Canada - British colony

The conquest of Canada was accompanied by the distribution of awards. British soldiers and officers were offered allotments in the conquered colony. Those who distinguished themselves in battles were promoted in ranks. General Amherst received the title of baron, and was later promoted to field marshal. The victors brought with them efficiency, foresight and quickness.

The British immediately set up printing business - they opened a printing house. The study and survey of the coastline of the captured region were deployed. The work was headed by the famous navigator James Cook. For several years, he and his associates compiled a detailed and accurate description of the coast of Acadia and Newfoundland, for which the French did not have enough time before. Lighthouses and signal stations appeared on the coast. Between the colony and the British metropolis, regular flights of merchant and transport ships were established.

Along the Great Lakes, British Army officers hastily established a network of new strongholds. In 1793, Fort York (now Toronto) appeared in this way, a year later - Kingston and Niagara-on-Lake, in 1796 - Fort Erie. In 1800, Baytown appeared on the maps - a lumberjack village on the coast of Ottawa.

The British immediately intensified the search for the Northwest Passage to Asia, which was stopped by the French in the 17th century. Research expeditions headed to the Pacific coast - first by James Cook, then by George Vancouver. Captain Vancouver established contacts with Russian pioneers from Alaska. Contacts were peaceful in nature and were accompanied by an exchange of geographical information. In particular, our pioneers ("industrialists") provided English sailors with homemade maps of several sections of the Pacific coast. The results of the expeditions allowed the British to establish a new colony on the shores of the Pacific Ocean - British Columbia. The word "industrialists" (pro-myshlenniki) was used for a long time in it and entered the "Canadian Encyclopedia".

Work has accelerated on digging channels around the shallows on the St. Lawrence River. Completed in the first third of the 19th century, they facilitated, reduced the cost and accelerated water communication in a vast region from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes.

The winners showed generosity and justice. The tone was set by the first British governor of Quebec, General James Murray, who replaced Wolf. He respected the vanquished, whom he called "the brave people." Resolutely suppressed the atrocities perpetrated by his troops in the captured city. Servicemen convicted of violence against the civilian population were publicly and severely punished. General Murray also limited the appetites of British merchants, who, taking advantage of the shortage of the most necessary things in the devastated region, bought furs for next to nothing and engaged in land speculation. Dissatisfied with this, the London merchants achieved the recall of the far-sighted and decent Murray (1768), but General Guy Carleton, who replaced him, continued the policy of his predecessor.

Already before the Peace of Paris, the remnants of the French troops - about 4 thousand people - left New France without hindrance. Then George III, by a proclamation of 1763, allowed all other inhabitants of the conquered colony to leave it. The British undertook to transport them to the Old World for free. However, only a few hundred people left - the governor, officials, merchants and officers. Others - landowners, tenants, priests, small traders, fishermen and voyagers - remained in the country, which they rightfully considered their homeland. They perceived France as a distant and generally foreign country.

The British Empire did not dare to physically exterminate tens of thousands of "Canadiens" or forcibly evict them. Therefore, the victors had to coexist with the vanquished. By a royal proclamation of 1763, Britain promised the latter respect for their property, customs and religion, and even the establishment of an elected assembly on the American model, which was not the case in New France. The Canadiens were released from the oath to the British king - the promise to be loyal to England was enough.

The British colonial authorities allowed the previously expelled Acadians to return to their native places, but, unlike the Quebecers, they did not guarantee property rights. The Acadians who returned to their homeland (and there were about half of them) found that their houses and lands were seized by colonists from New England, and they were not entitled to compensation.

As early as 1764 martial law was lifted in Quebec. A governor-general was appointed to the colony, and British garrisons were left in Quebec City and Montreal. Quebec City, in addition, became another base of the British fleet. The official language was immediately declared English (language guarantees were not given to the vanquished). British criminal law was introduced in the colony.

The time has come for redrawing the borders and numerous renamings. The policy of London and its colonial governors clearly showed a tendency to Anglicize the conquered lands. Immediately after the Peace of Paris, New France was renamed Quebec and its territory was greatly reduced. Quebec City (French for "Ville de Quebec") was given a new name, Quebec City. The Great Lakes region, Labrador and St. John's Island were not included in Quebec. The British renamed Acadia Nova Scotia, expanding its territory at the expense of Quebec. St. John's Island was renamed Prince Edward Island. The island on which Louisbourg was located became known as Cape Breton. From Nova Scotia, a new colony was singled out - New Brunswick.

Together, these colonies, together with Newfoundland, formed British North America. However, this concept has so far been only geographical, not administrative. Each of these colonies remained a separate territorial unit and was directly subordinate to the metropolis.

As Choiseul had foreseen, the Peace of Paris brought great costs along with benefits to the British Empire. First, in 1763, on the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario, Indians rebelled, led by an outstanding and courageous leader, Pontiac, who is sometimes compared to Spartacus. Having managed to overcome the traditional tribal strife, Pontiac united a number of tribes against the British - the Hurons, the Ottawa, the Seneca. From the tribal coalition, an Indian state could later arise. The rebels defeated two small English garrisons in the Des Trois (Detroit) area and captured a number of forts. It was not possible to suppress the uprising by military force. To prevent the likely association of the Indians with the "Canadiens", London hastily issued the previously mentioned proclamation of 1763.

After two years of fighting, Governor Murray, with the consent of the mother country, made peace with Pontiac. Its main condition was the preservation of the rights of tribes friendly to England to the lands they occupied. Then the British, patronizing some tribes and intriguing against others, destroyed the tribal coalition created by Pontiac. The murder of Pontiac (1769) by an Indian from another tribe on domestic grounds was accepted by the British colonial authorities with great relief.

But in the meantime, the inhabitants of 13 colonies, freed from the French danger, entered into conflict with the British crown. Particularly tense was the situation in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania geographically close to Quebec.

In an effort to avoid joining the Canadiens with the restless Americans, the British government issued the Act for the Better Government of Quebec (Quebec Act) in 1774, with important consequences. Firstly, in the Act, all the religious and property rights of the Quebecers were once again solemnly guaranteed and confirmed the preservation in the colony of the French language familiar to its inhabitants. civil law. Secondly, in accordance with the Act, Quebec territory was significantly expanded - Louisiana joined Quebec - a huge territory between the Great Lakes, Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The occupation of land in this territory was declared an illegal act, which in no way offended the interests of the small Quebecers with their 30-hectare allotments, but put a barrier to the expansion of American squatters. Thirdly, the British authorities pledged to respect the customs and interests of the Indian tribes.

The concessions to the Canadiens were made on time. The population of the St. Lawrence Valley did not revolt. Paradoxically, but the fact is that Quebec, recently conquered by the British, remained the backbone of the British Empire. On the other hand, the Quebec Act actually brought the American Revolution closer. In the same 1774, new battles broke out in the Ohio Valley - now between the English-speaking colonists and British soldiers, and the following year 13 colonies rebelled, declaring themselves independent republic-states. The Americans assured that they were fighting for the freedom and self-determination of all peoples. But having not yet completely broken with Britain, without having a Declaration of Independence, the rebels in September 1775 sent several detachments to the borders of Quebec, which captured Tyconderoga and the forts near Lake Champlain. It was an impressive example of the export of revolution: if there is no revolution in the country, it should be brought with bayonets.

