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Canada

The northern neighbor of the United States; discovered by Jacques Cartier (q. v.) in 1534. Its name is suposed to have been derived from the Huron word Kan-na-ta, signifying a collection of cabins, such as Hochelaga. No settlements were made there until the explorations of Champlain about threefourths of a century later. He established a semi-military and semi-religious colony [42] at Quebec, and from it Jesuit and other missions spread over the Lake regions. Then came the civil power of France to lay the foundations of an empire, fighting one nation of Indians and making allies of another, and establishing a feudal system of government, the great land-holders being called Seigneurs, who were compelled to cede the lands granted to them, when demanded by settlers, on fixed conditions. They were not absolute proprietors of the soil, but had certain valuable privileges, coupled with prescribed duties, such as building mills, etc. David Kertk, or Kirk, a Huguenot refugee, received a royal commission from King Charles I. to seize the French forts in Acadia (q. v.), and on the river St. Lawrence. With a dozen ships he overcame the small French force at Port Royal, and took possession of Acadia in 1629. Later in the summer he entered the St. Lawrence, burned the hamlet of Tadousac, at the mouth of the Saguenay, and sent a summons for the surrender of Quebec. It was refused, and Kirk resolved to starve out the garrison. He cruised in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and captured the transports conveying winter provisions for Quebec. The sufferings there were intense, but they endured them until August the next year, when, English ships-of-war, under a brother of Admiral Kirk, appearing before Quebec, instead of the expected supply-ships, the place was surrendered, and the inhabitants, not more than 100 in all, were saved from starvation. By a treaty, Canada was restored to the French in 1632.

In the early history of the colony, the governors, in connection with the intendant, held the military and civil administration in their hands. Jesuit and other priests became conspicuous in the public service. Finally, when a bishop was appointed for Quebec, violent dissensions occurred between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Until the treaty of Utrecht (1713), Canada included all of present British America, and more. At that time Hudson Bay and vicinity was restored to England by Louis XIV. Newfoundland and Acadia (Nova Scotia) were ceded to the English, and all right to the Iroquois country (New York) was renounced, reserving to France only the valleys of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi.

The easy conquest of Louisburg revived a hope that Canada might be conquered. Governor Shirley proposed to the ministers to have the task performed by a colonial army alone. They would not comply, for the colonists, thus perceiving their own strength, might claim Canada by right of conquest, and become too independent; so they authorized an expedition for the purpose after the old plan of attacking that province by land and sea. An English fleet was prepared to go against Quebec; a land force, composed of troops from Connecticut, New York, and colonies farther south, gathered at Albany, to march against Montreal. Governor Clinton assumed the chief command of the land expedition. His unpopularity thwarted his plans. The corporation of Albany refused to furnish quarters for his troops, and his drafts on the British treasury could not purchase provisions. Meanwhile, Massachusetts and Rhode Island had raised nearly 4,000 troops, and were waiting for an English squadron. Instead of a British armament, a French fleet of forty war vessels, with 3.000 veteran troops was coming over the sea. New England was greatly alarmed. It was D'Anville's armament, and it was dispersed by storms. Ten thousand troops gathered at Boston for its defence; the fort on Castle Island was made very strong. and the land expedition against Montreal was abandoned.

When Quebec fell, in the autumn of 1759, the French held Montreal, and were not dismayed. In the spring of 1760, Vaudreuil, the governor-general of Canada, sent M. Levi, the successor of Montcalm, to recover Quebec. He descended the St. Lawrence with six frigates and a powerful land force. The English. under General Murray, marched out of Quebec, and met him at Sillery, 3 miles above the city; and there was fought (April 4) one of the most sanguinary battles of the war. Murray was defeated. He lost about 1,000 men, and all his artillery, but succeeded in retreating to the city with the remainder of his army. Levi laid siege to Quebec, and Murray's condition was becoming critical, when an English squadron appeared (May 9) with reinforcements and provisions. Supposing it to be the whole British fleet, Levi [43] raised the siege (May 10), and fled to Montreal, after losing most of his shipping. Now came the final struggle. Three armies were soon in motion towards Montreal, where Vaudreuil had gathered all his forces. Amherst, with 10,000 English and provincial troops, and 1,000 Indians of the Six Nations, led by Johnson, embarked at Oswego, went down Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence to Montreal, where he met Murray (Sept. 6), who had come up from Quebec with 4,000 men. The next day, Colonel Haviland arrived with 3,000 troops from Crown Point, having taken possession of Isle aux Noix on the way. Resistance to such a crushing force would have been in vain, and, on Sept. 8, 1760, Vaudreuil signed a capitulation surrendering Montreal and all French posts in Canada and on the border of the Lakes to the English. General Gage was made military governor of Montreal, and General Murray, with 4,000 men, garrisoned Quebec. The conquest of Canada was now completed, and by the Treaty

Isle aux Noix, in the Sorel

of Paris in 1763, a greater portion of the French dominions in America fell into the possession of the British crown.

