A very popular topic of debate among historians is the anti-confederates in Nova Scotia’s and their relationship with the American Revolution. The debate condenses down into a single basic question; why did Nova Scotia join confederation instead of joining the American Revolution? In the 1860’s Nova Scotia had two choices, they could either join Canada with confederation or become part of the thirteen colonies, now the United States. To answer that questions historians need to look at what this situation was in North America at the time. It is important to take into perspective the loyalist view of anti-confederates and their opinion against confederation and support the American Revolution. There are many reasons that have to be carefully examined to understand why they did not join. Firstly, did the geographical location and surrounding colonies/ provinces have an effect on Nova Scotia’s decisions? What was the economic situation in their colony, and how did that attribute to which country they joined? Also, how did the terms of confederacy push and pull the colony’s want to join? Lastly, what role the loyalists played in this decision. When we research these questions we find that these three reasons were the cause of Nova Scotia joining confederation opposed to the American Revolution. One of the major deciding factors was location of Nova Scotia. Despite the fact that Nova Scotia showed great support to revolt, the factor of geographical location diminished their ability to get troops into the settlement. For the troops that would get there it would be very dangerous, because they were surrounded by water. This meant that ships could easily gain access to the province, and defending it would take a lot of troops to cov... ... middle of paper ... ... The loyalty that we had to the British crown has in some senses faded, and become more of a celebrity fad that people follow for entertainment. Works Cited Emily P.Weaver. “Nova Scotia and New England During the Revolution.” The American Historical Review Vol. 10, No. 1 (Oct., 1904), pp. 52-71. Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association. McKay, Ian G. "The Canadian Passive Revolution, 1840-1950." Capital & Class 34, no. 3 (10, 2010): 361-381, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada. Reid, John G. "Pax Britannica or Pax Indigena? Planter Nova Scotia (1760--1782) and Competing Strategies of Pacification." Canadian Historical Review 85, no. 4 (December 2004): 669-692. America: History and Life with Full Text. Wallace, W. “The Growth of Canadian National Feeling.” The Canadian Historical Review Vol. 1, No. 1 (March, 1920), pp 136-165.
After the French and Indian War, the British were unimpressed with the colonial war efforts and generally assumed they were unable to defend the western frontier, whereas the colonists thought they had done well in all of the wars and were confident that they could defend themselves. This led to conflict between the two nations, brought on by the costs of the wars. Landowners in Britain wanted to reduce the taxes placed upon them. King George III and the Whigs supported a colonial policy that would abandon salutary neglect and force the colonies to support the cost of the British empire. In addition to this the British began to be more present in the colonies, beginning with Pontiac’s rebellion where the British sent troops instead of letting the colonial forces respond to the attack, because of their thoughts on the colonists military efforts. The Proclamation o...
3 Wade. Mason. Search for a Nation. The Bryant press Limited, Toronto. 1967 [4] Canadians and Conflicts.
...ton, Pierre. Marching as to War: Canada's Turbulent Years, 1899-1953. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2001. Print.
An Empire Divided by Andrew O’Shaughnessy conveyed the reasons for non-participation on the part of the British West Indies during the American Revolution. He explores concepts such as double consciousness on part of the planters, as well as economic and political ideologies of the planters and the slaves during the late 1700s.
The French colonized the region of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia, and the Acadians were the French colonists who lived in the area. However, there were also English colonists in the area and the groups didn’t get along well. The French lost Nova Scotia to the British in a war which led to the Treaty of Utrecht (signed in 1713) which formally named Acadia as a British territory (Dormon, 39). The treaty forced the Acadians to swear an oath of allegiance to the British crown which they refused because this would require them to renounce their Catholic religion for that of the Anglican church, because of this the likelihood of another war with the French was high. The Acadians refusal to swear an oath to the British caused the British to order a deportation of the Acadians who then fled with whatever they could carry.
During the years of 1675 and 1676 the North American colonies experienced conflicts that shaped the dynamics of their colonial life. King Phillip's War would effectively end relations between the New England colonists and the Indians. Also, the rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon stressed the growing discontent of poor frontier farmers for British rule. The consequences of these two events clearly had an impact on different levels that would extend well beyond their time. Therefore, the years 1675 and 1676 played a very significant role in the Northern American colonies.
Meney, Florence. "La Peiné de Mort au Canada" ["Moving Towards Abolition"]. Radio Canada. N.p., 2007. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .
The discrimination suffered by the “ethnic Canadians” increased during the war was inflicted by both society and the government. An example of the discrimination suffered by “ethnic Canadians” is Sarah Mann, a Canadian-German living though World War 1. Before the people of the town knew she was of German descent, she lived a normal life. But, that all changed when they found out; they vandalized her house by breaking the windows, painting harsh words in red paint or blood, which is overall person to person discrimination. However, throughout the war, it was not just the Canadian-Germans who suffered from discrimination, all ethnicities either than English-Canadian or French-Canadian. Also, they did not only receive discrimination through vandalism, and other person to person discrimination, “ethnic Canadians” faced discrimination by the Canadian government. The governments’ discrimination was caused by the pressure of frightened public experiencing panic because of the Great War. Therefore, the government took action by passing the Wartime Elections Act and the Wartime Measures Act. The Wartime Elections act meant the “ethnic Canadians” would lose their right to vote. The “ethnic Canadians” would also be put into concentration camps or have to register to the police on a regular basis. The historical significance...
To start off, I’ll be writing about the life of people in British North America and its significance towards unifying Canada, as well as background knowledge of conflicts that existed. Life in British North America was changing at an alarming rate. New technology and services were being introduced such as railways and steamships. Industries such as building, producing and farming were being introduced. This was in part due to the many immigrants from Britain and France who’d settled. This was dreadful for the First Nations as their land had been taken away even more so than before. More resources were needed for the growing crowd so trade agreements were made. As more people came, the First Nations were even more distanced from the Europeans. Meanwhile, the French and the British wanted the other’s culture to be erased from the
Britain, like Spain, had permanent colonies, settlements, and claims in the new world. The one prized colony to their colonial chest was Canada, supplying fur, trade, and money to the British people. In regards to Britain’s currently existing colony, the Monroe doctrine professed no disavowal of the right of the British to manage their respective colony (Yale Law School). Yet, the British territorial claims in Oregon, supported by the notion of preexisting settlements by their fur trading company, was naturally at direct odds with the United States’ belief in Manifest Destiny. This issue already provided a reason for Monroe and Adam’s to be uneasy over British presence in the new world. It was in the national interest of the United States to put an end to the prospect of colonization of the Oregon
Zaslow, Morris. The Defended Border, Upper Canada and the War of 1812. Toronto: MacMillian of Canada, 1983
It was once stated by F.R.Scott “ There are two miracles in canadian history. The first is the survival of French Canada, and the second is the survival of Canada.” His quote came to reality as of Canada grew to be a stable and secure country where everyone would want to be. Yet to accomplish this, many obstacles and events occurred such as the Spanish Succession war in 1713 , the seven years war in 1763, the constitutional act in 1791 and finally the Act of Union in 1841. First in 1713, the Spanish Succession war occurred where the British took control of Acadia. Soon after that, in 1763 the Seven Years War ended where the British took over New France and was later renamed British North America. Before the British most of the colonies were
Quinn, David B. North America From Earliest Discovery to First Settlements. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977.
Canada experienced the revolution of changing politics and new ideologies, it was a necessary wave
... Ed. W. Gordon West and Ruth Morris. Toronto, Canada: A Canadian Scholar? Press, 2000.