The Americans, led by two self-proclaimed commanders - Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold - captured Montreal without a fight in November, and a month later they approached the walls of Quebec. As long as the volunteers faithfully paid for food and shelter, they did well. It seemed that the British flag was not destined to fly over the St. Lawrence Valley. But contrary to the calculations of the Americans, few people joined them.

Calls to rebel against the "tyrant George III" did not find mass support. Catholic Franco-Quebecs feared, and not without reason, oppression by Protestant Americans. They were not inspired by the incomprehensible slogan of freedom of enterprise, which did not fit well with their established way of life and Catholic ethics, which emphasizes not material success, but purity of soul. The Bishop of Quebec urged fellow believers not to support the Americans. When the revolutionary interventionists ran out of money, the peasants refused to supply them with food. Requisitions also caused bitterness of the local population.

Governor General Guy Carlton was a gallant professional warrior. True, at first he made a political miscalculation - he relied on the loyalty of the "Canadiens" and waited for their active struggle against the Americans. But that did not happen. Due to tactical blunders by the British, the Americans managed to cut off Carlton with a small detachment from the Quebec fortress. But he got out. Disguised as a farmer, the governor made his way to Quebec City. He allowed the enemy to go north on impassable roads in frosts, and he himself, without getting involved in small battles, hastily pulled the available troops into the fortress. The British forces were small, but well-equipped and disciplined. As in 1760, they had more artillery. From the side of the sea and the St. Lawrence River, they were supported by a squadron. The Americans did not have ships.

Montgomery, on the night of January 1, 1776, got involved in an adventure - he threw disorderly, starving detachments (no more than 2 thousand people) into the assault. This was the fifth and last attempt to capture Quebec by an enemy army. A strong snowstorm hampered the actions of the attackers and significantly helped the defenders. The fight ended in victory for Carlton. Montgomery and many of his officers died. The British took over 400 prisoners.

True, another exporter of the revolution, Arnold, continued to besiege the fortress until April. But when the sea cleared of ice, Carleton called in reinforcements from Halifax. After the arrival of the squadron, Arnold, without a fight, with the remnants of the demoralized troops, hastily retreated south to the very border. Carlton's army entered Montreal and Tyconderoga in May. After these events, the Americans did not try to take possession of Canada for several decades. Carlton was later reproached for refusing to pursue the enemy. But the governor hardly had such an opportunity.

The victor in the battle of Quebec had to reap the fruits of London's previous policy in Nova Scotia - a rebellion broke out there against British rule. Part of the ground forces and warships had to be moved against the rebels. The struggle in the land part of Nova Scotia lasted until the summer of 1777. Raids by Nova Scotia privateers against British merchants continued until the end of the American War. Quebec and New Brunswick did not support the rebels. Their population, especially the "Canadiens", as a whole remained an observer of events, but not a participant. The policies of Murray and Carlton bore fruit that the metropolis needed. Nova Scotia was the only part of Canada to take part in the American Revolution. The Nova Scots got the curious nickname "His Majesty's Yankees." The uprising of the Nova Scots affected the general course of the American War, making it difficult for the British.

Having suppressed resistance in Nova Scotia and using Quebec as a base, the British command at the end of 1777 took almost all military units from Carleton and moved them to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. But time was lost, and the campaign victoriously launched near Lake Champlain ended with the capitulation of the British in the famous battle of Saratoga.

The English General John Burgoyne ignored the experience of Wolfe and Carlton and acted like Montcalm and Montgomery. With a 10,000-strong army, consisting mainly of German mercenaries and Indians, he moved in a forced march through forests and swamps, not conducting reconnaissance, but finding a strong enemy (18 thousand people), he recklessly attacked him. The American commanders who opposed him used the experience of the defensive and guerrilla operations of the Canadiens, who had previously defeated them more than once.

After Saratoga, the St. Lawrence Valley was covered by extremely small British garrisons, but there was no new American invasion. George Washington rejected such proposals from the French, who sent a squadron to Boston and insisted on the need for the return of Canada. The defeat of Montgomery and Arnold for a long time discouraged the Americans from military expeditions to the north.

In the second half of the American War, the British government sent the victorious Carleton to New York, counting on a turning point in the hostilities. However, Carlton could not work miracles. His troops, however, held New York until 1782, allowing many adherents of the British crown to be evacuated from there, but they did not achieve more.

Under the Peace of Paris in 1783, the British Empire lost 13 colonies, but retained Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Trade with the Americans was prohibited. The rights of the Hudson's Bay Company were confirmed. The exact boundaries were not defined, which later gave rise to a number of territorial conflicts.

The population of Quebec and New Brunswick began to increase. Under the terms of the peace, all opponents of the revolution (with their families - about 100 thousand people), nicknamed loyalists, were expelled from the States. About half of them - with the permission of London and on the advice of General Carleton - went to the British colonies. Including more than 10 thousand people came to Quebec, more than 20 thousand to Nova Scotia, almost 10 thousand to New Brunswick. These were mainly planters, merchants, lawyers, priests. For the first time, thousands of political refugees arrived within what is now Canada. Many of them were ruined. The British colonial authorities provided them with financial assistance and allocated large plots of land, but not in private ownership, but on the principle of feudal holding. In addition, loyalists did not get the freedom of movement they were used to in the American colonies. The colonial authorities settled them only on the border with the States, not allowing them to move inland. In vast and sparsely populated Canada, the land question arose.

The result was tension in all five colonies except Prince Edward Island. Many Loyalists took their complaints to the British Parliament, others went directly to George III. They refused to pay taxes. There was a danger of the Loyalists uniting with the Canadiens.

Then London in 1791 issued the Constitutional Act. The five colonies were renamed British North America, headed by a governor-general. Each colony received a governor, a bicameral legislature, a separate electoral system, and a court system. At the same time, Quebec was divided into two provinces - Upper and Lower Canada with a border along the Ottawa River. In Upper Canada and Prince Edward Island, where English-speaking Loyalists were in the majority, it was made a matter of principle that land be given away by the Governor and the Assembly for free use. In Upper (French-speaking) Canada, this principle was introduced, but on an optional basis. In the valley of the St. Lawrence, a seigneurial system based on feudal law was preserved. A third of all free land was reserved for the Crown and the Anglican Church. In Lower Canada, the rights of the Catholic Church were preserved. However, in both Canadas, the privileged position of the Anglican Church was consolidated.

The act of 1791 was a step forward in the political, legal and economic development five (now six) colonies. The colony management system became uniform. Qualified suffrage and elections were introduced. Front agriculture part of the colonies opened the way to the unhindered development of commodity-money relations. The inviolability of French civil law was guaranteed. Many of these concessions were made under the influence of the American Revolution.

But these concessions were very insufficient. The creation of British North America remained nominal - the six colonies continued to exist independently of each other. The colonial legislative assemblies created in them did not have power. The main part of the power was retained by the colonial governors and the governor-general appointed over them. There was still no freedom of enterprise and most political freedoms. The allocation of a huge fund of crown and church lands immediately created fertile ground for favoritism. The alien status of the state Anglican Church, which enjoyed significant privileges, was mechanically transferred to North America. Only the British could be governors-general and governors, so the widespread use of in English as official.

By issuing the Constitutional Act, the ruling circles of the metropolis took advantage of the fragmentation of local interests, the conservatism of loyalists and "Canadians", the discord between Catholics, Protestants and Anglicans living in the colonies.

