1. The British in North America
Chapter 3
The British in North America

2. Mercantilism
You’ve already thought a lot about trade in this course. You saw how the First Nations had elaborate trade systems among themselves and how the French colonies were focused most on the fur trade with the First Nations. In the part of New France centred around Québec (and, after 1642, Ville-Marie, which later became Montréal), the Wendat were the main trading partners of the French. Trade, of course, isn’t something that happened only in the past; it’s what keeps the world’s economy going today more than ever before.
Create a T-chart, brainstorm lists of important exports and imports. Exports are things that Alberta produces and trades with people in other places—like other provinces and other countries.
Imports are things Alberta doesn’t produce—or doesn’t produce much of—and must bring in from other places.
Exports –oil
• natural gas
• beef
• grain
• forestry products
• chemicals
Imports-
• cars and trucks
• farm equipment
• computers
• televisions
• stereos
• citrus fruits

3. mercantilism: an economic theory that an imperialist country becomes
MERCANTALISM
Basically, the idea goes like this: A country—Britain, for instance— should try to export as much as it possibly can to other countries and import as little as it possibly can.
If other countries are buying more from Britain than they’re selling to it, they buy those goods with gold. And that gold coming into Britain and staying there is—so the theory of mercantilism goes—what makes Britain wealthy. And that’s where colonies come in.
Colonies, remember, aren’t other countries. They’re owned by the home country—such as Britain or France.
So if Britain can get all the furs or fish (as examples) it needs from its colonies, it doesn’t have to buy them from another country. And if Britain gets more than it needs this way, it can sell those extra furs and fish to other countries in return for gold.
So the more colonies a country has, the richer it should get—according to the theory of mercantilism.
mercantilism: an
economic theory
that an imperialist
country becomes
rich by selling
resources from its
colonies to other
Countries

4. To learn more about mercantilism, read pages 52 and 53 in Voices and Visions. Study the diagram on page 53 in particular.
Speaker #1- I have a question before we go on. Sometimes we speak of England and English colonies and sometimes of Britain and British colonies. They’re the same thing, right?
Speaker #2- Not exactly but close enough—at least for our purposes here. The textbook uses both, so be careful that you don’t get confused. If you’d like to learn more, read the “England” versus “Britian” green box on page 102 of Voices and Visions.

5. • European manufactured goods available • market available for furs
Benefits
Drawbacks
Britain
wealth created
• country becomes powerful
• cheap raw materials provided for
manufacturing
• market created for many products—
especially manufactured ones
• manufacturing jobs created
• colonies expensive to establish
and maintain
• colonies need protection
• colonists may rebel
British Colonies
• cheap land available
• opportunities provided for hardworking
people
• home country looks after some
aspects of life
• market available for raw products
• imported manufactured goods
expensive
• colonists prevented from developing
some industries
• taxes kept high for defence, etc.
First Nations
• European manufactured goods
available
• market available for furs
• land taken by colonies
• traditional lifestyle lost
• hostilities sometimes break out
• new diseases appear

6. The British Cross the Atlantic
Look at the painting that forms the background on pages 52 and 53. It shows part of Halifax—today the capital of Nova Scotia—and it was done by a British soldier stationed there in the 1750s. Halifax, by the way, was founded in 1749.
Is this painting a source of information that historians can rely on today? Why or why not
This painting was done by someone there at the time, which makes it a primary source reference. What’s more, it’s a painting by a European of a settlement of Europeans, so one could agree that the problem of cultural bias isn’t great. If so, it should be a very reliable reference as to what Halifax looked like in its first years.
In point form, list five or six things you can learn about Halifax from this painting.

7. It looks clean, neat, and well designed. The streets are very wide
It looks clean, neat, and well designed. The streets are very wide. A lot of money has been invested here.
• Houses are solid and impressive with brick chimneys.
• Houses have windows that must have been imported from Europe.
• The people in the streets look quite prosperous.
• There are sentries posted, and several men seem to be in the same uniform. Is this a military town?
• There are more men than women—and only one child. This might be another indication that this is a military base.
• There are horses that must have been imported from Europe.
• It seems quiet; there are few people out and about. Is this perhaps a Sunday?

