Canada History Essay

Everywhere you might hear the roll of the drum, and there was no family but had its soldier, and few that did not have their dead. There were a score of thousand British troops in the Northern provinces, and every week brought rumors and alarms, and portents of victory or defeat. The haggard post-rider came galloping in with news from north and west, which the anxious village folks gather to hear. There have been skirmishes, successes, retreats, surprises, massacres, retaliations. In 1867 the Canadian history was the people’s ancestors who become American Indians (North American Indians) that first entered North America from Siberia some time around 14,000–15,000 years ago. A wave of further migrations from Siberia, beginning about 4,000 years ago, brought the Inuit people, who settled across the whole of Arctic North America, from Alaska through Northern Canada to Greenland (Fregault, 1969). The European discovery is where Europeans sight North America were the Vikings in 986. An expedition led by Leif Ericsson sailed from Greenland, visited Baffin Island, and sailed down the Labrador coast to Newfoundland, which was named Vinland. The remains of a Viking settlement have been found on the island, but it would seem that the Viking colony was short†lived. The Viking discovery was forgotten in Europe, and it was 500 years before another European, John Cabot reached the shores of Canada (1497). In 1534 Jacques Cartier, a Frenchman, undertook a voyage of discovery along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, and on his second voyage (1536–37) discovered the St Lawrence River and travelled as far as the Huron capital, Hochelaga (the site of Montreal). Some small settlements were made by the French, but have been abandoned it after two years (Hayes, 2002). The French and British rivalry was until 1608 that Samuel de Champlain, who had visited the country in 1603 and subsequent years, founded the city of Quebec. The St Lawrence region formed a French colony under the name of Canada for the next century and a half. Meanwhile, the English formed the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670 and began to trade with the American Indians that is now the Northwest Territories. A French colony, known as Acadia, had also been established in Nova Scotia at the beginning of the 17th century, but the arrival of English and Scottish colonists led to a long†running conflict for possession until the territory came they became under British control by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). Finally, in 1749 the British founded the settlement of Halifax and installed many British colonists, and the following year the French settlers were expelled for refusing to swear loyalty to the British crown. Many of these Acadians subsequently settled in Louisiana, where they became known as Cajuns (Eccles,1969). Louis Reil is perhaps the most controversial figure in Canadian historiography. He is a leader of his people in their resistance against the Canadian government in the Canadian Northwest. His life and deeds have spawned a massive and diverse literature. He was born in the Red River Settlement (in what is now Manitoba) in 1844. He is a promising student and was sent to Montreal to train for the priesthood, but he never graduated. An attempt at training as a lawyer, and by 1868 Riel was back in the Red River area. Ambitious, well educated and bilingual, Riel quickly emerged as a leader among the Metis of the Red River. In 1869-1870 he headed a provisional government, which would eventually negotiate the Manitoba Act with the Canadian government. The Act established Manitoba as a province and provided some protection for French language rights. Riel’s leadership in the agitation, especially his decision to execute a Canadian named Thomas Scott, anti-Catholic and anti-French sentiment in Ontario. Although chosen for a seat in the House of Commons on three occasions, he was unable to take his seat in the house. In 1875, Riel’s role in the death of Scott resulted in his exile from Canada. These years in exile would include stays in two Quebec asylums and the growing belief in Riel that he had a religious mission to lead the Metis people of the Canadian northwest (Chartrand, 1999). Riel was the undisputed spiritual and political head of the short-lived 1885 Rebellion. He never carried arms and hindered the work of his military head, Gabriel Dumont. Riel was increasingly influenced by his belief that he was chosen to lead the Metis people. On May 15, shortly after the fall of Batoche, Riel surrendered to Canadian forces and was taken to Regina to stand trial for reason (Lloyd, 1959). At his trial, Riel gave two long speeches which demonstrated his powerful rhetorical abilities. He personally rejected attempts by his defense counsel to prove he was not guilty by reason of insanity. On 1 August 1885, a jury of six English-speaking Protestants found Riel guilty but recommended mercy. Judge Hugh Richardson sentenced him to death. Attempted appeals were dismissed and a special re-examination of Riel’s mental state by government appointed doctors found him sane. He was hanged in Regina on 16 November, 1885. His execution was widely opposed in Quebec and had lasting political ramifications (Lee, 1986). While in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, this was also known as the Battle of Quebec, this was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years War (referred to as French and Indian War in the United States). The confrontation, which began on 12 September 1759, fought between the British Army and Navy, and the French Army, on a plateau just outside the walls of Quebec City (Stuart, 2003). The battle involved fewer than 10,000 troops between both sides, but proved to be in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France, influencing the later creation of Canada (Casgrain, 1964). The culmination of a three-month siege by the British, the battle lasted less than an hour. British troops commanded by General James Wolfe successfully resisted the column advance of French troops and Canadian militia under Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm (Hibbert, 1959). The two generals were mortally wounded during the battle, Wolfe died on the field and Montcalm passed away the next morning. In the wake of the battle, France’s remaining military force in Canada and the rest of North America came under increasing pressure from British forces. Within four years, nearly all of France’s possessions in eastern North America would be ceded to Great Britain (Anderson, 2000). The battle itself has bind Montcalm and Wolfe. Montcalm has been treated leniently by history he was indeed a brilliant and heroic soldier, and he had the crowning honor of dying bravely at Quebec, but he cannot be held blameless in this affair. He had taught the Indians that he was as one of themselves, had omitted no means of securing their amity had danced and sung with them and smiled approvingly and he had no right to imagine that they would believe him sincere in his promise to spare the prisoners. The two military leaders of the French and British fought the battle as the most promising event in their lives. The two generals leave a legacy to the Plains of Abraham. Bibliography Anderson, Fred. 2000. Crucible of War: The Seven Years War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. New York. Casgrain, H.R. 1964. Wolfe and Montcalm. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Chartrand, Rene. 1999. Quebec 1759. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. Eccles, W.J. 1760. The Canadian Frontier. New York: Holt. Fregault, Guy. 1969. Canada: The war of the Conquest. Toronto Oxford: University Press. Hayes, Derek. 2002. Historical Atlas of Canada. Vancouver: Douglas & Mc Intyre Ltd. Hibbert, Christopher. 1959. Wolfe at Quebec. New York: The World Publishing Company. Lee , Kenneth. 1986. The French armies in the seven years war. University Press. Lloyd, Christopher.1959. The Capture of Quebec. London: B.T. Batsford, Ltd. Reid, Stuart. 2003. The Battle that Won Canada. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.