Canadian History: Aboriginal Peoples and Early European Exploration

Aboriginal Peoples

• Europeans initially referred to Indigenous peoples as "Indians" believing they reached the East Indies.
• Native groups varied in lifestyle:
  • Huron-Wendat: farmers and hunters in the Great Lakes.
  • Cree and Dene: hunter-gatherers in the Northwest.
  • Sioux: nomadic, followed bison herds.
  • Inuit: relied on Arctic wildlife.
  • West Coast natives: preserved fish by drying and smoking.
• Warfare was common among groups over resources and land.
• Arrival of Europeans (traders, missionaries, soldiers) profoundly changed Indigenous way of life; many died due to diseases.
• Despite challenges, strong economic, religious, and military ties formed between Aboriginals and Europeans in initial 200 years.

Early European Exploration

• Vikings from Iceland reached Labrador and Newfoundland (l'Anse aux Meadows: World Heritage site).
• John Cabot (1497): First European to map Canada’s East Coast and claim Newfoundland for England.
• Jacques Cartier (1534-1542): Claimed land for France and documented the term "Canada" from the Iroquoian word "kanata".

Royal New France and Its Expansion

• First European settlement (1604) by Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain in Acadia (Nova Scotia).
• Champlain founded Québec City (1608) facing a harsh climate.
• French allied with Algonquin, Montagnais, and Huron against Iroquois.
• The fur trade flourished with key leaders (e.g., Jean Talon, Count Frontenac).

Conflict Over Control

• Hudson’s Bay Company (1670): Exclusive trading rights over Hudson Bay area.
• Competing interests between English colonies and French fur traders.
• British defeat French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759), ending French imperial presence in North America.

Post-War Developments

• Quebec renamed the “Province of Quebec” under British rule.
• Quebec Act of 1774: Accommodated French Catholics, allowing them public office and restoring French laws.

The Loyalists and Their Impact

• American Revolution (1776) led to a migration of Loyalists to Canada (40,000+).
• Joseph Brant led Loyalist Mohawk Indians north.
• Diverse backgrounds: Loyalists included various ethnicities and religions (e.g., Dutch, German, African descent).
• Some black Loyalists eventually moved to establish Freetown, Sierra Leone (1792).