8. Did it surprise you to learn that the British were founding communities in Nova Scotia back in 1749? Hadn’t the French been colonizing that part of the country when they established Acadia? The fact is that the British and French empires were very much in competition, though the sorts of colonies the British were establishing were rather different from the French ones. In this lesson you’ll begin to compare and contrast British and French attempts at colonization.

9. How many of the fifty states can you name that make up the United States of America today? Canadians live so close to the US, and we’re so connected with American culture through things like movies, books, and TV shows, that chances are you can name quite a few. And even if you can’t think of too many, you’d probably recognize the names of most states if you heard them.
The first thirteen colonies that the British established in North America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries all became states when the United States became an independent country. So chances are that the names of those colonies will be familiar to you.
Map activity, find and place all the states name on the map and their capitals

10. Look at the map on page 55 of Voices and Visions (Figure 3
Look at the map on page 55 of Voices and Visions (Figure 3.1) and you’ll see all thirteen colonies.
The little outline map of North America inset in the larger map shows you what part of the continent you’re looking at. These thirteen British colonies were known, appropriately, as the Thirteen Colonies. They were also known as New England.
Why did the British establish thirteen colonies along that strip of Atlantic seacoast? Why not just one?
Having learned about French colonizing patterns, you likely have a good idea as to the reason already, but to learn more, read all of pages 55 through 58 in Voices and Visions. Be sure to pay close attention to the charts and diagrams. When you’ve finished reading, answer the following questions.

11. Your textbook lists four major reasons for the British decision to establish colonies in North America:
• the economy • competition
• quality of life • religious freedom
1.Three of these reasons are quite similar to the reasons for French colonization, but one is rather different. Identify the different reason and explain the difference.
2.Why did the British establish so many different colonies?
3.Study the map/diagram on page 56 of Voices and Visions(Figure 3.2). How does it show mercantilism at work?
4.The chart on page 56 of the textbook (Figure 3.3) shows that the population of the British colonies grew much faster than that of the French colonies. From what you’ve learned, explain the reasons for this difference.
5.New France was very different from the New England colonies in a number of ways, one of which was religion.
a. Describe this religious difference.
b. Explain which policy about religion in the colonies you think was a better idea. Be sure to give your reasons.

12. 1. The reason that’s different is the last one—religious freedom
1. The reason that’s different is the last one—religious freedom. The official religion in France was Roman Catholicism, and only Roman Catholics were allowed to immigrate to New France. However, many people in England who belonged to churches other than the official one—the Church of England—sought greater freedom in the New World to practice their beliefs as they saw fit.
2. The king of England, James I, wanted British colonies, but he didn’t want to spend the vast sums of money needed. So he granted the right to groups of people to set up British colonies in New England. This was something like the French idea of granting a monopoly on the fur trade to merchants in return for establishing the colony of New France.
3. The map/diagram shows the colonies selling raw materials like tobacco, grain, and iron ore to the home country, England. In return, English manufacturers sold goods like cloth and guns to the colonies—no doubt for a lot more money.
This means that England didn’t have to trade with other countries for many of its needs. If it continued to sell products to those countries, it would pocket all that money.

13. 4. The reasons are well explained in the chart on page 57.
• Britain invested more in its colonies because it wanted the military and economic advantage this would bring.
• Farms flourished in the warmer climate of New England.
• The economy of the Thirteen Colonies was more diversified than that of the French colonies, which depended heavily on the fur trade.
• The Thirteen Colonies encouraged people of different faiths and even people from different countries to settle there.
• At first, the Thirteen Colonies were allowed to trade with other countries. However, as the theory of mercantilism became more popular, this advantage was to some extent lost
5. a. Only Roman Catholics could move to the French colonies while people from a variety of faiths moved to New England.
B. From a practical standpoint, the British practice resulted in many more people immigrating. This, of course, meant that the colonies grew much faster and became more powerful. Different faiths also created a richness in the Thirteen Colonies. Of course, different faiths can also come into conflict, and the French idea made life simpler from this perspective.

