Chapter 2
The Colonists: Land and Government
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. In 1825, most people in Upper Canada lived:
a. in York
b. near Lake Huron
c. near Lake Erie
d. near water routes
2. Upper Canada in the 1820s could be best described as:
a. densely populated
b. quiet
c. noisy
d. filled with productive farms
3. Most early settlers:
a. had lots of ready cash
b. mortgaged next year’s crops to obtain financing
c. were unable to farm the land
d. grew most of their crops for sale
4. Which of the following crops originated in the Americas?
a. potatoes
b. corn
c. cotton
d. all of these
e. a. and b. only
5. Upper class immigrants to Upper Canada:
a. found many servants to do their work for them
b. settled in towns
c. had to perform manual labour themselves
d. left the colony soon after they arrived
6. British plans to replicate its society in its Canadian colonies:
a. angered immigrants who hoped to escape such a class system
b. involved large estates, gentry, and tenant farmers
c. led to unfair land practices
d. all of these
e. b. and c. only
7. The ruling elite group in Upper Canada was called:
a. the Château Clique
b. the Family Compact
c. the Anglican Circle
d. the Loyalist Compact
8. The Family Compact was primarily made up of:
a. recent arrivals from Britain
b. retired fur traders
c. descendants of Loyalist settlers
d. aristocrats from England
9. Joining the Family Compact was:
a. easy for anyone with money
b. difficult for new arrivals
c. easy for upper class immigrants
d. easy for English immigrants
10. The cause of dissatisfaction in Upper Canada had to do with:
a. poor roads
b. land restrictions
c. land speculators
d. all of these
11. The Clergy Reserves were established for the use of:
a. any church group
b. the Catholic church
c. the Anglican church
d. any Protestant church
12. The Crown and Clergy Reserves together consisted of how much
of the land in Upper Canada?
a. one quarter
b. one third
c. one seventh
d. two sevenths
13. The Crown and Clergy Reserves caused problems because:
a. they were not farmed and this blocked road development
b. they were often sold to poorly trained farmers
c. they were placed on the worst land
d. they were open only to members of the Family Compact
14. The British government considered which of the following to be the
best group to control most of the land in Upper Canada?
a. republican farmers
b. aristocrats
c. ordinary farmers
d. skilled farmers
15. By 1815, half the land in Upper Canada was owned by:
a. individual settlers
b. the British government
c. land speculators
d. the Family Compact
16. The last thing Britain wanted was:
a. a huge influx of lower class immigrants
b. allowing colonists to buy extra land
c. allowing colonists to adopt American attitudes and values
d. allowing any further American immigrants
17. Immigrants to British North America came primarily from:
a. France and Britain
b. the United States and Britain
c. France and the United States
d. Britain and Germany
18. Most of these immigrants settled in:
a. the Eastern Townships
b. Upper Canada
c. along the St. Lawrence River
d. on the shores of Lake Huron
19. Immigrant ships were often called “coffin ships.” This was due to:
a. their shape
b. the fact that many died on the voyage
c. people who left their homes never returned
d. the high cost of passage
20. Most immigrants travelled:
a. in first-class cabins
b. in second-class cabins
c. in steerage
d. in tents on the ships’ decks
21. Living conditions on immigrant ships were:
a. clean
b. well ventilated
c. filthy
d. comfortable
22. Most immigrants were attracted to British North America by:
a. promises of jobs in manufacturing
b. high wages paid to servants
c. the prospect of owning their own land
d. promises of gold deposits
23. Slavery was first abolished in:
a. Upper and Lower Canada
b. the United States
c. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
d. Great Britain
24. Black Americans travelled to Canada via the Underground Railway.
It was so named because:
a. it was an early form of subway
b. it was a network of secret trails
c. people travelled in boxcars
d. people hid in tunnels to avoid detection
25. A problem for Black immigrants from the United States was:
a. they could not take out British citizenship
b. they were forbidden to take up land
c. they faced racial discrimination
d. many were deported to the United States
e. both a. and c.
26. The most important thing for women in Upper Canada was:
a. getting married
b. a good education
c. health and personal well-being
d. looking after aged parents
27. Upper class women in Upper Canada were:
a. lazy
b. idle, attended to by many servants
c. sometimes required to do hard physical labour
d. active in social clubs
28. A serious risk for women in colonial Canada was:
a. childbirth
b. overcrowding in colonist cabins
c. poor sanitation in colonist cabins
d. all of these
e. a. and b. only
29. Government in Upper and Lower Canada was run by small groups
of powerful men. This is called:
a. a dictatorship
b. an oligarchy
c. a democracy
d. an autocracy
30. Which of the following is true of responsible government, but not
true of representative government?
a. representatives are elected by the voters
b. representatives can draft legislation
c. the government can be replaced if it fails to please the voters
d. representatives’ actions can be vetoed by the governor
31. Any bill passed by the Legislative Assembly in Upper and Lower
Canada:
a. became law
b. could be vetoed by the governor
c. could be vetoed by the appointed councils
d. both b. and c.