When news of the surrender of Ticonderoga (q. v.) reached Governor Carleton, of Canada, he issued a proclamation (June 9, 1775) in which he declared the captors to be a band of rebellious traitors; established martial law; summoned the French peasantry to serve under the old colonial nobility; and instigated the Indian tribes to take up the hatchet against the people of New York and New England. This proclamation neutralized the effects of the address of Congress to the Canadians. The Quebec Act had soothed the French nobility .and Roman Catholic clergy. The English residents were offended by it, and these, with the Canadian peasantry, were disposed to take sides with the Americans. They denied the right of the French nobility, as magistrates, or the seigneurs, to command their military services. They welcomed invasion, but had not the courage to join the invaders. At the same time, the French peasantry did not obey the order of the Roman Catholic bishop, which was sent to the several parishes, and read by the local clergy, to come out in defence of the British government. It was known that the bishop was a stipendiary of the crown.

There was a decided war spirit visible in the second Continental Congress, yet it was cautious and prudent. Immediately after the seizure of Ticonderoga and Crown Point (May 10-12, 1775), the Congress was urged to authorize the invasion and seizure of Canada. That body hoped to gain a greater victory by making the Canadians their friends and allies. To this end they sent a loving address to them, and resolved, on June 1, “that no expedition or incursion ought to be undertaken or made by any colony or body of colonists against or into Canada.” The Provincial Congress of New York had expressly disclaimed any intention to make war on Canada. But Gage's proclamation (June 10) that all Americans in arms were rebels and traitors, and especially the battle of Bunker (Breed's)

Hill, made a radical change in the [44] feelings of the people and in Congress. It was also ascertained that Governor Carleton had received a commission to muster and arm the people of the province, and to march them into any province in America to arrest and put to death, or spare, “rebels” and other offenders. Here was a menace that could not go unheeded. Cols. Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and others renewed their efforts to induce the Congress to send an expedition into Canada. The latter perceived the importance of securing Canada either by alliance or by conquest. At length the Congress prepared for an invasion of Canada. Maj.-Gen. Philip Schuyler had been appointed to the command of the Northern Department, which included the whole province of New York. Gen. Richard Montgomery was his chief lieutenant. The regiments raised by the province of New York were put in motion, and General Wooster, with Connecticut troops, who were stationed at Harlem, was ordered to Albany. The New-Yorkers were joined by “Green Mountain boys.” Schuyler sent into Canada an address to the inhabitants, in the French language, informing them that “the only views of Congress were to restore to them those rights which every subject of the British empire, of whatever religious sentiments he may be, is entitled to” ; and that, in the execution of these trusts, he had received the most positive orders to “cherish every Canadian, and every friend to the cause of liberty, and sacredly to guard their property.” It was now too late. Had the Congress listened to Allen and Arnold at the middle of May, and moved upon Canada, its conquest would have been easy, for there were very few troops there. When, near the close of August, an expedition against Canada, under Schuyler, was ready to move, preparations had been made to thwart it. The clergy and seigneurs of Canada, satisfied with the Quebec Act, were disposed to stand by the British government. The invading army first occupied Isle aux Noix, in the Sorel River; but the expedition made little advance beyond until November. Colonel Allen had attempted to take Montreal, without orders, and was made a prisoner and sent to England. A detachment of Schuyler's army captured Fort Chambly, 12 miles from St. Johns, on the Sorel (Nov. 3), and, on the same day, the fort at the latter, which Montgomery had besieged for some time, cut off from supplies, also surrendered. Montreal fell before the patriots on the 13th, and Montgomery, leaving a garrison at both places, prepared to move on Quebec. Meanwhile Colonel Arnold had led an expedition by way of the Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers, through a terrible wilderness, to the banks of the St. Lawrence (Nov. 9) opposite Quebec. He crossed the river, ascended to the Plains of Abraham (Nov. 13), and, at the head of only 750 half-naked men—with not more than 400 muskets—demanded the surrender of the city. Intelligence of an intended sortie caused Arnold to move 20 miles farther up the river, where he was soon joined by Montgomery. The combined forces returned to Quebec, and began a siege. At the close of the year (1775), in an attempt to take the city by storm, the invaders were repulsed, and Montgomery was killed. Arnold took the command, and was relieved by General Wooster, in April (1776). A month later, General Thomas took command, and, hearing of the approach of a large armament, land and naval, to Quebec, he retreated up the river. Driven from one post to another, the Americans were finally expelled from Canada, the wretched remnant of the army, reduced by disease, arriving at Crown Point in June, 1776.

