EXPERIMENTS IN GOVERNMENT British Colonial North America

Experiments in Government With the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Britain was now in control of most of North America. 60,000 – 80,000 French-speaking, Catholic settlers from New France were now British subjects. Once the military left only about 500 British people remained in the colony. The problem – How do 500 rule over 80,000?

The First Idea The first suggestion was to expel the French Canadians in much the same way that the Acadians had been dealt with. This idea was quickly rejected. The Acadian expulsion had been extremely difficult – and they had only 10,000 people to deal with. Here was a population of up to eight times that number. There was no way this was an effective solution. As a result, this idea was scrapped and never formally proposed.

Royal Proclamation 1763 Purpose The first experiment was to “Anglicize” the French. The British believed that if the French were exposed to all things British, they would all want to become British. Maybe they weren’t completely wrong

Key Points as Related to Treaties Any negotiations to buy land from the Aboriginal Peoples needed to be done in public and by representatives of the Crown only The result of the negotiations were to be recorded in written treaties The Crown alone had the right to purchase Aboriginal traditional land used for hunting and fishing, but gave Aboriginal Peoples the right to use the land for hunting and fishing after purchase

Colour all the British territory red. Colour all the Spanish territory yellow. Colour all the Russian territory blue. Colour all the Native and unexplored territory green.

Boundary Changes The Former New France Territory was cut drastically. The colony was reduced, essentially, to the St. Lawrence Lowlands All the Louisianna Territory was designated as “Indian Territory” as an attempt to mollify the Natives and to restrict the expansion of the British colonists.

Changes to Government The capital of the colony would be Quebec The Governor would be English, and appointed by the British crown The APPOINTED council would include all the Lieutenants-Governor from Trois-Rivieres and Montreal as well as property owners from the colony Roman Catholics were NOT allowed to hold office An ELECTED council was promised “later”

Changes to the law English law would (slowly) replace French law French civil law would be maintained

Changes to Religion Freedom of worship continued The Church of England (Anglican) was promoted as the colony’s church Protestant schools were established and given financial aid

Reaction of the Native Peoples The Natives had had a good fur trading relationship with the French and they wanted that to continue With all the trading posts now in the hands of the British, the competition was lessened, meaning lower prices for Native furs Land in the hands of the British meant more settlers would come and take yet more land away from the Natives In the spring of 1763, Pontiac, the chief of the Ottawa Indians launched an attack on Detroit that set off a huge Indian uprising.

Reaction of the British Colonists The new territory extended down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico The proclamation acknowledged that Native Americans owned the lands on which they were then residing and white settlers in the area were to be removed Colonists were angry as they had risked their lives in the war and saw the territory as their reward

Reaction of the French Colonists Disliked the proclamation because it threatened the existence of the Catholic Church (tithing was no longer required by law) English law was not understood The possibility of an elected assembly did not sit well with many because they feared that the assembly would impose taxes

Reaction of the British Merchants in Montreal Mixed reaction – liked the idea of the elected assembly (more power for them) and the “Anglicization” of the French Were dismayed to find out that Governor Murray did not intend to hand law-making powers over to them – he wanted to appease the French

The Quebec Act 1774 Purpose The expected wave of British immigrants into Quebec did not materialize, making the “anglicization” of the French a very difficult thing. The 13 Colonies were showing signs of unrest, and it was felt that Britain needed to gain the loyalty of the French to prevent them from joining the 13 Colonies in any act of rebellion. Lead up to the Quebec Act Quebec was needed as a military base. Essentially the Quebec Act reversed the Royal Proclamation.

Boundary Changes Much of the colony’s former territory was returned to it, including the Ohio Valley All areas in the northern portion were deemed “Indian Territory” and could not be settled except by special permission.

