Self-Rule for the British Colonies
Setting the Stage
• British owned colonies all over the world, but differences in
perceptions of who made up the colonies decided their
independence
– Countries considered “uncivilized” tended to have citizens who
were not European
• Colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East had a much harder time
gaining any independence
– Much of that struggle came from the fact that the British did not believe they could
succeed on their own
– And the British believed they would lose any right to the natural resources that
were created in that country
– Countries that had British and European ancestry were considered
“civilized” and so it was easier for the British to let go
• This didn’t mean they did so without a fight but it was much easier for a
European country to earn its freedom than it was for a non-European
country to do so
• The British realized they could still trade with these countries because they
had similar cultures
Your Task:
• As a group, teach the class about your country
– Make sure to tell the story, don’t just list facts
• Things to include:
– Short video that connects to your topic (under 5 min
please)
– Plenty of images (think about 3 or 4 per topic)
– Make sure to answer all the questions
– Three interesting facts that are not part of the
questions or in the book
– Presentation that is at least 5 min
• Things to think about:
– Keep it interesting
– Are you answering all the questions?
– Does your presentation make sense as a story?
– Can YOU follow what your saying?
• Sources:
– You have the availability of the internet
– Your book
– The notes created for you (mostly from the book)
Canada Gains Self-Rule
• France originally founded Canada for fur-trading
– Natives were best allies for fur-traders, so there were
many marriages between natives and French trappers
• Increased access to the furs and cemented trading bonds
• Great Britain took over France after French and
Indian War
– French remained but now British traders and
Americans loyal to the British moved into Canada
– British tended to settle along the seaboard and Great
Lakes
Canada and Self-Rule
• Social Issues
– French - Catholic; English-speakers – Protestant
• Fighting between French and English pressured
Parliament to allow the Canadians to control their
own affairs
– Created two Canadian provinces: Upper Canada (English
majority) and Lower Canada (French majority)
– Both had elected assembly
• In both colonies, wealthy Brits controlled most of the power
• Middle class began to demand political and economic reform
– Fueled (at least in Lower Canada) by French fighting British rule
– 1830s: fighting broke out in both upper and lower Canada
– British send Lord Durham to investigate
Oh Canada – always the calm one
• Durham Report (1839)
– Two major reforms:
• Upper and Lower Canada be reunited as Province of Canada
– British immigration should be encouraged
• Colonists should govern themselves in DOMESTIC matters only
• Canadians wanted a central gov’t for better protection
– Form a dominion – self-governing in domestic affairs but a
part of British Empire
– John MacDonald (first Prime Minister) expanded westward
by buying land and persuading frontier territories to join
• 1871 - Made it to the Pacific Ocean
• 1885 - First Canadian transcontinental railroad
Australia and New Zealand
• James Cook – British captain
– Claimed for Britain:
• New Zealand in 1769
– Maori – Polynesian people who settle in NZ in 800 ADE
• Australia in 1770
– Aboriginals – longest ongoing culture in the world
• Australia
– Started as a penal colony – place where convicts are sent
to finish their sentences
• British prisons were too crowded
• Called the colony Botany Bay (for my Star Trek fans, this should
sound familiar…)
• After their release, they could buy land and settle in Australia
Australia Transforms
• Free British settlers started joining the convicts
• Early 1800s – British settler experimented with
sheep until he found one that could live in the
warm, dry weather and produced good wool
– Raising and exporting wool became Australia’s biggest
business
– British gov’t offered cheap land to get people to move
there
• People began to push into the interior and set up outposts in
western Australia
New Zealand Changes and Push for SelfRule
• Britain did not outright claim control of NZ
– Recognized the Maori
– More foreigners and missionaries moving in resulted in fighting
• Settlers went to the British gov’t who stepped in
• Annexed NZ in 1839
– Appointed a governor to negotiate with Maori
– Maori accepted British rule in return for recognition of their land rights
• NZ and Australia want self-rule but remain in British Empire
– 1850s – both became self-governing with parliamentary gov’t
• 1900s both become dominions
– 1901 – Commonwealth of Australia united all Australian colonies
under a federal constitution
• Reforms:
– NZ became the first country to give women voting rights (only
white women)
– Australian ballot – first secret ballot to protect the person’s choice
But wait! There were people there before
the British…
• Killed by disease and the advanced weaponry of
British
• Kept out of the democratic processes
• As Australian settlements grew, colonists displaced
or killed many aboriginals
• New Zealand
– Tensions between settlers and Maori escalated after it
became a British colony
– 1845 -1872: gov’t fought the Maori in a series of wars –
Maori lost
• Forced them into the remote parts of the country
Ireland
• English and Irish had been having issues for a long time
– English move in when granted Ireland in the 1100s by the Pope
– 1500s - England tried to force the Anglican Church on Ireland, angered the
almost completely Catholic island
– 1801 – Ireland formally joined to Britain
• Gave Ireland more representation in Parliament - allowed for the Catholic
Emancipation Act in 1829 (Daniel O’Connell)
• The Great Famine
– 1840s, Ireland hit by a terrible famine that killed the majority of its potatoes
• Some, almost exclusively the lower class, ate potatoes, but not focal point of diet
– Most Irish relied on butter, grain, and dairy
– Majority of potatoes were fed to livestock (so they died without food)
• 1845-1848 a fungus ruined nearly all of the crop
• Period of famine where over a million died; about a million and a half immigrated
– English had enough grain to alleviate the lack of food, but traded it instead
– Those that left went mostly to US, Australian, England, and Canada
– English landowners forced the Irish to pay their rent so those that couldn’t pay lost their
land as well
Ireland wants out
• During second half of 1800s opposition to English
rule took two forms:
– Independence for Ireland
– Home Rule – local control over domestic matters (like
Canada and Australia
– England drug its heels because it was afraid for Irish
Protestants
• Would make them a minority in a Catholic country
• 1914 – Parliament voted for home rule for the southern part
of Ireland (most Protestants lived in the North)
– WWI put the actual creation of home rule on hold
– Made the Irish mad
Rebellion and Division
• 1916 – Easter Rising
– Irish nationalists rebelled in Dublin during Easter celebrations
– English troops in Ireland put down the rebellion and executed the leaders
• 1917 – Irish Republican Army (IRA) was formed from volunteers who
refused to enlist in the British army
– Became the army of the Irish Republic in 1919
– Main enemy:
• Black and Tans – British troops coming back from WWI to see people in their
country fighting the gov’t
• 1919 (after WWI)
– Protesting delays in home rule, Irish members decided not to attend Parliament
– Created Dáil Éireann, a parliament for the revolutionary Irish Republic
• Declared independence from England
• 1921 – England divided Ireland and granted home rule to southern Ireland
– Northern Ireland (Ulster) remained a part of Britain
– South becomes a dominion known as the Irish Free State