Colonialism and Empire: French Canada

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms related to colonialism, assimilation, accommodation, and language rights in French Canada.

Colonialism

The practice of acquiring and maintaining control over foreign territories, often involving the settlement of colonizers and exploitation of resources.

Assimilation

A process through which governments and other societal institutions push a minority group to become more similar to the majority group in terms of values, behaviours, and beliefs.

Accommodation

A process through which governments and other societal institutions recognize and accept that a minority group is different from the majority group and allow the minority group to maintain its distinctiveness.

Francophone

A person or community that speaks French as a first language.

Anglophone

A person or community that speaks English as a first language.

The Royal Proclamation (1763)

Issued by King George III, aimed to assimilate French Canadians by appointing a British colonial governor and replacing French law with English law.

The Quebec Act (1774)

Legislation that further accommodated French Canadians by granting freedoms related to religion and law, in response to their significance in Canada.

The Act of Union (1841)

Legislation that combined Upper and Lower Canada into one Province of Canada, introducing anti-French measures.

The Official Languages Act (1969)

Legislation that recognized French and English as equal languages in Canada, promoting bilingualism in federal services.

Regulation 17

A 1912 Ontario policy that limited the use of French in education, contributing to the assimilation of francophones.

The Durham Report (1839)

A report by Lord Durham that recommended the assimilation of French Canadians and led to the Act of Union (1841).

The British North America Act (1867)

This legislation created Canada, establishing it as a self-governing dominion and outlining the use of both English and French in federal institutions and Quebec courts.

The Patriotes Rebellions (1837-1838)

Uprisings in Lower and Upper Canada led by French Canadian 'Patriotes' who sought political reforms and greater autonomy to protect their culture.

The Bi and Bi Commission (1963)

In 1963, the federal government established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism to address the unequal status of francophones and present an alternative vision of Quebec nationalism.