Life in Canada Early 1800’s

Life In Canada: towns Larger more established communities were located on the East Coast and in Lower Canada Quebec City was Canada’s largest community Societies were organized using a class structure. A Class Structure is a system ordering society based on social or economic status The upper class consisted of wealthy people with power. Most wealthy people in towns were from Britain. These people included government officials, bankers, lawyers, and merchants who controlled the sales and exports of goods.

Life In Canada People who lived in Canadian towns had access to many services and goods. Only wealthy townspeople could afford to pay for these goods and services. They could afford to hire servants and send their children to school. They had money to buy food, clothing, and jewellery

Life In Canada Most townspeople belonged to the middle and lower classes. The middle class in Lower Canada was mostly made up of Canadiens. They worked as blacksmiths, dressmakers, glassblowers, and grocers. Their standard of living varied. Some people scraped by and others did well because their skills were in demand. Many servants worked for wealthy families and had little time for themselves or their own families.

Life In Canada: Slavery 2/3 of slaves in Canada were First Nations 1/3 of slaves were black Enslaved people were considered property that could be bought, sold or passed on to their children in wills. In 1793 Lieutenant Governor Simcoe passed the “Act to Limit Slavery” which made it illegal to import enslaved people to Upper Canada. In 1833 slavery was banned by Britain and that was the end of slavery in Canada.

Life In Canada: Challenges of Town Life Homes were not built like they are today in Canada. Many buildings were made of wood and burned quickly if a fire broke out. In towns, buildings were close to each other and fire spread easily. People living in towns were also in constant danger of catching deadly and contagious diseases such as small pox. The spread of disease was a major challenge for Europe for hundreds of years. Various contagious diseases are spread through air, water, insects, and physical contact.

Life In Canada: Social Services In the early 1800’s, the church looked after social services such as health care, education, and care of seniors. People organized themselves to help one another.

Life In Canada: Backwoods Backwoods : remote, uncleared, forest area After the American Revolution, most Loyalists settled in the backwoods and began clearing land to start farms. Loyalists settled in Upper Canada, in colonies, in the Maritimes and to a lesser extent, Lower Canada In many cases, the British Government’s planning of towns made it difficult to create connected communities. Crown reserves : land set aside to finance the government Clergy reserves : land set aside to finance Protestant churches. These reserves separated settlers from each other which hindered the ability to build communities. These settlements could not create post offices, schools, mills, places of worship, markets or shops because the reserves were in the way.

Life In Canada: Backwoods Social events were rare in the backwoods because community centres (like schools, churches etc) were rare and there was no where to host them. A working bee was an occasion where neighbours would get together to accomplish a major task for one member of the community. These allowed settlers to socialize. Emancipation : freedom from slavery

Life In Canada: Aboriginal Peoples Some First Nations people were displaced from the U.S to Canada. The Haudenosaunee Six Nation were given reserves in Ontario. A reserve is an area of land set aside for the use of a specific group of Aboriginal People. Moving into settled communities made it difficult for First Nations to continue their way of life and make a living off the land. Hunting, fishing, and trapping were more difficult because the communities were far away from the best hunting grounds, fishing holes, and trap lines. First Nations tried to make their living in a changing world.

Life In Canada: Aboriginal Peoples The British still valued the First Nations and needed their help to protect themselves from the Americans. They wanted the First Nations to assimilate to the British way of life. They believed they should live in settled communities, speak English or French, and practice Christianity. In Lower Canada, the Catholic church was very active among the First Nations, teaching them French and Catholicism.

Life In Canada: Aboriginals The Beothuks of Newfoundland did not assimilate or learn to co exist among the Loyalist settlers. The Beothuks mostly kept their distance from the Europeans except to occasionally trade furs. Diseases spread among the Beothuk through changes in their diet and occasional contact with Europeans and the items they left behind. Some violence occurred as Beothuk raided settlements. The last surviving Beothuk died in 1829.

Life In Canada: Métis The Métis is an aboriginal person descended from a First Nations mother and a father of European descent. Since these people were not completely First Nation or European, they felt that they did not fit into the existing settlements. The Métis created their own community in the early 1800’s. They created their own language (Michif) and considered themselves a new people. Michif : a language that combined French and Cree. They followed their own beliefs which combined First Nations beliefs and Catholicism. Today, the Métis are recognized as one of the three Aboriginal Peoples of Canada.

Quiz: There will be a quiz on these three chapters on January 18 th. It will be fill in the blank questions only.