14. The British Colonies in Atlantic Canada
Long before Europeans were settling in North America, a few boats were probably coming over in the summer to fish. They were most likely fishing off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, a shallow area of sea where one of the world’s richest supply of codfish existed.
When John Cabot, an explorer working for England, officially “discovered” the Grand Banks in 1497, things really took off, and from then on the waters of Newfoundland supplied England with one of its staple foods.
There were so many codfish, everyone assumed they’d be there forever; so no one took any precautions to ensure that the Grand Banks weren’t over-fished. It took about 500 years, but by the 1990s, the cod were almost gone.
You can imagine what happened to the economy of the province. Whole communities disappeared. People moved wherever they had to go to find other kinds of work. It was devastating.
To learn a bit more about this dreadful situation, read the Canada Today box on page 59 of Voices and Visions.
What lesson can Canadians—and anyone else, for that matter— learn from what happened to Newfoundland’s codfish?

15. read the rest of page 59 (beginning, as always, with the Focus question) and continue to the end of the Case Study box on page 61.

16. The Tragedy of the Beothuk
Speaker #1 So you can see that while Newfoundland was too northerly to seem very hospitable—and had soil that was too poor to farm—it became a British colony anyway. The fish in the Grand Banks, just like the furs in New France, were the reason behind settlement.
Speaker #2-But that was horrible about the First Nations people in Newfoundland! The English settlers just hunted them down like animals. Even the children!
Speaker #1- You’re right. The treatment of the Beothuk people of Newfoundland is one of the great stains on our history. There are many dreadful examples of ill treatment of Canada’s First Peoples, but one of the worst is what happened to the Beothuk.
What caused the conflict between the Beothuk and the British fishers?
Would things have been different if the English colonists had been interested in trading furs rather than in fishing? Explain your answer.

17. The British fishing villages cut off the Beothuk’s access to the sea—access they needed for the food they lived on. The peaceful Beothuk even went hungry in their attempts to avoid a fight, but when the Europeans left for the winter, they sometimes raided their supplies. This made the British fishers want to retaliate.
Almost certainly things would have been different because the fur traders would have needed the Beothuk to get the furs they wanted. As it was, the British fishers just saw them as a nuisance

18. As noted previously, the destruction of the Beothuk was one of the great tragedies of Canadian history. An entire people with its own language, culture, and traditions was entirely wiped out—and much of that was done deliberately.
The British would sometimes go out hunting human beings just as people hunt deer today—except that there were no restrictions on the numbers or the season. But, as your textbook mentions, it wasn’t only deliberate killing that destroyed the Beothuk. When Europeans arrived in North America, they brought with them diseases that the First Peoples of the New World had never known. While diseases like smallpox and tuberculosis certainly killed Europeans, those diseases had been around so long that most people had some immunity.
First Peoples, though, had no immunity, and entire communities were wiped out in almost no time at all. Disease, in fact, killed far more First Nations people than warfare with Europeans When Shanawdithit died in 1829, her culture died with her. But before she died, she drew some pictures in an attempt to describe the lives of her people.

19. On page 61 of Voices and Visions you can see Shanawdithit’s sketches (Figure 3.6). These sketches are excellent primary source references. Together we will read this section
list things these sketches tell you about the lives of the Beothuk
The Beothuk
• hunted seals with harpoons
• hunted deer with spears
• dried venison (deer meat) for the winter in specially built store houses with peaked roofs (probably to shed snow)
• danced as part of their culture—and seemed to have made special costumes for the purpose
• made and used containers for drinking, carrying water, and probably other purposes
Now answer the questions in the section titled respond
1. The main cause of the conflict between the Beothuk and the British fishers was that the fishers cut off the Beothuk’s access to the sea, which they relied on for food
2. If British colonists in Newfoundland were more intrested in the fur trade, they might have formed a trading alliance with the Beothuk.

20. Events in Europe affect the colonies/ The creation of Halifax
Together we will read pages 61-62
Now on the map of Atlantic Canada locate the following places: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia(Acadia), and Halifax
Now using your map determine why Halifax’s location was so important
It is closer to Europe than ports in the United States: it was a convenient base for naval forces to patrol and control the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Now take a look at Figure 3.7 and answer the question.