In 1794, under the influence of the diplomats of the French Republic, anti-colonial unrest took place in the St. Lawrence Valley, but they did not become massive and were not supported by loyalists. Upper Canada remained calm. Taking advantage of this, the authorities of Lower Canada suppressed the unrest without the use of military force.

Under the shadow of the British colonial authorities in both Canada, a trading and landowning oligarchy soon formed, closely allied with bureaucracy and officers. The oligarchy became the surest support of colonial rule. In Upper Canada, the people dubbed it the "family clique", in Lower Canada - the "palace guard".

The end of the 18th century was marked by the beginning of immigration from the British Isles. Ruined farmers began to arrive in British North America, unable to compete with land magnates, artisans who lost their earnings during the Industrial Revolution. There were even people from wealthy families, forced out of their homeland by the inexorable right of the lordship. The settlers were mainly of Scottish and Irish origin, there were not many Englishmen among them.

There were no immigration programs then. But the ruling circles of the United Kingdom, seeing in the mass exodus of the dispossessed to the colony as a means of preventing political unrest in the mother country, did not put up obstacles for them. It was not uncommon for shipowners to transport immigrants across the ocean at reduced prices or on credit.

The increasingly numerous immigration from Britain gradually changed the national and religious composition of the population. Throughout British North America, the proportion of English-speaking Protestants began to increase at the expense of old-timers - French-speaking Catholics. After all, the Franco-Quebecians after 1763 ceased to receive any replenishment from their former mother country. (Emigrants from France have since gone to Europe, the West Indies, even Senegal, but very rarely to Quebec.)

If before the American War no more than 5,000 people arrived from the British Isles for permanent residence in six colonies, then in 60 years after it - about 600,000. By the middle of the XIX century. the proportion of English-speakers in the total population increased from 4% in 1763 to 14% in 1791 and to 50% in 1850. From the majority of the population, the "Canadiens" turned into a minority. And the proportion of Indians has become very low.

The new arrivals could not occupy the same social niche in the colonial society. For example, the poor from Ireland, with its extremely low standard of living in Quebec, became mainly diggers, lumberjacks, and sailors. The Scottish Highlanders, who settled mainly around Halifax and Cape Breton, mastered agriculture, fishing and coal mines. And the English, Lowland Scots and American Loyalists rushed mainly to the cities, where they contributed to the creation of an urban economy that had practically never existed before, and, naturally, occupied dominant positions in it.

In fact, the cities of the four colonies began to really develop only with the arrival of thousands of English-speaking immigrants who brought with them British practicality, efficiency and initial capital. Halifax and Montreal began to develop at a faster pace. English settlers founded a number of new cities - York (Toronto), Kingston, Hamilton, Bytown, etc.

Since then, the Anglo-Scottish entrepreneurial dynasties of the Berings, Ogilvies, Porteouss, Elliots and others have set the tone for over 100 years in finance, industry and the service sector of Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto and Halifax. Etons - over wholesale trade food, the Allans, Berings, McNabs, and Abbots over most banks; the Macmillans, McMasters, Sinclairs, Stanfields, Westons, and Fergusons over the industrial sector; and newspaper business.

In the colonies, the English-language names of villages, cities, rivers, counties, constituencies, etc., became more and more widespread. In imitation of the metropolis, Brentford, Cambridge, Kent, New Westminster, New Glasgow, Peterborough, Richmond, Sudbury, Selkirk, Westmorland, Charlottetown, Abbotsford, Essex, Don and Trent rivers. In Upper Canada, English-speaking settlers named one of the rivers the Thames and founded the city of London on its banks. The British capital has a double.

Travelers, commanders and administrators who served the British crown were immortalized - Vancouver, Dundas, Carlton, Nelson, Napier, Simcoe Thompson, Sherbrooke. However, almost all the former French-language geographical names - Jonquiere, Lac-Saint-Jean, Richelieu, Sorel, Talon, etc. - were preserved.

With the advance of explorers and colonizers to the northwest, the Anglo- and French-Canadians retained the Indian names. This is how Athabasca, Wetaskiwin, Winnipeg, Calgary, Caribou, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Spadine, Waskana, Shikoutimi, Yukon appeared on the map.

Combined names based on a mixture of several languages ​​also appeared. Residents of Lower Canada, when naming one of the northern villages, combined the words "north" (north) with the second half of the word "Canada". Noranda appeared on the map - in translation, something like Severokanadsk.

Immigration from the British Isles brought about important changes in the economic structure of Canada. With the cessation of the Anglo-French and Anglo-American wars, the scale of sea and ocean fishing has increased significantly, especially off the coast of Newfoundland. The rapid industrialization of England and Scotland increased the demand for bread and thus brought to life the emergence of grain farming, first in Lower Canada and then in Upper Canada. In the 30-40s of the XIX century. Canadian grain began to enter foreign markets for the first time. It was exported by Anglo-Canadian merchants from Quebec City and Halifax. From now on, British North America firmly switched to self-sufficiency in bread, oats, barley, and then meat. The colonial economy gradually became diversified.

The fur trade and fishing survived, but gradually began to lose their former importance. The former "fur economy" was slowly being replaced by the "grain economy" and "forest economy".

The timber sailing fleet of the British Empire had an impressive demand for Canadian timber. In Nova Scotia and Lower Canada, rich in high-quality forests, including pine, oak, walnut, shipbuilding and the furniture industry successfully developed.

The first half of the 19th century was a time of prosperity for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. These small coastal colonies were then the façade of British North America. They seemed to attract immigrants and capital from Europe like a magnet.

In terms of the general pace of development, Upper Canada was steadily pulling up to the two Atlantic provinces, the population of which in 1800-1835. increased very noticeably - from 50 to more than 300 thousand souls. In Upper Canada, Toronto and Kingston went from backwater towns to prominent cities in one generation. In Upper Canada, metallurgy and metalworking were born, the food industry and the service sector developed.

English immigration led to a general revival of the cultural life of the colonies.

The British laid the foundation for the publishing business. In 1778 they founded the first Canadian daily newspaper, The Montreal Gazette, which lasted 200 years. IN early XIX in. weekly and monthly literary and socio-political bulletins and magazines began to appear. Initially, they were only in English. However, in 1806, a French-language bulletin, Le Canadien, was also founded.

Under British colonial rule, theater appeared. Its initiators were the inhabitants of Halifax, who composed and played in 1774 the romantic play Akadius, or Love in Silence. In 1824, the first Canadian professional theater opened in Montreal.

In the English-speaking colonies, the question of higher education soon arose. The first attempt of this kind was made in 1789 in Nova Scotia, where, under the auspices of the Anglican Church, the Royal Universal College, the prototype of the university, was opened on public donations. In 1827, Thomas McGill founded a university in Montreal named after him. McGill University was destined for a long time to become the largest English-speaking institution of higher education in Canada.

On the whole, Lower Canada lagged behind Upper Canada in its spiritual and economic development. To the economic dynamism of the British and their militant Protestantism, the Canadiens responded with even greater attachment to the traditional way of life and Catholicism. The unspoken motto of Franco-Quebec society was: "In Quebec, nothing must die and nothing must change." This postulate was reflected especially clearly in what was written a little later - at the beginning of the 20th century. - the novel of the writer Louis Emon (1880-1913) who died in a road accident "Maria Chapdelin". (Amon's short book so convincingly revealed the features of the ossified rural and religious mass consciousness of French-speaking Canada that it became a classic in a matter of years. It withstood a lot of editions in several languages. Subsequently, it was filmed several times.)

