Chapter 6: The Nation Expands
Chapter 6:
The Nation Expands, Flashback Canada
Gold Rush
Once
Aboriginal peoples began exchanging gold nugget for goods in a Hudson Bay
trading post in Kamloops, British Columbia.
A gold rush began in the Fraser River, gold miners left for B.C. in
hopes to strike it rich. The fur trade along the West Coast focused on otter
pelts that were thick and resilient to water.
Nearly 20 000 people arrived and many took steamships from San
Francisco, California after its recent gold rush. Catherine Shubert was willing
to make the trek across the Athabasca Pass through the Rocky Mountains and
later gave birth to her daughter once she arrived in Kamloops. Most of the claims were taken and the British
feared an American intrusion into British North America. British Columbia also struggled with
lawlessness and the cost of building new roads.
The offer of Canada or Ottawa to absorb its debt and build a railroad to
Vancouver eventually motivated the colony to join Confederation or the Dominion
of Canada.
British
Columbia is created largely because of James Douglas who was the governor of
Vancouver Island. He travelled to the Fraser with Royal Military Engineers and
a cannon. He enforced British rule
there. With the news of gold, the British Parliament quickly passed a series of
laws or an act that claimed the mainland of British Columbia.
Attempts to
use camels in the 1860’s resulted in disaster because they broke loose, injured
workers, could not adapt to the terrain, and startled mules.
British
Columbia had three choices in the late 1860’s:
2.
They
could join the United States, but few would sign a petition or a document.
3.
British
Columbia could join Canada and Britain supported this because it was already
becoming a military and economic burden like many of the other Canadian
colonies.
Delegates or
representatives left from Victoria, British Columbia to meet Macdonald’s
cabinet or team to ask to join Canada and to build a wagon road across the
prairies and through the mountains to link B.C. to the rest of our nation. Macdonald wanted resources and instead
offered a railroad.
Rupert’s
Land:
Prince
Edward Island
P.E.I.
refused to join in 1867, but changed their minds in 1873. Even though they built their own railroad,
they still had problems:
1) There
were too many detours or links for smaller towns.
2) Investors
were not too enthusiastic to lend money for the project.
3) When it
railroad was built, the colony was in serious debt.
4) Absentee
or rich landlords in England collected rent from farmers but did not develop
the land or sell it off. (A British captain who chose to be a Loyalist and
fight for Britain back in 1776 against the American Patriots during the
American War of Independence could be rewarded with up to 20 000 acres of land
in 1783.)
Canada
feared that P.E.I. could be used for a base for future invading forces. Canada offered four things to sweeten the
deal:
1) Canada would spend or borrow $800 000
to buy out all the land from absentee landlords.
2) Canada would absorb the colony’s debt
and spread the cost among taxpayers.
3) A year-round ferry or boat service
would connect P.E.I. to New Brunswick.
4) An underwater telegraph service would
later be given.
*In 1997, the terms of ‘access to the mainland’ were used by the people
to convince the Canadian government to build a 13-km bridge, the Confederation
Bridge, to link the island to the mainland.
This replaced air and sea travel for most people.
What was life like back in 1846?
Cornelius Krieghoff painted life of French-Canadian society in rural
Quebec. His paintings showed taverns
(bars), festivals, country travel, and life on farms. Look up ‘Winter Landscape.’
gold rush- miners and enthusiasts flock to an
area where gold deposits have been found despite hardships and risks; it
usually involves a ‘boom and bust’ or rapid growth an economic collapse of an
area
biography- the story of someone’s life
the Red
River Colony- over
10 000 settlers lived near present-day Winnipeg or Fort Garry
panning- miners use a metal pan with a
sloping side in which they tilted the pan, so the gravel and water would
separate from the flakes of gold
profile- it outlines the highlights of a
person’s life and achievements
North-West
Territories- all the land from Canada West to the Rockies
the Cariboo
Road- further up the
Fraser River in the Cariboo Mountains Royal Engineers devised a road after they
blasted through mountain rock while also disrupting Aboriginal claims to land
and its resources and sacred burial sites; the road cost a fortune at nearly $1
000 000
Rupert’s
Land- the Hudson’s Bay company owned all of
the land, taken from Aboriginal groups, which spanned present-day Northern
Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The fur trade had
ended. Canada was willing to purchase
the land from the company. Settlers had
started communities around present-day Winnipeg or the Red River around Fort
Garry. The population consisted of
Scottish crofters (landless farmers), Metis, French Canadians, and Native
Groups. Without representation of these
peoples, Canada purchased all of this land and laid claim on December 1st,
1869.
2. a) What
were the three choices open to the colony of British Columbia from 1870 to
1871?
1. They
could remain a colony from the far-off shores of Britain.
2. They
could join the United States, but few would sign a petition or a document.
3. British
Columbia could join Canada and Britain supported this because it was already
becoming a military and economic burden like many of the other Canadian
colonies.
b) Outline
the advantages and disadvantages of each choice.
1. Cons:
Remaining a colony made B.C. vulnerable to attack the U.S. and control from the
British Empire. Pros: The British Empire controlled 1/3 of the world, so they
were still a super power.
2. Cons:
America was not the super power of today. Washington rather than London or
Ottawa would now control them. The population was lukewarm about joining
America. Pros: There would be increased trade with Washington State, Oregon,
and California.
3. Pros:
Canada would provide them markets for their resources and a railway from sea to
sea. Canada would absorb its debt. More people would move to the West Coast.
Cons: Even though the debt would be absorbed, it is just spread out or
distributed among Canadians. People
still have to pay taxes to service or pay for the debt or just the interest on
the debt. Ottawa would furthermore displace Native groups and colonize the West
just like Britain.
3 a) Why did
Canada want to buy the Hudson’s Bay Company Land?
They wanted
to settle the Prairies with immigrants who wanted free land in exchange for
clearing and farming the land. The fur
trading era had ended. It would help
connect the nation from sea to sea.
b) Why did
the Hudson’s Bay Company want to keep some of its land instead of turning it
over to Canada?
The settlers
still relied on goods purchased from the trading posts or forts. The land was valuable.
4. What
happened between 1867 and 1873 to cause Prince Edward Islanders to change their
minds about Confederation?
P.E.I.
refused to join in 1867, but changed their minds in 1873. Even though they built their own railroad,
they still had 5 problems:
1) There
were too many detours or links for smaller towns.
2) Investors
were not too enthusiastic to lend money for the project.
3) When it
railroad was built, the colony was in serious debt.
4) Absentee
or rich landlords in England collected rent from farmers but did not develop
the land or sell it off. (A British captain who chose to be a Loyalist and
fight for Britain back in 1776 against the American Patriots during the
American War of Independence could be rewarded with up to 20 000 acres of land
in 1783.)
5) Canada and
even the people of Prince Edward Island feared that P.E.I. could be used for a
base for future invading forces.
Canada
offered four things to sweeten the deal:
1) Canada would spend or borrow $800 000 to
buy out all the land from absentee landlords.
2) Canada would absorb the colony’s debt and
spread the cost among taxpayers.
3) A year-round ferry or boat service would
connect P.E.I. to New Brunswick.
4) An underwater telegraph service would
later be given.
*In 1997,
the terms of ‘access to the mainland’ were used by the people to convince the
Canadian government to build a 13-km bridge, the Confederation Bridge, to link
the island to the mainland. This
replaced air and sea travel for most people.
No comments:
Post a Comment