32. Which of the following was not a concern for ordinary people in
Upper Canada?
a. the Clergy Reserves
b. business expansion
c. land speculation
d. road building
33. When Robert Gourlay criticized the government of Upper Canada:
a. his complaints were acted on
b. he was arrested
c. he was arrested and deported
d. he was ignored
34. William Lyon Mackenzie:
a. published the Colonial Advocate
b. strongly criticized the colonial government
c. was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1828
d. all of these
e. a. and b. only
35. The leading reformer in Upper Canada in the 1820s and 1830s
was:
a. William Lyon Mackenzie
b. John Strachan
c. Louis Joseph Papineau
d. Robert Gourlay
36. In the 1830s voting was:
a. by secret ballot
b. fair and honest
c. extremely corrupt
d. done by all adult males
37. A problem which existed in Lower Canada, but not in Upper
Canada was:
a. rule by an oligarchy
b. a government which ignored the grievances of ordinary people
c. a split between English and French society
d. no responsible government
38. The Château Clique was dominated by:
a. the Catholic Church
b. English merchants
c. wealthy seigneurs
d. fur traders
39. The Château Clique was supported by:
a. all English speakers
b. wealthy French Canadian landowners
c. the Catholic Church
d. all of these
e. b. and c. only
40. Many French Canadians believed:
a. that Lower Canada should join the United States
b. that seigneurs and the Catholic Church had “sold out” to the
English
c. that seigneurs and the Catholic Church were determined to
protect French Canadian culture
d. that their culture was doomed to eventual English assimilation
41. Which was not an economic problem for Lower Canada?
a. a population which was too large
b. too little available farmland
c. a huge economic deficit
d. large numbers of people emigrating to the United States
42. Farmers in Lower Canada:
a. grew enough only to feed their families
b. faced soil that was becoming less fertile
c. faced a limited amount of arable land
d. all of these
e. b. and c. only
43. Which of the following was a problem for French Canadians in
Lower Canada?
a. they felt increased English-speaking immigration would make
them a minority
b. they felt the English were trying to kill them by introducing
diseases
c. they were overtaxed with no voice in government
d. all of these
e. a. and c. only
44. Which of the following was not a stated issue of reformers in
Lower Canada?
a. discrimination against the French
b. taxes
c. lack of representation in government
d. a restriction on all immigration
45. The leaders of the reform movement in Lower Canada were:
a. all French
b. both French and British
c. all British
d. all Irish
46. French Canadians were most concerned with:
a. the value of their crops
b. the possibility that their culture was being undermined
c. the abolition of the seigneurial system
d. the abolition of the Catholic Church
47. When the British government rejected a petition from Lower
Canadian reformers:
a. the reform movement dissolved
b. the reformers in Lower Canada decided to seek annexation by
the United States
c. the reformers decided to rebel
d. the reformers wrote a new petition
48. The Rebellions of 1837 were:
a. well planned and carried out
b. poorly coordinated
c. spontaneous
d. without leaders
49. The Catholic Church in Lower Canada in 1837:
a. supported the rebels
b. appealed for calm
c. remained uninvolved
d. supported the British
50. A second rebellion in 1838 in Lower Canada:
a. succeeded
b. was abandoned before it started
c. was quickly dispersed by British troops
d. was well organized but ultimately unsuccessful
51. Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head:
a. was supportive of reform
b. acted in an arbitrary and dictatorial manner
c. undermined Britain’s position in the colony
d. recognized the rights of the Legislative Assembly
52. The Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada:
a. was supported by a majority of reformers
b. was a well organized attack on Toronto
c. was badly led and carried out
d. led to a series of battles in 1838
53. Reformers who actually rebelled and were captured were punished
by:
a. death
b. exile
c. transportation to penal colonies
d. all of these
e. a. and c. only
54. Lord Durham supported:
a. the concept of responsible government
b. the Union of the Canadas
c. an English-only Canada
d. all of these
e. a. and b. only
55. Lord Durham:
a. angered the Family Compact and the Château Clique
b. treated rebels harshly
c. had known reformers on his staff
d. all of these
e. a. and c. only
56. Lord Durham discovered that he had:
a. the complete support of all persons in the Canadas
b. no support at all in the Canadas
c. little support in the Canadas
d. the support of the Americans
57. Which of Lord Durham’s recommendations did the British
government adopt?
a. Union of the Canadas
b. adoption of responsible government
c. an English-only united Canada
d. all of these
e. a. and c. only
58. Under Lord Durham’s concept of responsible government:
a. the governor could veto legislation
b. Britain would control external affairs and the military
c. the Canadian government would control its own military
d. the Canadian government’s legislation could be reviewed by
the British Parliament
59. When the Act of Union was proclaimed, which groups were
displeased by its provisions?
a. Reformers in Upper Canada
b. Reformers in Lower Canada
c. French Canadians
d. all of these
e. b. and c. only