21. Active Citizenship in Halifax
Read page 62 when finished answer the following question
How did this British colony compare to the Thirteen colonies?
This colony, now known as Nova Scotia, was originally created by the French. Britain wanted to show it’s sovereignty , so it took a direct and active interests in this colony. Nova Scotia was the first British colony in North America with an elected assembly.

22. The Mi’kmaq Perspective/ Voices
With a partner read this section and analyze the Mi’kmaq declaration of war, and answer the following questions
What does the declaration of war reveal about Mi’kmaq society and culture?
Do you think the Mi’kmaq were justified in issuing the declaration? Why or Why not?

23. Think It Through
Do the three questions in the section titled Think it Through. For question number 2 review pages 39-40
1. the establishment of the elected assembly in Halifax increased colonists’ responsibilities by giving them the vote and more active voice in colony’s government.

24. The Company by the Bay A Monopoly on the Fur Trade
Do you or any other members of your family shop at The Bay? If so, are you aware that it’s Canada’s oldest company? In fact, The Bay is one of the oldest companies in the world—and it began as a fur-trading business called the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Do you remember how the king of France gave a monopoly on the fur trade in New France to a company who agreed, in return, to develop the colony? The French weren’t the only people giving out such monopolies at that time. The Hudson’s Bay Company was given a monopoly on the fur trade in northern North America by the king of England.

25. To learn a bit more about the monopoly given to the Hudson’s Bay Company—and about The Bay today—read the Canada Today box on page 66 of Voices and Visions. Then answer the following questions.
1. A monopoly, as you’ll recall, is the right given to only one company to trade or sell a product in an area. To get an idea of just what the effect this has on business, answer the following questions.
a. Imagine that there was only one company in your community that sold pizza. What would probably happen to the price of pizzas in your community? Give reasons for your answer.
b. What would happen to prices if one or more other pizza places opened up? Again, give your reasons.
c. What would happen if one pizza company began to charge more than all the other companies? Remember to give your reasons.
d. What would happen if all the pizza companies decided to match that one company with the high prices? As always, give your reasons

26. Answers
a. The company would be able to choose the prices it charged because everyone wanting a pizza would have to buy that company’s products. The prices would almost certainly be high.
b. Now the companies would have to compete to get people’s business. Prices would come down as they tried to attract customers.
c. That company would soon start selling fewer pizzas than the others. Unless its pizzas were much better or much bigger—or unless there were some other advantages like a convenient location—it would probably soon go out of business.
d. Again there would be no competition, but if the prices were too high all the pizzerias would probably lose business. Customers would start to eat more of other things that were cheaper—like hamburgers

27. The king of France granted a monopoly on the fur trade to ensure that settlers would be brought to New France. But the British had no thoughts of settling around Hudson Bay. It was too far north for farming and the ground was almost solid rock.
Suggest a reason why the Hudson’s Bay Company was granted a monopoly.
The British government wanted the company to be very successful so that Britain would remain a player in the fur trade. A monopoly helped ensure that the company would be successful.
Now read pages 64 and 65 in Voices and Visions up to “Conflict on the Bay.” Begin, as always, with the Focus question.
You can see from thinking about the past questions that monopolies aren’t good for competition or consumers.
Competing for customers is what keeps prices down. Merchants, however, usually like the idea of a monopoly. After all, they can raise prices as high as they want—at least till consumers simply choose to do without the product.
And when consumers really want something, they’re usually willing to pay a lot. That was certainly true a few hundred years ago when hats made from beaver fur were the fashion trend in Europe.

28. The Creation of the Hudson’s Bay Company
Do you remember Pierre Radisson and the Sieur des Groseilliers from Section 1? They were probably the greatest of all the coureurs de bois of New France. But they were more than just good outdoorsmen; they had real business sense too. When they heard about the vast “inland sea” from the First Nations people they lived and travelled with, they got an idea to make a fortune in the fur trade.
Explain the idea that Radisson and des Groseilliers came up with. In your explanation, identify the advantages their plan would have over the way the French had been trading furs up till then. The map on page 65 of Voices and Visions (Figure 3.9) should help make this clear
The idea was to get away from using canoe routes into the interior of North America for trade with First Nations. Instead, traders could just sail in ocean-going ships from England right into the heart of the continent. This was a much easier, faster, safer, and economical system.