The American Board of War, General Gates president, arranged a plan, late in 1777, for a winter campaign against Canada, and appointed Lafayette to the command. The Marquis was cordially received at Albany by General Schuyler, then out of the military service. General Conway, who had been appointed inspector-general of the army, was there before him. Lafayette was utterly disappointed and disgusted by the lack of preparation and the delusive statements of Gates. “I do not believe,” he wrote to Washington, “I can find 1,200 men fit for duty —and the quarter part of these are naked—even for a summer campaign.” The Marquis soon found the whole affair to be only a trick of Gates to detach him from Washington. General Schuyler had, in a long letter to Congress (Nov. 4, [45] 1777), recommended a winter campaign against Canada, but it was passed unnoticed by the Congress, and Gates appropriated the thoughts as his own in forming the plan, on paper, which he never meant to carry out.

Another campaign for liberating Canada from British rule was conceived late

Barracks at Sandwich.

in 1778. From Boston, D'Estaing, in the name of Louis XVI., had summoned the Canadians to throw off British rule. Lafayette exhorted (December) the barbarians of Canada to look upon the English as their enemies. The Congress became inflamed with zeal for the projected measure, formed a plan, without consulting a single military officer, for the “emancipation of Canada,” in co-operation with an army from France. One American detachment from Pittsburg was to capture Detroit; another from Wyoming was to seize Niagara; a third from the Mohawk Valley was to capture Oswego; a fourth from New England was to enter Montreal by way of the St. Francis; a fifth to guard the approaches from Quebec; while to France was assigned the task of reducing Halifax and Quebec. Lafayette offered to use his influence at the French Court in furtherance of this grand scheme; but the cooler judgment and strong common-sense of Washington interposed the objection that the part which the United States had to perform in the scheme was far beyond its resources. It was abandoned, as was another scheme for a like result, early in the year.

