Public School History of England and Canada/Canada/Chapter 1
MAP OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA
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Engraved for the Public School History of England & Canada, by The Copp, Clark Co. Ltd Toronto
PUBLIC SCHOOL
HISTORY OF CANADA.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY SETTLEMENT OF CANADA.
1. Dominion of Canada.—If we take a map of North America we shall find that by far the greater part of its northern half is named the Dominion of Canada. On the east there is the Atlantic Ocean, on the west the Pacific, on the south the Great Lakes, and on the north the Arctic Sea. The only parts of this vast territory not in Canada are Alaska, a portion of Labrador, and the Island of Newfoundland. Its area is about 3,500,000 square miles, and is somewhat larger than the United States lying south of it. But the name Canada, has only very recently been applied to this territory, for less than twenty-five years ago that name was used to point out the Provinces marked Quebec and Ontario on the map. Then the Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and British Columbia were from time to time added, and these with the great North-West Territories make up the present Dominion of Canada.
2. Early Inhabitants.—Who the first inhabitants of America were, we do not know, but we do know that they were not English, French, or the ancestors of any of the white or black people now living in Canada and the United States. Nor were the people now known as North American Indians the first to inhabit this Continent, as many remains exist of a more civilized race. Heaps of earth of curious shapes are found all over North America, (many of them in the neighborhood of Lake Superior) and these “mounds,” as they are called, contain the bones of men and other animals, stone axes, copper tools, well shaped pottery and a variety of other articles, made with a great deal of skill and taste. Then on the shores of Lake Superior we find old mines where copper has been taken out in large quantities a great many years ago. Large trees have grown over the rubbish that fill these mines, and this shows that a long time has passed since the miners were at work. Whence these clever-and industrious people came we do not know, but it is thought they were originally from the south of Asia.
3. North American Indians.—The “Mound Builders” were followed by a fiercer and ruder people that cared for little except hunting and fishing, making war and roaming the forests. Very little interest was taken by them in tilling the soil, a few tribes growing small quantities of maize or indian corn in clearings in the dense forests which covered most of the country. The principal tribes were the Algonquins, inhabiting the region from the Atlantic to Lake Superior; the Hurons, principally found in the Georgian Bay District, and the Five Nation Indians or Iroquois, occupying the middle and western part of the State of New York. These tribes were much alike in their appearance, manners and customs. Tall, simewy, copper-colored, with straight black hair, black eyes, high cheek bones—they were keen of sight and hearing, swift of foot, fond of war, cruel to their enemies and generally true to their friends. The Algonquins lived almost entirely by fishing and hunting, dwelt in wretched tents called wigwams, and were often on the verge of starvation. The Hurons and Iroquois tilled the soil to some extent, and laid up stores of corn for the seasons when game was scarce. They often lived in villages, in large bark houses occupied by several families, and were much more comfortable and prosperous than the Algonquins. Indian women did all the work and drudgery; the men when not hunting, fishing, or fighting, lived a lazy life, and spent their spare hours sleeping, gambling, and story-telling. Such were the people the first European settlers found in the greater part of North America.
4. Discovery of America.—Little was known of, America, until Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa in Italy, persuaded Isabella, the Queen of Castile in Spain, to give him ships to find his way to India, by sailing westward instead of round the Cape of Good Hope, This was in 1492, A.D. Long before this, in the tenth century, the people of Iceland had made their way to the north-eastern coast of America, and seemed to have sailed south as far as Massachusetts. These visits did not lead to any settlements being made, and were very soon-forgotten, so that Columbus is the real discoverer of America. After a long voyage he came to an island and thought he had reached India. This mistake led to the group, of which this island is one, being called the West Indies. But Columbus did not reach the mainland as soon as John and Sebastian Cabot, two navigators sent out by Henry VII. of England, who explored the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland in 1497-98. A little later a Florentine named Amerigo Vespucci visited the New World and wrote an account of his travels. This led to the new continent being called America.
