THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND
BRITISH NORTH AMERICA
AFTER THE FALL OF QUEBEC
-After the 7 Yrs. War, the French gave up their possessions to the English and had very
little say in their new gov’t.
- even though the French refused to give up their language and religion
they
were still treated fairly well by the English.
- The natives were not quite as happy.
- they liked the French and resented the English attempts to settle their lands and
change their lifestyle.
- the Ottawa chief, Pontiac, tried to unite all tribes to fight the British but never
won
support of the French and was defeated.
ROYAL PROCLAMATION
- Although Pontiac was defeated the English issued a Royal Proclamation that
would not allow people from the 13 colonies to enter the Ohio River Valley.
- this would end land speculation and satisfy the natives who still refer to
this
to this day when dealing with native land claims.
Question - If you had just fought the 7 Yrs War for the right to control the Ohio River
Valley and then was told you couldn’t go would you be angry enough to revolt?
THE QUEBEC ACT 1774
- The British did not want Quebec under military rule forever so it passed the Quebec
Act
-this pleased the wealthy French - it gave Quebec/Canada its own colony
status
- recognized the Catholic Church
- kept French law for business and personal matters (Eng. criminal law)
- increased Quebec boundaries
- the Habitant were hoping to get an elected assembly (like the 13 Colonies) and
limit the seigneurs rights which they felt were unfair.
- members of the 13 Colonies were shocked and once again felt betrayed.
NOTE - secretly the British were planning to introduce English Civil Law and suppress
the
Catholic Church. When the Bishop found out he simply chose to
follow the
original instructions.