The first important military movement after the declaration of war in 1812 was an attempt to conquer Canada by an invasion of its western border on the Detroit River. It then consisted of two provinces —Lower Canada, with a population of 300,000, mostly of French origin, and Upper Canada, with a population of 100,000, composed largely of American loyalists and their descendants. The regular military force in both provinces did not exceed 2,000 men, scattered over a space of 1,200 miles from Quebec to the foot of Lake Superior. Sir George Prevost was then governor-general, with his residence at Montreal. To enter the province from the States, a water-barrier had to be crossed, while the American frontier was destitute of roads, infected with summer fevers, and sparsely settled. William Hull, a soldier of the Revolution, then governor of Michigan Territory, was consulted about an invasion of Canada, while on a visit at Washington. He insisted that before such an enterprise should be undertaken a naval control of Lake Erie should be acquired, and not less than 3,000 troops should be provided for the invasion. He accepted the commission of brigadier-general with the special object in view of protecting his territory from the Indian allies of the British, yet, by orders of the government, he prepared to invade Canada. Governor Meigs, of Ohio, called for troops to assemble at Dayton, and volunteers flocked thither in considerable numbers. There General Hull took command of them (May 25, 1812), and they started off in good spirits for their march through the wilderness. It was a perilous and most fatiguing journey. On the broad morasses of the summit lands of Ohio, Hull received a despatch from the War Department urging him to press on speedily to Detroit, and there await further orders. When he reached the navigable waters of the Maumee, his beasts of burden were [46] so worn down by fatigue that he despatched for Detroit, in a schooner, his own baggage and that of most of his officers; also all of his hospital stores, intrenching tools, and a trunk containing, his most valuable military papers. The wives of three of his officers, with thirty soldiers to protect the schooner, also embarked in her. In a smaller vessel the invalids of the army were conveyed. Both vessels arrived at the site of Toledo on the evening of July 1. The next day, when near Frenchtown (afterwards Monroe), Hull received a note from the postmaster at Cleveland announcing the declaration of war. It was the first intimation he had received of that important event. In fact, the British at Fort Malden (now Amherstburg) heard of the declaration before Hull did, and captured his schooner, with all its precious freight. The commander at Malden had been informed of it, by express, as early as June 30—two days before it reached Hull. The latter pressed forward, and encamped near Detroit on July 5. The British were then casting up intrenchments at Sandwich on the opposite side of the Detroit River. There Hull awaited further orders from his government. His troops, impatient to invade Canada, had evinced a mutinous spirit, when he received orders to “commence operations immediately,” and, if possible, take possession of Fort Malden. At dawn on the morning of July 12, the greater part of his troops had crossed the Detroit River, and were on Canadian soil. Hull issued a proclamation to the Canadians, assuring them of protection in case they remained quiet. Many of the Canadian militia deserted the British standard. Hull advanced towards Malden (July 13). After a successful encounter with British and Indians he fell back to Sandwich, without attacking Malden. His troops were disappointed and mutinous. Then information came of the capture of MacKINAWinaw (q. v.) by the British. News also came that General Proctor, of the British army, had arrived at Malden with reinforcements. This was followed by an intercepted despatch from the northwest announcing that 1.200 white men and several hundred Indians were coming down to assist in the defence of Canada.. General Brock was approaching from the east, with a force gathered on his way. These events, and other causes, impelled Hull to recross the river to Detroit with his army, and take shelter in the fort there (Aug. 8, 1812). The British congregated in force at Sandwich, and from that point opened a cannonade upon the fort at Detroit. On Sunday morning, the 16th, the British crossed the river to a point below Detroit, and moved upon the fort. Very little effort was made to defend it, and, on that day, Hull surrendered the fort, army, and Territory of Michigan into the hands of the British. See Detroit; Hull, William.

On Oct. 17, 1813, General Harrison, of the United States army, and Commodore Perry, commander of the fleet on Lake Erie, issued a proclamation, stating that, by the combined operations of the land and naval forces of the United States, British power had been destroyed within the upper districts of Canada, which was in quiet possession of United States troops. They therefore proclaimed that the rights and privileges of the inhabitants and the laws and customs of the country, which were in force before the arrival of the conquerors, should continue to prevail, and that all magistrates and other civil officers might resume their functions, after taking an oath of fidelity to the United States government so long as the troops should remain in possession of the country.

At the opening of the third year of the second war for independence, a favorite project with the United States government was the conquest of Canada. The principal military forces in Upper Canada were under Lieutenant-General Drummond. When the Army of the North, commanded by Major-General Brown, reached the Niagara frontier, Drummond's headquarters were at Burlington Heights, at the western end of Lake Ontario. General Riall was on the Niagara River, at Fort George and Queenston; but when lie heard of the arrival of the Americans at Buffalo, under General Scott, he advanced to Chippewa and established a fortified camp. At the close of June, General Brown arrived at Buffalo, and assumed chief command, and, believing his army to be strong enough, he proceeded to invade Canada. His army consisted of two [47] brigades, commanded respectively by Generals Scott and Ripley, to each of which was attached a train of artillery, commanded by Capt. N. Towson and Maj. J. Hindman. He had also a small corps of cavalry, under Capt. S. D. Harris. These regulars were well disciplined and in high spirits. There were also volunteers from Pennsylvania and New York, 100 of them mounted, and nearly 600 Seneca Indians—almost the entire military force of the Six Nations remaining in the United States. These had been stirred to action by the venerable Red Jacket, the great Seneca orator. The volunteers and Indians were under the chief command of Gen. Peter B. Porter, then quartermastergeneral of the New York militia. Major McRee, of North Carolina, was chief-engineer, assisted by Maj. E. D. Wood. On the Canada shore, nearly opposite Buffalo, stood Fort Erie, then garrisoned by 170 men, under the command of Major Buck. On July 1 Brown received orders to cross the Niagara, capture Fort Erie, march on Chippewa, menace Fort George, and, if he could have the co-operation of Chauncey's fleet, to seize and fortify Burlington Heights. Accordingly, Brown arranged for General Scott and his brigade to cross on boats and land a mile below the fort, while Ripley, with his brigade, should be landed a mile above it. This accomplished, the boats were to return and carry the remainder of the army, with its ordnance and stores, to the Canada shore. The order for this movement was given on July 2. It was promptly obeyed by Scott, and tardily by Ripley, on the 3d. When Scott had pressed forward to invest the fort, he found Ripley had not crossed, and no time was lost in crossing the ordnance and selecting positions for batteries. These preparations alarmed the garrison, and the fort, which was in a weak condition, was surrendered. Nearly 200 men, including officers, became prisoners of war, and were sent across the river.