The main public figures of Lower Canada (except Montreal) remained the Catholic priest and seigneur.

While the Anglo-Canadians founded mines and insurance companies, shipyards and trading firms, the French Canadians built cathedrals and in 1844 organized the religious-national Society of St. John the Baptist, who is considered their patron. Tens of thousands of people joined the Society. Many members of the Quebec church hierarchy and political elite considered it necessary - and still consider it necessary.

As before, few French Canadian workers aspired to get an average, much less higher education, become an entrepreneur, manager or scientist. Poverty and the habit of self-restraint were too strong. Many Canadiens worked part-time at sawmills or paper mills in Quebec and two neighboring American states - Vermont and Maine. But very few moved to permanent residence in the cities. The proportion of city dwellers among French Canadians (10-12%) did not grow until the first third of the 20th century.

The lot of small, illiterate and unskilled Franco-Quebec townspeople - and this naturally remained the work of laborers, diggers, domestic servants. The most ambitious and wealthy "canadiens" chose the professions of priests, notaries, judges, journalists, but not businessmen or managers. Almost no one aspired to become an officer.

The Franco-Quebec response to British immigration was "revenge in the cradles". At the call of the clergy, the Canadiens preserved the traditions of early marriages and patriarchal families with many children. Their wives had to give birth 10-12, and sometimes 15-20 times. Therefore, despite the rather high infant mortality, Lower Canada maintained a huge natural population increase.

Intermarriage, meanwhile, was still prohibited by the old custom, mixed with hostility to strangers (an exception was made only for Irish Catholics and Indians). Despite such restrictions, the population of the province increased by 1835 quite significantly - from 75 to 600 thousand souls, that is, almost 8 times.

Canada(eng. Canada [ˈkænədə], fr. Canada) is a state in North America, it ranks second in the world in terms of area. It is washed by the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, borders on the United States in the south and northwest, with Denmark (Greenland) and France (Saint Pierre and Miquelon) - in the northeast. Canada's border with the United States is the longest common border in the world.

Today Canada is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, a bilingual and multicultural country where English and French recognized as official federal level. A technologically advanced and industrialized nation, Canada has a diversified economy based on rich natural resources and trade (particularly with the United States, with which Canada has been cooperating comprehensively since the existence of the colonies and the founding of the Confederation).

Founded by the French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1534, Canada originates from a French colony on the site of the modern city of Quebec, originally inhabited by local peoples. After a period of English colonization, the Canadian confederation was born from the union of three British colonies (which were previously territories of New France). Canada gained independence from the United Kingdom through a peace process from 1867 to 1982.

Canada is currently a federal state consisting of 10 provinces and 3 territories. The province with a predominantly French-speaking population is Quebec, the rest are predominantly English-speaking provinces, also called "English Canada" in comparison with French-speaking Quebec. As one of nine predominantly English-speaking provinces, New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual Canadian province. The Yukon Territory is officially bilingual (English and French), while the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Territory recognize 11 and 4 official languages, respectively (including English and French).

origin of name

The name Canada comes from the Laurentian word for "village" or "settlement" spoken in the early 16th century by the Laurentian Iroquois who wintered in the village of Stadacone (near present-day Quebec), the first American Indians whom Jacques Cartier met on Gaspé in the summer of 1534 at their summer camp. In 1535, the inhabitants of the area where the city of Quebec is now located, used this word to send the explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacone. Soon after the Cartier expedition, the Laurentian tribe disappeared without a trace - as modern archaeological excavations have shown, most likely as a result of wars with the Hurons and the southern Iroquois.

Cartier used the word "Canada" to refer not only to this village, but to the whole area, which also included the village of Oshlag. Today, historians agree that "country Canada" originally referred to the modern neighborhoods of Quebec. By 1545, European books and maps designated this region and all the banks of the St. Lawrence River settled by the French with the word "Canada". Subsequently, this name was transferred to most of the neighboring territories in North America, ruled by the British Empire.

History

Indians in Canada

For thousands of years, Canada has been inhabited by Indian and Eskimo tribes. It is believed that the first Europeans to set foot on Canadian soil (the island of Newfoundland) around 1000 AD. e., there were Icelandic Vikings, but they could not colonize the country.

The French colony of Canada, one of the provinces of New France, was founded on lands along the banks of the St. Lawrence River: in 1600, Tadusak managed to build a permanent French fort here (a modern village at the mouth of the Sagney River). Prior to this, France founded trading posts to the south (New Angouleme, which later became New York, Saint-Augustin in Florida), but was ousted from there by other European powers.

In 1750 the French province of Canada extended to the Acadian provinces (British since 1713), which occupied the continental part of the present-day Atlantic provinces of Maine and Newfoundland, to the east; almost to the Arctic - to the north; to the Rocky Mountains - to the west; and to the middle of the Appalachians - to the south. The border between Louisiana and Canada was not clearly demarcated and was supposed to be in the Ohio Valley at Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh). Soon the French king, by his decree, obliged, in order to standardize "law" in New France, to use the "Parisian custom" in civil and commercial matters.

Battles for control of the Ohio Valley led to war between France and England. The Huron Indians were drawn into allies by the French, and the Iroquois by the British. In 1759, with the capture of Quebec by the English troops, Canada became a British colony. The rights of French Canadian citizens were significantly limited until 1766: they could not perform their rites, and the use of the "Parisian custom" ( common law north of France) was replaced by the English "common law". Under pressure catholic church, in order to reduce the threat of rebellion in the province of Quebec and for practical reasons, a few years later, the French-Canadians were returned the rights to perform Catholic rites and use the "Parisian custom" in trade and civil relations. However, criminal law remained English, and Canadians of French descent were still prohibited from re-establishing "ties with their motherland".

In 1791 this part of the British colonies was divided into two provinces: Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Upper Canada corresponds to present-day Ontario and is where the Anglo-Canadians, mostly "loyalists" of the American Revolutionary War, concentrated. Lower Canada corresponds to present-day Quebec, and most of the French Canadians were there. Each province had its own parliament, which did not have significant powers, key decisions were made by the governor-general, who was appointed to office in each colony by royal decree. Canadian patriots under the leadership of Louis-Joseph Papineau, dissatisfied with their disenfranchised position, sent a resolution to London demanding more rights for provincial parliaments. London's refusal led to the Patriot Rebellion of 1837 and the proclamation of an independent Republic of Canada. This attempt at revolution was brutally suppressed by the English army. Numerous villages of Monteregi were burned and the patriots were hanged.

With the birth of Confederation in 1867, the name "Canada" was formally adopted by the British Crown in the British North America Act to designate the new dominion. The adopted institutional system took the form of a federation, which initially included four provinces: Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Canada quickly expanded into the western territories with the expansion of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, the founding of the Red River Colony, which became the bilingual province of Manitoba (much smaller in area than the territory of the modern province), British Columbia, later the Great Plains. Local indigenous peoples, including mestizos (descendants of Indians and French or Scots), organized in their own political structures, were forced out of their lands, which resulted in armed conflicts and even wars. The most significant of them ended with the capture of the leader of the mestizos, Louis Riel, who was hanged at the first opportunity. During the 19th century, a significant number of Indians received, in return for lost lands, government-guaranteed reservations (including communal ownership of land), within which they were granted autonomy under federal control.

