A Short History of Canada

1. A Short History of Canada

2. Canada has a rich and proud history—a history full of plenty of setbacks and even more successes.  In the following article we will discuss the various periods in Canada’s history and provide some pertinent information regarding the developments that helped shape this great nation into what it is today.

3. Canada: Prehistory According to archaeologists, there is evidence that the first natives in North America, of which Canada makes up more than 40 percent, first arrived some 40,000 years BCE (before the Common Era) by crossing a land bridge which had formed between Asia and Alaska during the latest Ice Age.  In the United States, these people are often referred to as “Indians” or “Native Americans,” while in Canada they are usually known as “Aboriginal People,” “Native People” or “People of the First Nations.”  Because this period of pre-history literally involves thousands of years, below we have created a time-line, beginning 9000 BCE,  that will help you see some of the major developments at a glance.

4. Canada: The First and Fight for Control Settlers The earliest contact with what is now Canada is thought to have been made by the Vikings in an expedition led by BjarniHerjólfsson, who was blown off course en route from Iceland to Greenland around 985 AD. However, there are no records of this discovery save for Icelandic sagas; vague word-of-mouth accounts handed down over the generations. The first European contact noted in Canadian history was made by the Italian explorer John Cabot sailing under the patronage of King Henry VII of England.  In 1497, in a quest to find a trade route to the Orient, Cabot ended up somewhere on the eastern Canadian coast and claimed it for the King.  This voyage, and one subsequent in 1498, gave England a claim by right of discovery to an indefinite amount of area of eastern North America; in fact, its later claims to Newfoundland, Cape Breton and neighboring regions were based partly on Cabot's exploits.

5. Canada:  The Early Days of British Rule After France was forced to give up its claim on North America, England, which had now added to their other Atlantic colonies, was faced with two pressing problems.  There were now over 50,000 new French-speaking subjects in what had formerly been New France.  Additionally, there were large tracts of wilderness in the Great Lakes area where the small garrisons of the British were gravely outnumbered by the native Indians.

6. Canada: The 19 Century During the American War of 1812 the Americans invaded Canada but the Canadians were able to turn them back.  However, the successful defense of their newly formed country had not prevented the Canadians from seeing the cracks in their own form of government.  There were many citizens, particularly the wealthy businessman and landowners, who believed that the colonists had sufficient powers of self-government through their elected assemblies.  Others were upset, that the real power did not lie in the hands of the people through their elected representatives, but with the governor who was responsible only to the government in Britain.

7. Canada: The 20 and 21 Century In the years before World War I, Canada faced one of its most pressing foreign policy issues as a naval competition increased between Germany and Britain.  Great Britain naturally desired to receive military help from the colonies.  The Canadian Prime Minister at the time, Wilfrid Laurier, found a compromise that satisfied neither the pro-British faction nor the French partisans. He founded the Canadian Navy in 1910 with the provision that in time of war it be placed under British command. This quickly led to accusations that Canadian soldiers would be drafted into the British Army if war came.  As a result, Laurier was defeated in the next election of 1911.

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