By an act of the Imperial Parliament, in 1791, Canada was divided into two provinces, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, and each had a parliament or legislature of its own. An imperial act was passed in 1840 to unite the two provinces under one administration and one legislature. Antecedent political struggles had taken place, which culminated in open insurrection in 1837-38. A movement for a separation of the Canadas from the crown of Great Britain, and their political independence, was begun simultaneously in Upper and Lower Canada in 1837. In the former province, the most conspicuous leader was William Lyon McKenzie, a Scotchman, a journalist of rare ability and a great political agitator; in the lower province, the chief leader was Joseph Papineau, a large land-owner, and a very influential man among the French inhabitants. Both leaders were republican in sentiment. The movements of the revolutionary party were well planned, but local jealousies prevented unity of action, and the effort failed. It was esteemed highly patriotic, and elicited the warmest sympathy of the American people, especially of those of the Northern States. Banded companies and individuals joined the “rebels,” as they were called by the British government, and “patriots” by their friends; and so general became the active sympathy on the northern frontier, that peaceful relations between the United States and Great Britain were endangered. President Van Buren issued a proclamation, calling upon all persons engaged in the schemes of invasion of the Canadian territory to abandon the design, and warning them to beware of the penalties that must assuredly follow such infringement of international laws.

In December, 1837, a party of sympathizing Americans took possession of Navy Island, belonging to Canada, in the Niagara River, about 2 miles above the falls. They mustered about 700 men, well provisioned, and provided with twenty pieces of cannon. They had a small steamboat named the Caroline to ply between the island and Schlosser, on the American side. On a dark night a party of Canadian royalists crossed the river, cut the Caroline loose from her moorings, and set her on fire. She went down the current and over the great cataract in full blaze. It is supposed some persons were on board of her. Gen. Winfield Scott was finally sent to the northern frontier to preserve order, and was assisted by a proclamation by the governor of New York. Yet secret [48] associations, known as “Hunters' Lodges,” continued quite active for some time. Against the members of these lodges, President Tyler issued an admonitory proclamation, which prevented further aggressive movements. For four years this ominous cloud hung upon our horizon. It disappeared in 1842, when the leaders of the movement were either dead or in exile.

In 1841 Upper and Lower Canada were united for purposes of government, the system professedly modified after that of Great Britain. In 1857 Ottawa was selected as the permanent seat of government for Canada, and costly public buildings were erected there. By act of the Imperial Parliament, which received the royal assent March 28, 1867, the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were connected and made one nation, under the general title of “The Dominion.” Upper Canada was named “Ontario,” and Lower CanadaQuebec.” Provision was made for the future admission of Prince Edward Island, the Hudson Bay Territory, British Columbia, and Newfoundland, with its dependency, Labrador. In the new government the executive authority is vested in the Queen, and her representative in the Dominion is the acting governor-general, who is advised and aided by a privy council of fourteen members, constituting the ministry, who must be sustained by a Parliamentary majority. There is a Parliament composed of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Commons.

According to the census of 1891 the population of the Dominion, by provinces, was as follows:

Ontario2,114,321
Quebec1,488,535
Nova Scotia450,396
New Brunswick321.263
Manitoba152,506
British Columbia98,173
Prince Edward Island109,078
Northwest Territories98,967
————
Total4,833,239

Official statistics for the fiscal year ending June 30. 1S99, contained the following general items: Imports of merchandise, $162,764,308; exports, $158,896,905, of which $137,360,792 represented Canadian productions; gross debt, $345,160,903; assets, $78,886,364; net debt, $266,274,539; revenue, $46,741,250; expenditure, $41,903,501; mileage of railways in operation, 17,250; capital of chartered banks, $63,674,085; assets, $408,936,411; liabilities, $316,330,478; and number of post-office savings-banks, 838, with depositors, 142,141, and total balances, $34,771,605. See Anglo-American commission.

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