CANADA - HISTORY

 

 

    The first people are thought to have arrived to America from Asia about 30,000 years ago crossing a land bridge - over what is now the Bering Strait - from Siberia to Alaska. Some of them settled in Canada, while others continued to the south.
    The first contact between the native people and Europeans probably occurred about 1,000 years ago when Icelandic Norsemen (the Vikings) settled for a short time on the island of Newfoundland.
John Cabot sails from Bristol to the New World    Seeking a new route to the rich markets of the Orient, the French and the English explored the waters of North America. They did not find a route to China and India, but they found rich fishing grounds and many animals valued for their furs. They constructed a number of posts - the French mainly along the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, the English around Hudson Bay and along the Atlantic coast. In 1497 an Italian Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) sailing for England claimed the land for the English crown. But the first real exploration took place only after 1534 when Jacques Cartier discovered the Gulf of St. Lawrence River.
    Exploitation of the fisheries and the fur trade led to intense rivalry between these two imperial powers, paving the way for the conflict which culminated in the Treaty of Paris 1763. This agreement gave the British all French territory east of the Mississippi, except for the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, off the island of Newfoundland. In 1774 Britain passed the Quebec Act, which granted official recognition to French civil laws and guaranteed religious and linguistic freedoms.
    Large number of English-speaking people, called Loyalists - wishing to remain faithful to the British Crown - came to Canada after the USA won its independence in 1776. They settled mainly in the colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and along the Great Lakes.
    In 1794 Upper Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) were created and both were granted their own representative governing institutions. Rebellions in the 1830s prompted the British to form the united Province of Canada giving it responsible government - except in matters of foreign affairs - in 1848.
    The development of Canada's powerful neighbour - the USA - led Canada East, Canada West, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to join together under the terms of the British North America Act into the Dominion of Canada on July 1st, 1867. Other provinces gradually joined: Manitoba in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905, and Newfoundland in 1949.
    During the pre-war period, Canada profited from the prosperous world economy and established itself as an industrial as well as an agricultural power. In 1931 Canada's constitutional autonomy from Britain was confirmed with the passing of the Statute of Westminster.
    Since World War II, Canada's economy has continued to expand. This growth, combined with government social programmes such as family allowances, old-age security, universal medicare and unemployment insurance has given Canadians a high standard of living.
    The discussions among the French-speaking Quebeckers led to a referendum about the autonomy of Quebec, but the majority voted to maintain the status quo.