29. Mike: I can’t believe that the French government didn’t go for their plan. Talk about a mistake!
Ms. Babiuk: But remember that Radisson and des Groseilliers hadn’t actually seen Hudson Bay. Outfitting sea-going ships for an expedition that might lead nowhere would have been an expensive gamble.
Winston: I suppose that the British had more faith that the bay was really there because they’d discovered it—back when Henry Hudson found it. They wouldn’t have seen it as such a gamble.
Mike: Either way, Radisson and des Groseilliers were definitely more interested in making money than in loyalty to France.
Ms. Babiuk: As you’ve heard, they were good businessmen. And remember, coureurs de bois in the woods of North America might not have felt a lot of loyalty to France so faraway across the Atlantic. All Radisson and des Groseilliers wanted was money to pay for their expedition into Hudson Bay.
When that first ship sailed out of Hudson Bay and back to England full of the thickest beaver pelts anyone in Europe had ever seen, the British king, Charles II, was quick to grant a monopoly to a group of merchants. The Hudson’s Bay Company was formed in Its monopoly was to trade furs in all the lands drained by rivers that flowed into Hudson Bay. This area was called Rupert’s Land.

30. Conflict on the Bay Together we will read this section
Who was left out of this conflict?
The first nations
What do you think the First Nations perspective might have been?
By 1713, the British and the French were set to fight it out for the fur trade in what is today Canada. You’ve thought a lot in this course about the negative effects of European activities in North America, but can you see any positive economic effects in all this for at least some First Nations people? Write out your answer
By now you know how a monopoly works. People with a monopoly can more or less set prices for what they sell. If no Europeans had been competing in the trade with the First Nations.
anyone trading could have demanded high prices for those furs.
But when the British and the French were competing with each other for the fur trade, they both tried hard to attract First Nations business. This meant offering more goods and better prices.
In time, it also meant that both the French and the British would work at going to the First Nations rather than expecting the First Nations to come to them.

31. Treaty of Utrecht—1713
Britain
France
You encountered the treaty of Utrecht once before referring to pages 61 and 66 of Voices and Visions—as well as information you already know—list the territories in North America that both Britain and France retained after this important treaty.
Britain
France
the Thirteen Colonies (New England)
• Nova Scotia (had been Acadia) except
for Île Royale
• Hudson Bay lands
• Newfoundland
• Louisbourg (on Île Royale)
• the settlements in the St. Lawrence Valley
(including Québec and Ville-Marie—which
became Montréal)
• the vast area west of the Thirteen Colonies
and south of British lands around Hudson
Bay

32. The British Continue to Explore
Explorers from the Bay
The merchants in charge of the Hudson’s Bay Company weren’t the least bit interested in exploration. The idea of the “Gentlemen Adventurers Trading into Hudson’s Bay” was that if they built trading posts on Hudson Bay, First Nations people would come to them to trade. All that the Hudson’s Bay people would have to do was sit and wait for them.
In the first century of its existence, the Hudson’s Bay Company produced only three important explorers. But what they accomplished—with a great deal of help from First Nations companions—is remarkable.
These three explorers were
• Henry Kelsey • Anthony Henday • Samuel Hearne

33. Into the Interior
After reading this section answer the following question
How might the first nations people he met have viewed Kelsey?
They viewed him with curiosity; as potential friend because he was accompanied by Cree guides; and with interest because he showed them guns, blankets, pots, and other British goods.
Read the caption for Figure 3-11 and answer the questions in the caption
First Nations people would be more willing to work with the British fur traders because of the good relations Kelsey has established.

34. It’s hard for us to realize today just how certain most Europeans were two and three hundred years ago that their culture and their ways were superior to everyone else’s. This attitude hindered many explorers who felt it was “beneath them” to adopt the ways of the people who lived in the area. To do this was in the eyes of most Europeans to let your standards slide. It was considered a bad thing.
Speaker #1 But that’s just nuts. The people who lived there had been there for thousands of years. They’d know what to eat and how to get it. They’d know what to wear and how to find their way around. They’d know how to survive.
Speaker #2 Exactly. The coureurs de bois of New France figured that one out, as did Kelsey, Henday, and Hearne. That’s the main reason they were so successful. Others weren’t so smart.

