning Acadian and Mi’kmaq
allegiance

○ Mi’kmaq often captured British ships

● Acadians did not want to swear loyalty to

Britain

● 1755, Acadians given ultimatum

○ Swear loyalty or lose land

● Acadians wanted to remain neutral

● Acadians promised not to fight
against British

○ But refused to take British Oath

● Stage set for le Grand

Derangement - the Great
Upheaval
Expulsion of the Acadians
● Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(1982) did not exist in 1755

● Governor Lawrence thought

English were not safe with Acadians
living in Nova Scotia

○ Had proof when British found 300

armed Acadians defending Fort
Beausejour

● Order given

○ “The French inhabitants of the province

shall be removed out of the country as
soon as possible”
● British soldiers began rounding up Acadians

○ Separated families

○ Forced Acadians onto ships

○ Sent Acadians to far off lands

○ Burned down homes and churches

● Most Acadians shipped to New England colonies

● Some shipped to England, France, Caribbean

● Others escaped to New Orleans (part of New

France)

○ Formed the Cajun community

● Many Acadians did not survive deportation

○ Disease

○ Drowning

○ Starvation

● In total, 10 000 Acadians driven away from Nova Scotia

● War ended in 1763

○ Many Acadians returned but this time to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island

● There are approximately 300 000 Acadians living in Atlantic Canada today
 Lesson 5.4
How was the Battle on the Plains of
Abraham a turning point in Canadian
History?
The Struggle for Canada
● French and First Nation allies
were able to hold of British in the
Ohio Valley for a few years

● Only way for Britain to secure

victory was to capture French
strongholds of Quebec and
Louisbourg
Capturing Louisbourg
● Louisbourg needed to fall before Quebec

● 1758, British left Halifax and blockaded

Louisbourg

● Louisbourg was under siege

○ Cut off from supplies and reinforcements

○ Food ran low

○ British sank French ships

○ British hammered fortress with cannons

● French surrender Louisbourg after 7 weeks

Onward to Canada
● Fall of Louisbourg means St. Lawrence is now open

● 1759, General James Wolfe leads assault to Quebec

○ 200 ships (150 km long line)

○ 9000 soldiers

○ 18 000 sailors

● Battle of Quebec lasted 3 months

● French Commander, Marquis de Montcalm had 16 000

troops and fortress of Quebec

○ Montcalm just need to last until winter (freezing of St. Lawrence

River) to secure victory
Points of View: Before the Battle
● Wolfe on attack and needed to
draw French out of Quebec

● Montcalm had a well-defended

fortress and could not be out
under siege like Louisbourg

○ French cannons could hit British fleet

● Montcalm was under impression

reinforcements were on the way
Standoff
● 9 weeks of cannon fire from both sides

● Fortress hit hard but not captured

○ Montcalm kept soldiers inside

● British turned attention to countryside to

lure French troops from Quebec

○ Burned farmhouses and destroyed villages

● French habitants retreated to Quebec

Battle on
the Plains
of
Abraham
Battle on the Plains of Abraham
● Winter was coming

● Wolfe’s plan was to assemble troops on

the Plains of Abraham, outside Quebec

○ Midnight on September 12, 1759 British make

move

● When dawn broke thousands of British

were assembled on the Plains

○ Montcalm realizes reinforcements will not

arrive
● Montcalm decides to leave
Quebec and fight

● Battle lasted 15 minutes

○ 4400 British vs 4000 French

● 1300 soldiers died

● Wolfe and Montcalm both die

● French fled, Quebec fell

● Deadliest battle on Canadian soil

● Quebec lay in ruins

○ Everyone (French and British)

scrambled for survival before winter

○ More died of disease that winter than

in the battle

● French retreat to Montreal

● September 8, 1760 the French

officially surrender
 Canada
History:
Battle on
the Plains
of
Abraham
Legacy of the Colony
● French and First Nation allies controlled St.
Lawrence River Valley for over 150 years