During the world wars, Canadians fight as British soldiers in separate units, often side by side with the Scots and Australians. The 1931 Statute of Westminster gives Canada greater political autonomy from the United Kingdom and allows Canada to enter the Second world war one week behind the UK. The war opens the door to a more important consequence for the federal state of the post-war period - the emergence of a new identity. In 1949, Newfoundland became part of Canada as the tenth province.

In 1982, the Canadian constitution returned home from London. The Canada Act 1982 only refers to the name Canada, so it is currently the only statutory name. This change was also reinforced by the change in 1982 of the name of the national holiday from "Confederation Day" to "Canada Holiday".

Canada is currently a constitutional monarchy with a federal organization of power, similar to Australia. It includes 10 federal states called provinces and 3 organized territories. Created in 1999, the third territory of Nunavut occupied part of the Northwest Territories.

New France

In 1524, the expedition of the Florentine navigator Giovanni Verrazano, who was in the service of the French king, explored the eastern shores of Canada.

In 1534, Jacques Cartier descended on the coast of Gaspé and named this land Canada, which later became one of the provinces of New France. It has not yet been proven that Giovanni Caboto landed before in Canada or Newfoundland. After numerous unsuccessful attempts (New Angouleme on Long Island and St. Augustin in Florida), the French found the first colonies approved by the crown: Tadousac (Quebec) in 1600, Port-Royal in 1605 and Quebec in 1608. The English in 1610 legally form on Newfoundland city of St. John's. The French establish strong ties with the Indian peoples closest to them.

However, European explorers bring numerous diseases that quickly spread along the trade routes deep into the indigenous population, leading to devastation. The French settlers, often arriving very sick in not very clean ships, are saved by Indian medicines. So, for example, to cure scurvy, the Hurons offer decoctions from the bark of white cedar, called aneda.

French period: alliances, battles and the Seven Years' War

Competition for territory, naval bases, furs, and fishing becomes increasingly fierce, and multiple wars break out involving the French, Dutch, English, and allied Indian tribes. The Franco-Iroquoian wars for control of the fur trade are fought between the Iroquois confederation, whose allies were first the Dutch and then the British, and the Hurons or even the Algonquins, allies of the French. Four Franco-Iroquoian wars between 1689 and 1763 lead to the successive passage of Newfoundland and, later, Acadia into the hands of the British. There were such various clashes between the French settlers and the British authorities as the complete destruction of Port Royal and the subsequent deportation of the Acadians (known as the Great Disturbance) in 1755.

New France stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians. The British want to go to the Ohio Valley, wanting to get Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh). In 1756, the Seven Years' War between France and England in America led to the capture of the cities of Quebec in 1759 and Montreal in 1760. After the victory in the Seven Years' War, under the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Great Britain finally annexed Acadia, Canada and the eastern part of Louisiana (between the Mississippi and the Appalachians).

English Period: Upper and Lower Canada

By the end of the American Revolution, some 50,000 United Empire Loyalists immigrate to Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. Since they turn out to be quite unwanted guests in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick secedes from this colony in 1784 to receive them. Subsequently, for the purpose of accommodating English-speaking Loyalists, the colony of Canada is divided by the Constitution Act of 1791 into two distinct colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

Two decades later, Canada plays a significant role in the War of 1812, which divided the United States and the United Kingdom. Its defense costs it important long-term benefits, especially creating a sense of unity and nationalism among the people of British North America. Mass immigration to Canada from Great Britain and Ireland occurs in 1815. A series of agreements subsequently leads to a long period of peace between Canada and the United States, interrupted only by short raids led by such political rebels as the Fenians.

The absence of real authorities capable of legislating and levying taxes from the Parliament of Lower Canada, social difficulties and the treatment of French-speakers as a minority lead to an uprising of patriots. Under the leadership of Louis Joseph Papineau, the independence of the Republic of Canada is proclaimed. This desire for self-government is brutally suppressed by the British army, which burns and plunders the numerous villages of Monteregie. Many patriots are hanged, some are exiled to Australia, others are forced to flee to the USA.

The Maple Leaf Country, as Canada is also called, is a parliamentary federation that unites 3 territories and 10 provinces. In one of them, the French-speaking population prevails, in the other - New Brunswick - native speakers of both French and English live. The rest of the country, with the exception of the Yukon Territory (which is also bilingual), mostly speaks English.

The name of the country is supposedly related to the word kanata, which in the language of the Algonquian Indians means "village". The turning point happened in 1535, when two locals uttered this word to show the navigator Jacques Cartier the way to the Indian village of Stadakone, located in the modern area.

Those who know Canada only superficially imagine the eternal snows over which polar bears roam; whale-hunting Inuit; gloomy lumberjacks warming themselves around a fire in the impenetrable taiga to the mournful accompaniment of polar wolves.

Uninformed travelers may come to Canada in the middle of summer hoping to go skiing, but they have thousands of miles to go before the snow crunches under their feet. But the idea of ​​the cold and inhospitable Arctic is unforgettable: when remembering Canada, many people see footage from the film “Gold Rush” before their eyes - Charlie Chaplin, exhausted from hunger, in the distant Yukon, eats his shoes under the howl of a snowstorm outside the windows of the hut of gold miners.

The new Constitution, which came into force in the same year, is not recognized by the French-speaking - the largest province in Canada. The origins of this protest should be sought in the 1960s and 1970s, when the issue of the situation of French Canadians began to escalate. Ideas of independence began to appear in the region, actually supported by the former metropolis - France. In 1980, a referendum was held on the secession of the province, which ended in failure for the separatists. In 1995, a second plebiscite was organized, but the majority again spoke out against secession (secession). Thus, almost 95% of the inhabitants of which speak and understand French, remained part of the Canadian Confederation. According to section 122 of the Constitutional Act of 1867, bilingualism is allowed both in the parliament of the province and in the whole country.

Attractions

In Canada, as of 2015, there are 17 sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. With some of them, we will begin our acquaintance with the sights of this original country.

L'Anse aux Meadows is a national park in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was here, in the "bay of jellyfish", according to scientists, at the end of the 11th century, the Vikings, who arrived from Greenland, founded the first European settlement. In the eponymous fishing village on the island of Newfoundland in the 60s, during excavations, a forge and eight dugouts were discovered.

Nahanni National Park is located in the valley of the South Nahanni River, famous for the Virginia Falls and the fact that four canyons are located above it. The park was opened in 1976, it is located 500 km from Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, in the southern part of the Mackenzie mountain range. Nahanni Park is famous for its thermal springs containing sulfur compounds. The landscape is represented by tundra, mixed forests and deposits of calcium carbonate (tuffs).

Dinosor Dinosaur Provincial Park. Opened in 1955, it has become popular as one of the largest dinosaur fossil repositories on the planet. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of over 500 giant animals that inhabited the planet in the Mesozoic era. They all belonged to 39 different types. Unique finds were exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), the Royal Tyrrel Paleontological Museum (Drumheller), as well as the Canadian Museum of Nature (Ottawa) and the American Museum of Natural History (New York). The remains of many freshwater vertebrates have also been found.

It was created in 1988 in the northwestern part of the province of British Columbia and includes the south of Moresby Island and a number of islands southeast of it. Dominant of the natural reservation: the San Cristoval mountain range, the main peak of which - Mount La Touche - rises to 1123 m. The park includes the village of Ninstintz, inhabited by the Haida Indians. The village, located in the Haida Guai archipelago, has the largest collection of totem poles, revered by this people as the mythical ancestors and souls of the tribe. But these masterpieces of art can be lost, as they are poorly reflected by the local humid climate and begin to rot.