Changes to Government Quebec would remain the capital The governor would be appointed (and English) The council was enlarged to include between 17 and 23 members An elected assembly was denied Roman Catholics could now hold public office

Changes to Laws English criminal law continued French Canadian civil law was to remain (no further plans to replace it slowly with English law) Governor could grant lands – but in accordance with the British Freehold system

Changes to Religion Right to practice Catholicism was guaranteed Church “property and civil rights” were restored – meaning that the Church could again enforce tithing Catholics had to take a special oath if they wanted to hold office Support of the Protestant religion continued

British Fur Traders Clergy and Seigneurs Mixed reaction – liked that the boundaries were extended, hated the French laws Delighted with the Act – it gave both groups back a leading position in the colony and retained the social structure which gave them wealth and power Reactions

Reaction of the French Colonists Relatively indifferent – the Act did encourage them to continue with their “Canadian way of life”, but it also re-established the tithing system and the seigneurial dues – both of which had been done away with under the Royal Proclamation When the American Revolution began, many rejected the clergy’s and seigneur’s appeals to join with the British against the rebels

Reaction of the British Colonists Saw this as another of Britain’s “Intolerable Acts”. The Quebec Act attached the Ohio Valley to Quebec, “proving” to the colonists the British intended to thwart their attempts to expand westward

Connection to Today The Quebec Act is still looked to today by both the French Canadians in Quebec and by the indigenous people of Canada. For the indigenous peoples, especially those in the northern Quebec region, the Quebec Act gives them a certain amount of control over the land. For the Quebecoise, the Act gives them a guarantee of language and culture rights.

The American Revolution The American Revolution began in 1775 and ended in1783 The Americans declared their independence on July 4, 1776 There was no one cause for the rebellion, but one of the leading causes were the “Intolerable Acts” – Taxation measures taken by the British to pay for the defense of America One of the most hated Acts was the Quebec Act.

Loyalists As a result of the American Revolution, thousands of colonists who wished to remain loyal to the British crown were expelled from their own homes. Some did not want to fight because they had economic or family ties with Britain, others because they did not see the purpose in the fight, and others still realized that the revolutionaries were merely using the “Intolerable Acts” as an excuse to break away from the mother country.

Loyalists Either way, 80,000 – 100,000 colonists fled the violence that befell those that did not support the “American cause”. Most were farmers or merchants. Most did not have money or major assets. Those that left had their property confiscated by the new states.

The Constitution Act of 1791 Purpose Keep the French Canadians happy while also providing a fully British government and culture for the Loyalists.

Purpose Almost 1/3 of the American population did not agree with the war they wanted to remain loyal to Britain. As a result they were driven out of their homes. The British government could not ask these people who had sacrificed everything to remain British to now live under the French Canadian system. The British government also could not afford to alienate the French Canadians who were fearful that this influx of English speaking immigrants would swamp their culture and language.

Boundary Changes The colony was split in two very nearly at the current boundary between Ontario and Quebec.  The English were granted the lands that are today Ontario. Then it was called Upper Canada.  The French retained the lands of Quebec and it was called Lower Canada.

Changes to Government Each colony was to have its own capital  Lower Canada would maintain Quebec as a capital  Upper Canada started with Newark (now Niagara-on-the- Lake) as its capital, but within two years it was switched to York (current day Toronto).

Changes to Government Both colonies would have the same type of government  A governor appointed by Britain  An executive council appointed by the governor  Advised the governor  Carried out the decisions of the council  Answerable to the governor, not the people  A legislative council appointed by the governor  Concerned with making laws of local concern  Had the power to block bills proposed by the assembly  An assembly elected by qualified voters  Concerned with the levying of taxes  Matters of local concern

Changes to Government Because all taxation issues had to go through the assembly (who would probably vote down any new taxes) the government was given the ability to sell crown reserves of land (total = 1/7 of all public land)

Changes to the Laws Lower Canada continued to have British criminal law and French civil law. English laws would prevail both criminally and civilly in Upper Canada.

Changes to Religion Lower Canada continued with the changes and accommodations set out in the Quebec Act of 1774 In Upper Canada “clergy reserves”, representing 1/7th of all public lands was set aside to support the Protestant church.

Reactions of the People Both the French and English seemed to be satisfied with this arrangement.  This would continue as long as the English were either in a minority position, or their numbers were more equal to the French. Once they became the majority, changes would have to be made.

Connections to Today The Constitution Act of 1791 was not the last “constitution act” in Canada. The Constitution Act of 1982 is the Act of Parliament that made Canada a fully sovereign nation. Constitution Act of 1982