● First newcomers to what will become Canada

● French pioneered the fur trade

● French travelled the interior

● French built successful farms and colonies

● Catholic Church laid foundation of public

responsibility for education and health

○ Canadian roots
 Lesson 5.5
What role did the First Nations play in
the war between France and England?
The First Nations & the War
● First Nations were deeply involved in
French and British war

● Most supported the French

● Some (like the Haudenosaunee)

supported the British

● First Nations did not know winner

would control all of North America,
including First Nation territories

● First Nations continued fight against

British even after French surrender
 ● France and England made peace
after war, 1763
Reason for Anxiety ● Most of North America given to
British

● Little to no mention of First Nations

○ French made English promise not to take

revenge on First Nations who sided with
French

● English take over fur trade and did

not follow French customs
(exchange of gifts)

● English moved into First Nation land

Pontiac’s War against the British
● Pontiac lead war against British

○ Leader of Odawa people

● Convinced other First Nations to allie and drive

out British from the Ohio Valley

● 1763, Pontiac lays siege to Detroit

● Pontiac’s allies also capture 7 of 10 British forts

to the south and west of Lake Erie

● Pontiac thought French would help, but French

already surrendered

● British respond, Pontiac falls

Tactics vs Physical Strength
● First Nations had good tactics compared to vast
numbers

● One British fort fell to tactics

○ First Nations gathered outside Fort to play lacrosse

○ British soldiers watch as spectators

○ Lacrosse turns into intense sporting match

○ British let guard down

○ Lacrosse ball gets thrown into fort by “accident”

○ First Nations attack fort on the way in to “chase” the ball

○ Fort falls within minutes

 USA Parks:
Attack on
Michilimackinac
 Lesson 5.6
How did the British treatment of their
new colonies and the people who lived
there influence the future of Canada?
After the War
● War’s end was challenge
for all - Canadiens, English
Newcomers, First Nations,
and Metis
○ How can all these different
people live in a single
colony?
New Challenges
● First Nations were worried about
losing access to land

● Canadiens had to rebuild

○ Would British allow language?

○ Would British allow religion?

● British had to rule an additional

70 000 people who were different

○ Language, religion, government, laws,

way of life, alliances
Treaty of Paris: 1763
● War for New France ended in
Montreal in 1760

● English and French War

continued elsewhere until 1763

● Treaty of Paris

○ France officially gives up New France

○ France gets Guadeloupe (sugar island)

and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon off
coast of Newfoundland
Choices for the Future
● Eviction? ● Accomodation?
○ Kick out the Canadiens ○ Leave Canadiens alone

● Assimilation? ● First Nations?

○ Pressure Canadiens to give up ○ Make land agreements
French values and adopt British
values ● New England?

○ Reward for fighting

○ Allow them to set up business in Quebec

Choices for the Future
Royal Proclamation of 1763
● Britain chooses assimilation

● King George III laid out plans

● Attracted Anglophones to Quebec

● Brought British laws to Quebec

● Prevented settlement west of

Appalachians - forced
Americans to farm in Quebec
Recognition of First Nations
● Pontiac’s war made British
realize they need to pay
attention to First Nations

● Royal Proclamation gave

First Nations all lands west
of Appalachians
○ No Europeans allowed
Quebec Act of 1774
● Assimilation of Canadiens failed

○ Sense of identity too strong

○ English did not want to come to Quebec

● Thirteen Colonies becoming annoyed

with Britain

○ Britain needed help dealing with Thirteen

Colonies

● Help with Thirteen Colonies meant

making Canadien loyal

○ Recognize Canadien rights - Quebec Act

Quebec Act of 1774
Beginnings of Bilingual Canada
● Bilingualism - recognition of
French and English as official
languages

● Right to conduct government

business in either language

● Central part of Canadian identity

today

○ Originated in Quebec Act

○ Peace between English and French in

North America