35. West Into Alberta/ To the Northern Lands
Together we will read these two sections
Why did Henday and Hearne undertake their expedition?
Henday hoped to forge new trade relationships with first nations farther west
Hearne hoped to find gold and copper
Was their expeditions successful?
Neither man accomplished the goal he set out with, Hearne did become the first European to reach the shores of the Arctic ocean, and he learned a great deal from the Dene about how to live off the land
Look at figure 3-12, what challenges would Henday and Hearne face?
Great distances, food shortages, harsh weather, wild animals
What does the map tell you about the extent of British exploration?
British ventured far to the north and west.

36. Voices pg 69 Read Samuel Hearne’s journal
What do we learn from a primary-source document such as this?
We learn historical facts about people, places, and events,
But we also learn about a person’s feelings, thoughts, and experiences, which may help make history “real”

37. Because he kept such extensive accounts of his travels, a great deal is known about Samuel Hearne’s explorations into Canada’s north— where he encountered Inuit people.
One of the things his journal makes clear is the huge contribution made to his journey by his Dene guide, Matonabbee.
In fact, Matonabbee was far more than just a guide. A skilled trader, diplomat, and linguist, Matonabbee was in some ways the real leader of the expedition. He also became a close personal friend of Hearne’s.

38. Biography: Matonabbee pg 69
Again together we will read the biography on page 69
What evidence can you find that supports the following statement: “ Matonabbee”s leadership made Samuel Hearne’s expedition a success”
He knew the route to the arctic, spoke at least three languages, and showed Hearne how to travel light and live off the land
Complete the following sentence “The travels of Matonabbee should be called the incredible journeys because…”

39. The Search for The Northwest Passage
Read the case study
Speculate on the problems faced by people trapped on ships in the ice?
They lacked food, it was bitterly cold, they faced boredom, their wooden ships could be crushed by ice.
Now lets look at figure 3-14 and answer the question in the caption
Amundsen would be able to sail through the Arctic ocean for only a brief time in summer, which is why the journey took so long
Have you ever heard of the “Northwest Passage”? Do you know what the expression refers to? Remember that Columbus and other early explorers from Europe came to the Americas hoping to find a new path to Asia.
When they bumped into land, many still hoped to find a way around or through it so that they could continue on to Asia and its trading riches.
As it became more and more apparent that North and South America made up a pretty big land mass, some people began to wonder if there was a way around it to the north—over the top, as it were.
And for hundreds of years after that idea took root in people’s minds, explorers searched for a “Northwest Passage” in Canada’s northern waters.
They hoped to find not just a way through, but a way through that was easy and safe enough to use as a regular route for ships.

40. Exploring the Pacific Coast
Have you thought about the fact that so far all the European exploration and settling of North America has been coming from the east and moving west?
Of course, that’s natural because Europe is across the Atlantic Ocean from the Americas. But as explorers travelled all over the globe, eventually some began arriving on the west coast of North America. These explorers also tried to find the Northwest Passage.

41. Early Contacts on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts
Read about the British explorers James Cook and George Vancouver on pages 71 and 72 (read up to the Think It Through box on page 72).
Early Contacts on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts
As you read, think about the similarities and differences between the early contact of First Nations and Europeans on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Canada. Then put your ideas into a comparison chart like the one shown here. It’s been started for you
Differences
• Contact came much later on the Pacific coast.
Similarities

42. Differences
• The French made contact on the Atlantic coast first, while the British did so on the Pacific.
• The pelts on the Atlantic coast in most demand were beavers while on the Pacific coast they were sea otters.
Similarities
• On both sides of the continent, contact was made by European explorers looking for a shorter route to Asia.
• On both coasts, the Europeans were first welcomed by theFirst Nations they encountered.
On both coasts the First Nations people they encountered were interested in trade.

43. The British: Forging the Foundations of Canada
read page 72
make a list of the effects the British had on what is now Canada.
Your list should include: English speaking colonies, The Hudson Bay Company, the founding of Halifax, the naming of Nova Scotia, mapping the coast of what is now British Columbia, the creation of British settlements on what is now Newfoundland, and the extinction of the Beothuk