Early Canadian
History
Lesson 1
Early Exploration
One thousand
years ago, people
who lived in one
area knew very
little about the
rest of the
world.
The earliest European
explorers were the
Vikings.
They lived in the
part of Europe that
is today called
Scandinavia.
The Vikings were
known throughout
northern Europe as
great warriors and
sailors.
A
Viking
Sailing
Ship
Much of what we
know today about
their adventures
comes from sagas.
L’Anse
aux
Meadows,
Newfound
land
Farm Under
the Sand,
Western
Settlement,
Greenland
Historians have come
to believe that the
Vikings were the first
Europeans to reach
the Americas, about
1,000 years ago.
A Viking named Eric
the Red and his crew
set sail from Iceland
and landed on an
island that he named
Vinland.
It was called Vinland
because of the
abundance of green
vines found there.
Twenty years later,
Leif Ericson founded
the island now called
Newfoundland.
Fierce battles took
place between the
Indians and the
Vikings as a result of
a land dispute. . . .
The Vikings
eventually
abandoned
their
settlements in
North America.
Almost 500 years
passed before
Europeans took
up an interest in
sailing across
the Atlantic.
Three reasons:
1. Better ships
2. Better instruments
3. Desire to trade
with Asia
What was in Asia?
Silk, spices, perfume,
diamonds, spices,
rubies, pearls, and
spices!
(Did we mention spices?)
Traders knew of only
two routes to Asia,
both of which were
very long and
dangerous.
Some people thought
that if they sailed
west, instead of east,
they could also reach
Asia.
The first European to
attempt this route
was Christopher
Columbus.
(But he reached the Americas
instead of Asia.)
Later, other explorers
began to hope that they
could find an all-water
route to Asia by
traveling along the north
coast of North America.
Although none of
them ever found
this Northwest
Passage, they were
able to explore
much of Canada.
English Exploration
(1497)John Cabot, an
Italian, reached
Vinland. He renamed
it Newfoundland.
French Exploration
(1524) Giovanni da
Verrazano
established French
claims to land in
Canada.
(1534) Jacques
Cartier explored
the St. Lawrence
River and founded
the present-day
city of Montreal.
Lesson 2
Settlements and
Colonies
Many European fishing
boats fished in the
Grand Banks, an area
near Newfoundland that
was teaming with fish.
Europeans living in
Canada traded with
the Indians knives
and kettles for fur
pelts.
Hats made out of
beaver fur were all
the rage back home
in Europe!
The king of France
sent Samuel de
Champlain to start
a colony in Canada
in the early 1600’s.
In 1608, Champlain
established the
settlement of
Quebec.
Quebec was the
beginning of the first
French colony in
North America, which
was called New
France.
Because of his hard
work, Champlain
became known as
the “Father of New
France”.
The French
would not allow
anyone to move
to Quebec that
was not Roman
Catholic.
Also, people
were not used
to the area’s
climate and
farming was
difficult.
Champlain was the
first European to see
the Great Lakes.
Most of the traders
who ran the Canadian
trading posts were
French.
The British formed
the Hudson’s Bay
Company, which
spread quickly,
establishing posts all
along Hudson Bay.
Some European
trappers lived in the
forests with the
Indians. They were
called coureurs de
bois, “wood runners”
These scouts
learned from
the Indians.
They learned
how to use
birchbark
canoes.
The French
voyageurs carried
the traders’ goods
from the forests.
The strong voyageurs
paddled down Canada’s
swift rivers, carrying
their canoes and cargo
over each portage, or
land route.
In 1642, the colony
of Montreal was
founded.
Montreal became the
center for
missionaries from
France.
The French
hoped to
convert the
Indians to
Christianity.
Montreal served as a
missionary center for
many years. It also
became an important
base for fur traders
and explorers.
Lesson 3:
Colonies in Conflict
By the 1700’s, Canada
was a land of many
cultures.
French
British
Huron
Iroquois
In the late 1600’s and
early 1700’s the
French and British
frequently fought over
land and competed for
the fur trade.
In 1754 war
broke out in the
Ohio River Valley,
an area claimed
by both France
and Britain.
The war became known
as the
rench and
Indian War because
the French and the
Huron banded together
against the British.
British troops
surrounded New
France, using a
blockade to keep food
and other supplies
from entering the
colony.
James Wolfe was one
of the officers for
the British army.
General Louis de
Montcalm was with
the French army.
The Battle of the
Plains of Abraham is
considered the most
decisive in Canadian
history. This battle
lasted only ten
minutes!
By 1763, France had
given up all of its
claims to land in North
America.
In 1774, the British
passed the Quebec
Act, which guaranteed
the French the right
to maintain their own
culture.
Thousands of Frenchspeaking people were
forced by British
soldiers to leave Nova
Scotia, then called
Acadia.
These Acadians
refused to pledge
loyalty to the British
crown. Some Acadians
went to the area
around present-day
Louisiana.
Today, their
descendants are
called “Cajuns”.
In 1776, the
United States
became
independent
of Great
Britain.
Loyalists, colonists
who had remained loyal
to Britain had often
been forced by the
rebels to leave their
homes.
Many loyalists
migrated to Canada
during and after the
American Revolution.
Many Loyalists did not
want to live among
French-speaking
Canadians.
Est-ce que
vous parlez
en Francais?
Huh?
Non, il a’
arrive’ a
L’Angleterre.
In 1791 Britain divided
the former colony of
New France into two
colonies, Lower Canada
and Upper Canada.
Most English-speaking
settlers lived in the
western part of Upper
Canada.
Lower Canada, now
Quebec, was home to
many French-speaking
settlers.
Au contraire,
mon frere!
In the 1700’s Britain
gained control over
the vast area of
Canada.
However, Canada
would have to
struggle in order to
survive as one nation.