5. Jacques Cartier.—France, unlike Spain and England, did not take much interest in the work of exploring America until 1534, when Francis I. sent out from the sea-port of St. Malo, the famous sea captain, Jacques Cartier. Cartier sailed to Newfoundland, entered the straits of Belle Isle and passed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He landed at Gaspé, and erected a cross bearing the arms of France, to indicate that he had taken possession of the country for the French King. The next year he made another visit and entered the Gulf on St. Lawrence’s Day, and for this reason he named the Gulf and the great river which empties into it the St. Lawrence. Sailing up the river he came to an Indian village, Stadacona, situated near where now the city of Quebec stands. Continuing his voyage he reached another Indian village, called Hochelaga. This village was situated at the foot of a beautiful mountain covered with trees, and he named it Mont Royal—hence the name of our great commercial city Montreal. After a short stay Cartier returned to Stadacona, and spent the winter there. His men suffered terribly from cold and scurvy, but were treated with the utmost kindness by the Indians. In the spring he returned to France, taking with him by force a number of Indian chiefs who were never permitted to go back to their own people—a base reward for their hospitality. Six years after, Cartier and Sieur de Roberval made an attempt to colonize Canada, but their efforts were fruitless; and France, occupied with matters of greater interest at home, sent out no other expedition for nearly fifty years.
6. Champlain.—At last in 1603, Samuel De Champlain, a distinguished naval officer, and Pontgravé, a merchant of St. Malo, were sent out to open up a trade in furs with the Indians and at the same time to attempt to civilize them and convert them to Christianity. They found no traces of the Indian villages Stadacona and Hochelaga and after a short stay, having reached the rapids of St. Louis, returned to France with a cargo of furs. For the next few years the efforts of the French were directed to establishing a colony in Acadia (now Nova Scotia), at Port Royal. Failing in this attempt, Champlain and Pontgravé were despatched to the St. Lawrence to build a fort at a suitable point for trade with the Indians. This led to the founding of the city of Quebec at the foot of the cliff Cape Diamond, in 1608. Champlain then proceeded westward, and meeting a war party of Algonquins and Hurons, was induced by promises of profitable trade to join an expedition against the Iroquois. He ascended the Richelieu river and discovered Lake Champlain, and near Lake George had his first encounter with the Iroquois. Again in 1615, he joined a war party of Hurons against the Iroquois ; but was unsuccessful in the attack, notwithstanding the advantage of fire-arms. These unprovoked assaults taught the Troquois to hate and distrust the French. Later on, when the Iroquois obtained possession of guns and were skilled in their use, a terrible revenge was taken on the weak Canadian colony. In nearly all the wars that followed between the English and French settlers in America, the brave and adroit Iroquois were found fighting on the side of the English. Champlain spent much time in exploring the country to the north and west, making his way up the Ottawa across to Georgian Bay, and thence down to Lake Ontario.
7. Company of One Hundred Associates.—So many companies were anxious to engage in the profitable fur trade of Canada, and so much rivalry and ill-feeling existed among them, that Cardinal Richelieu, the principal minister of Louis XIII, decided in 1627 to give the sole right to engage in the trade to a company known as that of the “One Hundred Associates.” Besides the fur trade, this Company was given the control of the coast and inland fishing. In return for these grants, the Company bound itself to bring out six thousand colonists and settle them in Canada, at the same time making provision for the support of a Roman Catholic clergy who were to look after the religious welfare of the colonists, and to labor to convert the Indians. Tradesmen and mechanics were to be taken out to Canada to build houses and make ail necessary articles for the use of the settlers. Champlain was made governor of the young colony, but did not keep his position long; for war broke out between England and France, and England sent Sir David Kirke with a fleet to take Quebec. Twice Kirke appeared before the fort, and on the second occasion, in 1629, captured it. For three years England held Canada, and then, peace being restored, gave it back to France, not considering the country of much value. Champlain again took charge of the colony, and labored unceasingly to make it prosperous, and to bring the Indians to a knowledge of Christianity. In this he was partially successful, but his work was cut short by death, A. D. 1635. Champlain is rightly considered the Founder of the colony of New France or Canada[1].
- ↑ Canada, is a word of Indian origin, and is supposed to mean “a collection of huts,”