Old Quebec- the historical part of the city, the capital of the province of the same name. Samuel de Champlain, the founder of the first French colonies in Canada, built in this place the palace of Château Saint-Louis - the residence of the governor and government of New France. Within Old Quebec, architecture of the 19th century dominates, but there are also earlier buildings erected in the 17th-18th centuries. The Quebec Fortress has also survived to this day. Next to this military fortification is the Hotel du Parleman, the building of the National Assembly of Quebec, which also houses the lieutenant governor of the province.

Historic city of Lunenberg- the brightest example of an English colonial settlement in North American lands. Administratively, it is part of the province of Nova Scotia, located from its capital Halifax at a distance of about 90 km. Before the Europeans, the area was inhabited by the Mi'kmaq Indian people. The city was founded in 1753. It got its name in honor of the British monarch George II and at the same time the ruler of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a duchy in historical Germany. Local Attractions: City Harbor and Lunenberg Academy, Anglican Church and Atlantic Fisheries Museum, City House.

Rideau Canal- a water artery connecting Ottawa with Kingston, a city in southern Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832, having been built in case of a military conflict with the United States. This is the oldest operating channel on the continent, which has not interrupted its work since its opening. Its length is 202 km. In the summer, Rideau is put at the service of tourists if possible, and in the winter, when the annual Winterlude festival is held, a giant skating rink is equipped on the canal, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich is commensurate with 90 hockey fields.

Whaling Station Red Bay. In the XVI-XVII centuries, seasonal migrants from the Basque Country settled here, on Labrador, who hunted for whaling. Nowadays, not far from the coastal harbor is the fishing village of Red Bay, named after her, as well as local red-colored granite rocks. The remains of the former station, as well as whale bones and a number of shipwrecks, are local tourist attractions.

All sights of Canada

Cuisine of Canada

Canada is a binational state and, moreover, a country of migrants, therefore, in the national cuisine, echoes of the culinary traditions of not only the British and French, but also other peoples of the world are felt. However, the origins of Canadian cuisine should be sought, first of all, in the traditions of the indigenous peoples of North America, which were supplemented in the 18th-19th centuries with each new wave of emigration from European countries and China.

Quebec - French America or French Canada, a region, city and port at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, an island of Francophonie on the English and Spanish-speaking continent.

The first European voyage to Quebec was made in 1534 by Jacques Carte, who, on behalf of King Francis I of France, declared Canada to belong to the French monarch. In 1535-1536. Jacques Cartier was building the future of Montreal. A century later, Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec. In 1609, the territory received the name of New France. A little later, Richelieu established a company to which he entrusted the development of New France.

The new France of the 17th century was not a paradise at all. Two months of sailing across the ocean, and immigrants from the Old World found themselves in a harsh climate, on a land whose only means of communication were rivers, and the local population received the settlers extremely embittered. Those who came here, of course, did not go for this, but for the state. By 1700, only 15,000 people settled in New France, and 70,000 a hundred years later, while two and a half million lived in the English colonies by that time. Europeans came for natural wealth, for new lands, and in return they brought alcohol to the Indians, epidemics that killed half the population.

The tribes inhabiting Canada were the Inuit, the Iroquois and the Algonquians, all of them did not accept the new owners of Canada, who used the enmity between the tribes for their own purposes. In clashes, the Indians were often supported by the British, who saw the French as rivals on the new continent. Only in 1701 was the Great Peace signed between the French and the Indian tribes, which put an end to the war between them, as well as intertribal strife. The War of the Spanish Succession pushed the British and French on a new land, in 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, according to which France had lands along the banks of the St. Lawrence River, and already in 1763 Quebec became the fifteenth English colony in North America. In 1791, the provinces of Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) were formed. most of which remained French-speaking. In 1867, a Canadian confederation was created with four provinces - Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the economic life of Quebec was closely connected with agriculture and forestry. Then active urbanization began, attracting new settlers.

The main administrative center of Quebec is the city of the same name, whose population is 7 million 250 thousand people, which is a quarter of the entire Canadian population. They speak French and English here, the coin is the Canadian dollar. Quebec is located in the northeast of the continent, from the US to the northern seas. This is the largest province in Canada, occupying 16.7% of the entire territory, Quebec is three times larger than France, seven times larger than Great Britain and fifteen times larger than Belgium.

There are 130 thousand water streams and a million lakes here. The largest river is the St. Lawrence, which originates in the Great Lakes and flows into the Atlantic in the bay of the same name. The highest mountain peaks in Quebec are mountains D "Iberville (1622 m) on the Torngat ridge on the border with Labrador, and Jacques-Cartier (1268 m) in the Chik-Chok massif in Gaspesie. About 80% of the population lives along the banks of St. Lawrence, in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Quebec Quebec has a continental climate, temperate in the meridional part and polar in the north, on the Ungava Peninsula.Winter is very snowy, the temperature drops to -30, hot summer, up to +30.Therefore, it is common for Quebecers to sunbathe in summer and go skiing in the mountains in winter.

All four seasons are very contrasting here. It is especially beautiful in Quebec in autumn - the forests "burn" with bright colors. If the symbol of Canada is a maple leaf, then since 1999 the flower of iris has become the symbol of Quebec. Irises bloom in spring in almost all of Quebec. In addition to the iris, the yellow birch is also a symbol of the region, namely, the dark-stemmed Canadian birch. The flag of Quebec depicts a lily, as if connecting this territory with France through time and ocean and emphasizing the attachment to French history and culture.

Most of the population of North America turned out to be English-speaking, but the French population of Canadian Quebec did not cease to demand self-determination. In isolation, the Francophones of Quebec have managed to maintain their language and their identity, and this despite the fact that they are surrounded by 250 million Anglophones! Of course, Quebec French is different from Parisian. They say that it traces the features of the French Picardy and Norman dialects of the 17th century, besides, there are a lot of borrowings from English, this language has its own vocabulary, its own vocabulary. "Hello" is said here both when they meet and when they say goodbye, "lunch" means "breakfast", "dinner" - "lunch". Here it is customary to refer to "you", especially if you are under thirty. People of the same generation, acquaintances and strangers also refer to each other as "you". It is also not customary to use "you" on the phone.

Despite the formal break with France that occurred in the 18th century, the soul of Quebec remained French. Quebec dreams of sovereignty. However, in 1980 the population rejected the sovereignty project with the formation of a federal government. The last sovereignty referendum, held in 1995, also showed that the majority of the population does not want independence. Opinion polls show that the majority support the free Quebec project, but when it comes to elections, the picture changes. The Quebec Party claims that the inhabitants of this region are at the junction of three civilizations - they are nurtured by French culture, which gave them a civil code, they have integrated into their lives the traditions and elements of British society, such as parliamentarism, and they live in an American way.

There are twenty tourist regions in Quebec. This is a huge area of ​​natural wealth, where the landscape is changing all the time - forests, rivers, lakes, mountains, these are 19 national parks. Magnificent places, bewitching with their beauty, attracting lovers of large space. For example, Canton de l "Est Park is cut off from civilization. It is located 250 km from Quebec and 225 km south of Montreal - distances are short for motorists. It is open daily from mid-May to mid-October and from December to the end of March "There is camping in the park. Hunting, tree cutting, fishing are prohibited, however, as in other national parks. On the way you can meet deer, moose, even bears, lynxes, and some say they saw a cougar. Here, on Mount Megantic is home to the largest observatory on the east coast of North America.

