History First Contact to Confederation flashcards

Age of Exploration

A period from the 1400s to 1700s when European nations explored the world driven by desire for trade wealth and power

Caravel

A strong maneuverable European ship capable of traveling in both deep and shallow waters

Colonialism

The control and exploitation of a territory and its people by a foreign power often involving settlement and resource extraction

Crusades

A series of religious wars in the Middle Ages that increased European interest in Asia and its goods

First Contact

Initial encounters between Europeans and Indigenous peoples of North America causing significant cultural exchange and devastating consequences for Indigenous populations

God Glory and Gold

Framework for European exploration motivations spreading Christianity gaining fame and prestige and acquiring wealth

Indigenous Peoples

The original inhabitants of a land or region

L'Anse aux Meadows

A Viking settlement in Newfoundland believed to be the first European settlement in North America around 1000 CE

Mercantilism

Economic theory advocating a country export more than it imports to accumulate wealth driving the creation of colonies for resources and markets

Northwest Passage

A sea route through the Arctic Ocean sought by European explorers as a shorter route to Asia

Renaissance

A period of renewed interest in art literature and learning in Europe fostering curiosity and a desire for exploration in the 14th to 16th centuries

Terra Nullius

Latin for land belonging to no one used by Europeans to justify claiming territories already inhabited by Indigenous peoples

Vikings

Scandinavian seafarers who explored and settled parts of Europe and North America in the early Middle Ages

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who led three voyages to Canada from 1534 to 1541 explored the St. Lawrence River and claimed the region for France

Samuel de Champlain

Father of New France who founded Quebec in 1608 on the St. Lawrence River the first permanent European settlement in Canada

Ile Ste. Croix and Port Royal

The two earliest French colonies in North America both established in 1605 in Acadia

Acadia

A distinct French colony in Atlantic Canada with its main settlement at Port Royal in 1605

Rupert's Land

A vast territory in northern and western Canada granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670

Expulsion of the Acadians

The forced removal of French-speaking Acadians from Atlantic Canada by the British between 1755 and 1762 with over 10000 deported

Charles Lawrence

British Governor of Nova Scotia in 1754 who demanded Acadians swear an absolute oath of loyalty to the British Crown

Intendant

Official appointed by the French king to govern provinces collect taxes and recruit soldiers in New France

Seigneurs

Landowning feudal lords in New France who subdivided land to habitants

Carignan-Salières Regiment

1200 soldiers sent by France to protect New France from Iroquois raids arriving in 1665

Engages

Indentured contracted labourers who served strict three-year contracts before gaining freedom in New France

Les Filles du Roi

The King's Daughters — young French women sent to New France at royal expense to marry male colonists and boost population

Coureurs de Bois

Independent fur traders who traveled deep into forests integrated with Indigenous societies and traded directly with First Nations

Company of One Hundred Associates

Formed in 1627 and given administrative control over French North America in exchange for developing trade and bringing settlers

Seven Years War

Global war from 1756 to 1763 between Britain and France where Britain focused on the Ohio Valley and won through superior naval power

Battle of the Plains of Abraham

Pivotal 1759 battle outside Quebec City where the British victory led to the fall of New France and both generals Wolfe and Montcalm died

James Wolfe

British General who led the surprise attack on Quebec at the Plains of Abraham and died in battle

Marquis de Montcalm

French General who defended Quebec at the Plains of Abraham and died from wounds sustained in the battle

Articles of Capitulation

The 1760 document by which Governor Vaudreuil surrendered New France to British forces

Treaty of Paris 1763

Peace treaty ending the Seven Years War where France ceded almost all of New France to Britain keeping only St. Pierre and Miquelon

Treaty of Utrecht

Ended the War of Spanish Succession and forced France to surrender Newfoundland Hudson Bay and mainland Acadia to Britain

Ohio Valley

Area claimed by France and already inhabited by Indigenous peoples where English expansion was a key cause of the Seven Years War

Pontiac

An Odawa war chief who led a major Indigenous uprising against British post-war policies in 1763

Royal Proclamation 1763

British decree establishing a western boundary for colonial expansion and recognizing Indigenous land titles

Quebec Act 1774

British act that expanded Quebec's territory guaranteed free practice of Catholicism and restored French civil law

Sir Guy Carleton

British governor of Quebec who was instrumental in passing the Quebec Act to ensure French loyalty

No Taxation without Representation

Political slogan used by American colonists protesting British taxes levied without colonial assembly input

Boston Tea Party

1773 colonial protest against British tax policies where protestors destroyed an entire shipment of East India Company tea

Treaty of Paris 1783

Ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized United States independence

United Empire Loyalists

American colonists loyal to the British Crown who migrated to British North America during and after the American Revolution

Constitutional Act 1791

British statute that divided Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada

Upper Canada

Region upstream of the St. Lawrence River in modern-day Southern Ontario populated largely by English Loyalists

Lower Canada

Region downstream of the St. Lawrence River in modern-day Quebec preserving French laws and customs

War of 1812

Military conflict between the United States and Great Britain and its allies considered a draw but devastating for First Nations

Tecumseh

Shawnee chief who formed a pan-Indigenous confederacy to ally with the British during the War of 1812 and whose death shattered it

Underground Railroad

Secret network of safe houses and routes that helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom in British North America

1837 Rebellions

Twin armed uprisings in Upper and Lower Canada demanding democratic political reform against elite ruling oligarchies

Responsible Government

A system where the executive council is accountable to the elected legislative assembly rather than the Crown or Governor

Lord Durham

British politician sent to investigate the 1837 Rebellions who recommended Responsible Government and union of the Canadas

Act of Union 1840

British act that merged Upper and Lower Canada into a single political entity called the Province of Canada effective in 1841

Political Deadlock

The equal split of seats between Canada East and Canada West that caused constant government paralysis and pushed Confederation

Manifest Destiny

The American belief that it was their natural right to control all of North America a threat that pushed colonies toward Confederation

Fenian Raids

Attacks by Irish-American nationalists on British North America that highlighted colonial vulnerability and accelerated Confederation

Reciprocity Treaty

1854 free trade agreement between British North America and the United States whose cancellation in 1866 forced colonies to trade with each other

Grand Trunk Railway

Proposed railway to link Canada West with Halifax that was too expensive for any single colony requiring a united Canada

Rep by Pop

Representation by population in Parliament championed by George Brown and favoured by Canada West due to its growing population

Sir John A. Macdonald

Chief architect of Confederation and primary legal drafter of the resolutions who advocated for a strong central government

Sir George-Etienne Cartier

Father of Confederation and staunch advocate for French-Canadian rights and protections

George Brown

Father of Confederation who championed Rep by Pop and greater representation for Canada West

Charlottetown Conference

First Confederation meeting in 1864 where Maritime delegates discussing Maritime union were joined by Province of Canada delegates pitching a larger union

Quebec Conference

Formal 1864 conference with 33 delegates that debated legal and constitutional details and produced the 72 Resolutions

London Conference

Third and final Confederation conference that finalized the resolutions with the British government and passed the legislation through British Parliament

72 Resolutions

Document produced at the Quebec Conference that served as the framework for the new nation's constitution

British North America Act 1867

Legislation passed by British Parliament that officially created the Dominion of Canada on July 1 1867

Dominion of Canada

The new nation created July 1 1867 uniting Ontario Quebec New Brunswick and Nova Scotia under a federal syste