British Canada

When the British took over Canada, few people cared in France. New France, which Voltaire had described as merely “a few acres of snow”, had turned into a stinging liability for French administrators and they were more relieved than upset at its loss from the French empire. The period’s political elite also thought that the colonies created economic weakness instead of strength. It had come to be understood that the French-Canadian habitants would have to fend for themselves.

Large transformations in the continent occurred as a result of the British takeover of Canada, one being that the fur trade was now in British control. Although its economic progress in Canada put Britain in a good position, it had a big problem: most of the people in its new colony were foreigners.

Britain’s plan was to root out French culture and to turn Quebec into an English settlement having English institutions, English customs and English residents. British colonial officials wished for American settlers to enter the region and eventually outnumber the almost 70,000 French Canadians. For the French habitants, who acutely understood Britain’s wishes, the possibility of losing their culture only increased their shock – they felt that France had abandoned them, and that Britain’s administration was unkind and condescending, thought not cruel.

Britain did not have success anglicizing Quebec. The French made up more than 99 percent of Canada’s white population – it was evidently impractical to demand that the Catholic francaises would turn into Anglophone Anglican subjects of King George III. Soon the British realized that they would need to compromise with the French, and that it could be beneficial for them.

Governor Sir Guy Carleton was one of the administrators who understood that gaining the loyalty of French Canadians was important. Keenly mindful of the rebellious murmurs to the south, Carleton advocated that Britain conciliate with the French lest it risk facing continental rebellion. Under Carleton’s direction, the Quebec Act 1774 was passed which gave the Quebecois cultural, political and economic protection. The Act kept British criminal law but restored French civil law; the Catholic Church kept the right to impose tithes and prosecute the recalcitrant; finally, Franco-Catholics could hold public office. Most Canadiens were satisfied with the Act.

The American Revolution: Carleton’s engagements with the Quebecois proved to be shrewd, for, as the American dissatisfaction with British rule reached its zenith, it became clear that French settlers might side with the British. But Carleton’s Quebec Act disaffected and upset British subjects as a result of its favorability to the habitants’ concerns. These strains were exposed with the beginning of the American Revolution. The insurrection itself was somewhat caused by the Quebec Act – upset with the size of French-protected trapping area (which reached habitually American lands), the American Continental Congress implemented a vengeful plot against the British in 1775. The Congress’ first action was to invade Canada rather than declare independence.

The people of British North America (formerly New France) had ambivalent feelings about the war. The Quebecois’ hopes increased when France joined the Americans. English merchants continued to complain about what, in their eyes, was a betrayal from their government. Frederick Haldimand, who succeeded Carleton, was understandably anxious about the colony’s loyalty. But in 1776, after British regulars arrived, both British and French objectors appeared to be persuaded that it would be better to side with Britain.

The American Revolution strengthened British rule in Canada in many ways. The comparative weakness and disarrangement of the American invaders persuaded British businessmen that supporting the empire would be good economically for them – they also plainly anticipated the benefits to be earned from both privately and publicly supporting Britain.

Things were more complicated in Nova Scotia. Most settlers here empathized with New England and were caught between conflicting loyalties. The Americans, however, saw that it would be reckless to divide the colony by invading Nova Scotia and declined to do so – George Washington diplomatically referred to the people here as “neutral Yankees”. Eventually, again due to economics, Nova Scotia’s link with Britain was strengthened after the war.

The Loyalists: Another important result of the American Revolution was the immigration of 60,000 United Empire Loyalists into Canada, men and women who disagreed with American grudges. The majority of Loyalists hailed from upper New York State, and had escaped to Nova Scotia seeking British protection – in Canada they were given restitution and land, The Loyalists greatly changed the makeup of Canada’s population; they added to the already existing cultural dualism between the French and British.

Upper and Lower Canada: The consequences of the American Revolution gave rise to a regenerated resentment among the British over what they saw as pro-French policies in the colony. These objections were amplified by the growth in the Anglo-Protestant population. The Loyalists desired a representative government (something which the Quebec Act withheld). The French, still needing British backing, feared that hostilities with the Anglos were unavoidable. Carleton, freshly named Lord Dorchester, headed back to Quebec to amend what had turned into “a delicate situation”, the solution being the Constitutional Act of 1791.

It declared that the colony would have an elected assembly that would wield legislative authority beside a legislative council chosen by the king. Most crucially the Constitutional Act split the St Lawrence Valley into two colonies: Upper and Lower Canada. The creation of two separate colonies renewed French-Anglo rivalries and opened a new chapter in the drama of British North America.

Conflict between the British and Americans was renewed in 1812 when Americans again tried to invade Canada. They were finally defeated on October 13 in the Battle of Queenston Heights. Even though the emerging country took some of Britain’s territories, the War of 1812 cemented British North America as part of the British Empire.