Moricy Park, 70 km north of Trois-Rivières, is considered by many to be the most beautiful park in Quebec. Created in 1970, it covers an area of ​​536 km2. On the way to the park, beautiful views of the Wapizagonke and Edouard lakes open up. The park is open all year round. Gasperi Park is located 516 km north of Quebec and covers an area of ​​800 square meters. km. This is the only place in Quebec where caribou and Virginian deer live. If you are tired of civilization, you should go to Quebec not only for natural exoticism, here you can get acquainted with the culture of the Indians. In Quebec, namely in fifty villages scattered over an area of ​​1,600,000 square meters. km., home to 11 nations of the indigenous population. These are settlements that are also a kind of tourist bases, since you can stop there and completely immerse yourself in the life of the Indians - try local dishes from caribou meat, bear, wild duck, fish, go canoeing, go fishing. In the spring, whales come to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. You can watch them both from the shore and from the water - for this, boat excursions are organized here. Quebec has many ornithological reserves. There are up to 270 species of birds on Cape Turmant. Thousands of white ducks and wild ducks arrive in spring and autumn.

The word "Quebec" implies several concepts - country, province, region, city, commune. Quebec City is made up of eight counties, all located on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River. The city is called the old city, the old capital, the upper city, etc. Like no other city in Canada, it is connected with the history of the entire continent. Once a field of bloody battles, Quebec has retained the features of its past to this day - it stands on the river, has a citadel, is surrounded by a forest, with 5 thousand trees of 80 species.

Quebec City was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. First it was the capital of New France (1608-1759), then it became a fortress of an English colony and the capital of lower Canada under the English regime (1763-1867), later it became a provincial capital during the Canadian Confederation in 1867, when Canada of the federal provinces was born. To occupy Quebec, or the strategically important territory on which it is now located, was the first goal of all the conquerors of Canada - the French and the British. The defensive constructions of the city began in the 17th century, but were completed only by 1830, and the city's defense system was finally formed at the beginning of the 20th century. Quebec is interesting for its historical monuments, parliament, ancient buildings. Its charm is made up of historical, cultural and architectural factors.

After walking around old Quebec, looking at its old buildings, you can go to the church of Notre Dame de Quebec, the city's cathedral. The cathedral was declared a historical monument in 1966, its history has been going on for 300 years. French masters worked on its interior decoration. Stunning stained glass windows illuminate the crypts that hold the remains of the Bishops of Quebec and the rulers of New France. To get a better idea of ​​Quebec, it is worth visiting the Museum of Quebec, which contains the most interesting collection of Quebec art from the 17th century to the present day. The exposition of the Museum of Civilization tells about the history of culture, about the Indians, about the traditions of both the first inhabitants of the region and modern Quebecers. In January-February, the traditional winter carnival takes place in Quebec. The city turns into a kingdom snow queen. Usually at this time, canoeing, ice and snow sculpture competitions are organized, on Lotto-Quebec Square, in front of the Parliament building, the Ice Castle is rebuilt, around which performances and performances take place. A lot of entertainment is arranged for children - ice slides, snow rafting. An Indian village is built right in the city, you can ride a sleigh pulled by horses and even dogs around the city, as well as play golf on ice.

Montreal is a city much larger than Quebec. It is considered the metropolis or main city of Quebec and the second French-speaking city in the world. This modern city, a port beloved by many for its diversity of architecture and cosmopolitanism. Here you will find Italian, Latin, Portuguese, and Chinatowns. Montreal has gained worldwide recognition as a city with a huge range of restaurants and an insanely diverse nightlife. Residents and visitors do not have the opportunity and mood to be bored. In addition to many restaurants and bars, museums are worth a look - the Museum of Modern Art, which contains a collection of Quebec and foreign masters, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, whose collection has been created for 137 years, the center of Canadian architecture, which is a museum and The educational center, which hosts exhibitions of contemporary architects, as well as a museum of archeology and history, which shows the history of the metropolis from the Ice Age to the present day.

The heart of Montreal is Mainstreet, in French simply La Main, that is, the main street. The real name of the street is St. Lawrence Boulevard. This is the largest artery of the city, which has been developing since its foundation in the 17th century. Saint Lawrence became a boulevard only in 1905, before that it was a road, then a street. The boulevard was the gateway to the New World, it led visitors from another continent deep into Canada through the market, the royal square and the port's embankments. Old Montreal has retained the spirit of antiquity, although the houses on its waterfronts have turned into bureaus and chic residences.

The Port of Montreal, renovated for its 350th anniversary in 1992, however, has not forgotten its historical past. It is spoken about by the old trading warehouses of Saint-Joseph, built in 1861-1880, the streets of the Saint-Paul and Saint-Jacques district, built up already in the 17th century, on which trading companies, banks, publishing houses, for example, have long been located. La Presse, the largest French language weekly in America. On Notre Dame Street, in addition to the church of the same name, there are administrative buildings - the city hall, three court buildings. Notre Dame Cathedral is the first Neo-Gothic building in Montreal in the 19th century. The interior is rich in sculptures, wooden carvings, gilding; the Sacré-Coeur chapel impresses with its magnificence. Chinatown, before it became a place of residence and trade for thousands of Chinese, was a favorite place for the Irish, who in the middle of the 19th century made it a little Dublin. However, the construction of a railroad leading to the west of Canada in 1877 brought many Chinese here, and appearance The streets of the quarter changed forever.

The suburb of St. Lawrence, a quarter at the exit from the city center - a place where a motley crowd, hippies, night butterflies, regulars of trendy bars live and meet. They say that here you can eat the best hot dog in town. Carre Dorre is the quarter where the richest families of Montreal have lived since the end of the 19th century, here is the Notman House, which has become an architectural monument, next to which is the Hospital of the Sisters of the Anglican Church of St. Margaret, built in 1894. The Portuguese quarter was once a neighboring village to Montreal, in 1909 it became part of the city. The city hall building reminds of the old village. The Portuguese once settled here, joined by Jews, Germans, Poles, who arrived in Montreal since 1900. The mixture of cultures in this quarter is evidenced by the neighborhood of synagogues, Catholic cathedrals, stone burial steles, decoration of houses with Arabic azulejo tiles, characteristic of Portugal. Italian cafes and restaurants, food markets, meat and cheese shops, and bakeries abound in the Italian quarter. The Italians, most of whom arrived in Montreal at the beginning of the 20th century, erected a Catholic cathedral here - the Notre Dame de la Defense church on Dante Street, created by an Italian architect.

The conquest of Canada was accompanied by the distribution of awards. British soldiers and officers were offered allotments in the conquered colony. Those who distinguished themselves in battles were promoted in ranks. General Amherst received the title of baron, and was later promoted to field marshal. The victors brought with them efficiency, foresight and quickness.

The British immediately set up printing business - they opened a printing house. The study and survey of the coastline of the captured region were deployed. The work was headed by the famous navigator James Cook. For several years, he and his associates compiled a detailed and accurate description of the coast of Acadia and Newfoundland, for which the French did not have enough time before. Lighthouses and signal stations appeared on the coast. Between the colony and the British metropolis, regular flights of merchant and transport ships were established.

