Early Canadian History Study Guide

Flashcards covering important terms, concepts, people, and events from early Canadian history, based on the provided lecture notes.

Worldview

A set of beliefs and values through which people interpret the world and their place in it.

Essential Question

A guiding question that frames inquiry (e.g., How did First Nations and European worldviews shape early Canada?).

Dialectical Thinking

Understanding issues from multiple perspectives and recognizing contradictions.

Beringia Land Bridge Theory

The idea that the first peoples migrated from Asia to North America via a land bridge during the Ice Age.

Coastal Route Theory

Suggests that the first peoples travelled by boat along the Pacific coast into the Americas.

Oral Tradition

Passing down history, law, and culture through spoken stories, songs, and ceremonies.

Turtle Island

Indigenous name for North America in many First Nations’ traditions.

Consensus

Decision-making based on collective agreement, used in Haudenosaunee governance.

Matrilineal

Descent and inheritance traced through the mother’s line, common in some First Nations.

The Great Law of Peace

The constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy; emphasized peace, unity, and collective decision-making.

Wampum Belts

Beaded belts used to record treaties, laws, and agreements.

Terra Nullius

European belief that land was “empty” if not farmed or settled, justifying colonization.

L’Anse aux Meadows

Viking settlement in Newfoundland (1000 CE), first known European presence in North America.

Colonialism

Control and exploitation of lands and peoples by a foreign power.

Smallpox

Deadly disease brought by Europeans that devastated Indigenous populations.

Seigneurial System

Land distribution system in New France, modeled after French feudalism.

Mercantilism

Economic policy: colonies exist to benefit the mother country.

Rupert’s Land

Huge territory granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670 for fur trade.

Assimilation

Absorbing one cultural group into another, erasing distinct identity (e.g., Residential schools).

Accommodation

Mutual adaptation between cultures (e.g., Fur trade partnerships).

Annihilation

Destruction of a culture or people (e.g., Spread of smallpox).

Segregation

Separation of groups within the same society (e.g., Reserve system).

Sovereignty

Authority of a people or nation to govern itself.

Oligarchy

Rule by a small elite group.

Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC)

British fur trading company, a major force in colonization.

Responsible Government

Government accountable to the people rather than to a colonial power.

Arrival of the Norse (c. 1000 CE)

Vikings briefly settled at L’Anse aux Meadows.

Founding of the Great Law of Peace (c. 1100–1450 CE)

Formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Cartier’s Three Voyages (1534–1542)

First French exploration of the St. Lawrence River.

Founding of New France (1608)

Champlain establishes Quebec as a permanent settlement.

The Fall of New France (1760)

France loses its colony to Britain, marking the end of French rule in North America.

The Seven Years’ War (1756–1763)

Global conflict that was decisive in gaining British control of North America.

Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759)

British victory over French in Quebec City during the Seven Years’ War.

American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)

Conflict that led to the creation of the United States and prompted Loyalist migration to Canada.

The Fur Trade (1600s–1800s)

Major economic driver in early Canada; shaped relations with First Nations.

Royal Proclamation of 1763

Recognized Indigenous land rights; restricted westward settlement and serves as a basis for future Indigenous land claims.

Quebec Act (1774)

Protected French language, religion, and legal traditions under British rule.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended Seven Years’ War; France ceded New France to Britain.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Ended American Revolution; Britain ceded land to the US.

Constitutional Act of 1791

Divided Quebec into Upper Canada (English) and Lower Canada (French).

Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Six Nations united under the Great Law of Peace; its political system involved clan mothers choosing chiefs and decisions being made by consensus.

The Norse (Vikings)

First known Europeans to briefly settle in Canada (at L’Anse aux Meadows).

Dekanawideh

The Peacemaker who helped form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

John Cabot (1497)

Venetian explorer for England; claimed Newfoundland.

The Acadians

French settlers in Maritime Canada, later deported by the British.

Samuel de Champlain

Known as the “Father of New France,” founder of Quebec.

Les Filles du Roi (Daughters of the King)

French women sent to New France to increase the colony's population.

Radisson and Groseilliers

French fur traders who helped create the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC).

United Empire Loyalists

Colonists loyal to Britain who moved to Canada after the American Revolution.

Black Loyalists

Former enslaved Africans promised freedom by Britain; many settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolution.

Major-General James Wolfe

British general who died leading the victory at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

General Louis Joseph de Montcalm

French general who died defending Quebec at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

Chief Pontiac (Obwandiyag)

Indigenous leader who resisted British control after the Seven Years’ War.

European Worldview & Colonization

Driven by beliefs in terra nullius, Christian superiority, and mercantilism, justifying expansion and taking land.

Society in New France

Characterized by the Seigneurial system of land, the Catholic Church's central role, and an economy based on fur trade and farming.