Along the Great Lakes, British Army officers hastily established a network of new strongholds. In 1793, Fort York (now Toronto) appeared in this way, a year later - Kingston and Niagara-on-Lake, in 1796 - Fort Erie. In 1800, Baytown appeared on the maps - a lumberjack village on the coast of Ottawa.

The British immediately intensified the search for the Northwest Passage to Asia, which was stopped by the French in the 17th century. Research expeditions headed to the Pacific coast - first by James Cook, then by George Vancouver. Captain Vancouver established contacts with Russian pioneers from Alaska. Contacts were peaceful in nature and were accompanied by an exchange of geographical information. In particular, our pioneers ("industrialists") provided English sailors with homemade maps of several sections of the Pacific coast. The results of the expeditions allowed the British to establish a new colony on the shores of the Pacific Ocean - British Columbia. The word "industrialists" (pro-myshlenniki) was used for a long time in it and entered the "Canadian Encyclopedia".

Work has accelerated on digging channels around the shallows on the St. Lawrence River. Completed in the first third of the 19th century, they facilitated, reduced the cost and accelerated water communication in a vast region from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes.

The winners showed generosity and justice. The tone was set by the first British governor of Quebec, General James Murray, who replaced Wolf. He respected the vanquished, whom he called "the brave people." Resolutely suppressed the atrocities perpetrated by his troops in the captured city. Servicemen convicted of violence against the civilian population were publicly and severely punished. General Murray also limited the appetites of British merchants, who, taking advantage of the shortage of the most necessary things in the devastated region, bought furs for next to nothing and engaged in land speculation. Dissatisfied with this, the London merchants achieved the recall of the far-sighted and decent Murray (1768), but General Guy Carleton, who replaced him, continued the policy of his predecessor.

Already before the Peace of Paris, the remnants of the French troops - about 4 thousand people - left New France without hindrance. Then George III, by a proclamation of 1763, allowed all other inhabitants of the conquered colony to leave it. The British undertook to transport them to the Old World for free. However, only a few hundred people left - the governor, officials, merchants and officers. Others - landowners, tenants, priests, small traders, fishermen and voyagers - remained in the country, which they rightfully considered their homeland. They perceived France as a distant and generally foreign country.

The British Empire did not dare to physically exterminate tens of thousands of "Canadiens" or forcibly evict them. Therefore, the victors had to coexist with the vanquished. By a royal proclamation of 1763, Britain promised the latter respect for their property, customs and religion, and even the establishment of an elected assembly on the American model, which was not the case in New France. The Canadiens were released from the oath to the British king - the promise to be loyal to England was enough.

The British colonial authorities allowed the previously expelled Acadians to return to their native places, but, unlike the Quebecers, they did not guarantee property rights. The Acadians who returned to their homeland (and there were about half of them) found that their houses and lands were seized by colonists from New England, and they were not entitled to compensation.

As early as 1764 martial law was lifted in Quebec. A governor-general was appointed to the colony, and British garrisons were left in Quebec City and Montreal. Quebec City, in addition, became another base of the British fleet. The official language was immediately declared English (language guarantees were not given to the vanquished). British criminal law was introduced in the colony.

The time has come for redrawing the borders and numerous renamings. The policy of London and its colonial governors clearly showed a tendency to Anglicize the conquered lands. Immediately after the Peace of Paris, New France was renamed Quebec and its territory was greatly reduced. Quebec City (French for "Ville de Quebec") was given a new name, Quebec City. The Great Lakes region, Labrador and St. John's Island were not included in Quebec. The British renamed Acadia Nova Scotia, expanding its territory at the expense of Quebec. St. John's Island was renamed Prince Edward Island. The island on which Louisbourg was located became known as Cape Breton. From Nova Scotia, a new colony was singled out - New Brunswick.

Together, these colonies, together with Newfoundland, formed British North America. However, this concept has so far been only geographical, not administrative. Each of these colonies remained a separate territorial unit and was directly subordinate to the metropolis.

As Choiseul had foreseen, the Peace of Paris brought great costs along with benefits to the British Empire. First, in 1763, on the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario, Indians rebelled, led by an outstanding and courageous leader, Pontiac, who is sometimes compared to Spartacus. Having managed to overcome the traditional tribal strife, Pontiac united a number of tribes against the British - the Hurons, the Ottawa, the Seneca. From the tribal coalition, an Indian state could later arise. The rebels defeated two small English garrisons in the Des Trois (Detroit) area and captured a number of forts. It was not possible to suppress the uprising by military force. To prevent the likely association of the Indians with the "Canadiens", London hastily issued the previously mentioned proclamation of 1763.

After two years of fighting, Governor Murray, with the consent of the mother country, made peace with Pontiac. Its main condition was the preservation of the rights of tribes friendly to England to the lands they occupied. Then the British, patronizing some tribes and intriguing against others, destroyed the tribal coalition created by Pontiac. The murder of Pontiac (1769) by an Indian from another tribe on domestic grounds was accepted by the British colonial authorities with great relief.

But in the meantime, the inhabitants of 13 colonies, freed from the French danger, entered into conflict with the British crown. Particularly tense was the situation in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania geographically close to Quebec.

In an effort to avoid joining the Canadiens with the restless Americans, the British government issued the Act for the Better Government of Quebec (Quebec Act) in 1774, with important consequences. Firstly, in the Act, all the religious and property rights of the Quebecers were once again solemnly guaranteed and confirmed the preservation in the colony of the French civil law familiar to its inhabitants. Secondly, in accordance with the Act, Quebec territory was significantly expanded - Louisiana joined Quebec - a huge territory between the Great Lakes, Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The occupation of land in this territory was declared an illegal act, which in no way offended the interests of the small Quebecers with their 30-hectare allotments, but put a barrier to the expansion of American squatters. Thirdly, the British authorities pledged to respect the customs and interests of the Indian tribes.

The concessions to the Canadiens were made on time. The population of the St. Lawrence Valley did not revolt. Paradoxically, but the fact is that Quebec, recently conquered by the British, remained the backbone of the British Empire. On the other hand, the Quebec Act actually brought the American Revolution closer. In the same 1774, new battles broke out in the Ohio Valley - now between the English-speaking colonists and British soldiers, and the following year 13 colonies rebelled, declaring themselves independent republic-states. The Americans assured that they were fighting for the freedom and self-determination of all peoples. But having not yet completely broken with Britain, without having a Declaration of Independence, the rebels in September 1775 sent several detachments to the borders of Quebec, which captured Tyconderoga and the forts near Lake Champlain. It was an impressive example of the export of revolution: if there is no revolution in the country, it should be brought with bayonets.

The Americans, led by two self-proclaimed commanders - Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold - captured Montreal without a fight in November, and a month later they approached the walls of Quebec. As long as the volunteers faithfully paid for food and shelter, they did well. It seemed that the British flag was not destined to fly over the St. Lawrence Valley. But contrary to the calculations of the Americans, few people joined them.

Calls to rebel against the "tyrant George III" did not find mass support. Catholic Franco-Quebecs feared, and not without reason, oppression by Protestant Americans. They were not inspired by the incomprehensible slogan of freedom of enterprise, which did not fit well with their established way of life and Catholic ethics, which emphasizes not material success, but purity of soul. The Bishop of Quebec urged fellow believers not to support the Americans. When the revolutionary interventionists ran out of money, the peasants refused to supply them with food. Requisitions also caused bitterness of the local population.