History of Quebec and CanadaName: ______
NOTES: CHAPTER 4 PART 3
ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION, 1800 TO 1840
This period was a time of drastic economic change for Lower Canada. What’s going on?
CONTINENTAL BLOCKADE AND THE BRITISH AMERICAN WAR OF 1812
-In 1806, Emperor Napoleon I of France imposed a continental ______on United Kingdom.
-Blockade: the isolation of a region in order to prevent it from having contact with the outside world.
-Why did France impose a blockade? To weaken United Kingdom’s economy and military.
-How does The United Kingdom retaliate? It blocks sea entry routes to France (a maritime blockade).
-What are repercussions of blockade on North America? The United States was a trading partner with France, and now it can’t trade with them.
-How does the US retaliate? It declares war on Great Britain. The War of 1812 begins. The US invades British Colonies of Upper and Lower Canada.
THE WAR OF 1812
-Upper and Lower Canada supported Britain in its war against the United States.
-The ______(Monseigneur Plessis) encouraged Canadiens to remain loyal to Britain in its war against the United States.
-The Americans attacked in Upper and Lower Canada. The American troops were defeated at the Battle of Chateauguay.
-Many Natives also joined to fight against the Americans.
-______were people who represented the Natives and had to maintain relationships between them and the government. This became difficult as many colonists wanted to settle on their land in Upper Canada.
THE FUR TRADE
-The ______was on the ______in the early 1800’s.
-There was a decline in the beaver population around the great lakes. As a result, the fur trade companies had to expand further westward to find fur.
-Travel and labour costs were expensive, and there was a lot of competition between the Hudson Bay Company and the North West Company. After some conflict, the two companies merged. They kept the name of the Hudson Bay Company.
-The demand for fur was also on the decline from Europe. Silk hats were now in fashion.
THE TIMBER TRADE
-By 1810 ______as the main economic resource in Canada.
-One of the main items Britain needed to make its warships was timber but it was cut off from supplies in Europe.
- Therefore, Britain turned to Canada for a source of timber and even gave Canada “preferential tariffs” (better tax rate) which meant that British consumers had to buy their timber from Canada.
-In Lower Canada there were now a few shipbuilding yards, and also many new logging camps. New jobs were created: lumberjacks, hewers, sawyers, rafts men, shipbuilders.
-Regions such as the Maurice, Outaouais and Saguenay (known as Timberland) were developed for the timber industry. These areas attracted investors.
AGRICULTURE
-The majority of farmers were living in rural areas. The Canadiens lived in seigneuries along the St. Lawrence. Farmers of British origin and Loyalists settled in the Eastern Townships.
-Grain from Upper and Lower Canada entered Britain tax free or with only a low tariff, but grain from any other countries had a substantial tax added to its price. These were called the ______and they benefited Lower Canada. They were an example of protectionism.
-Surplus of wheat was sent to Britain. But producing wheat became more difficult because of: wet climate, short summers, overpopulation, over farming.
-Poor harvests due to bad weather and poor soils in the 1830s and 1840s led to a decline in wheat production in Lower Canada. Lower Canada was forced to import wheat to meet the needs of the population. This was called an ______.
-Some families were forced to abandon their land and move to cities.
CAPITAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE
-The population growth caused the need for more roads and bridges to be built. Tolls and taxes were used to pay for their construction.
-The first ______, financed by Montreal merchants, linked La Prairie to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in 1836. Railways were a good solution to develop areas, especially in winter when rivers were frozen.
-In order to transport merchandise inland by water, ______were built. Commercial traffic on Fleuve Saint-Laurent increased in 1825, with the opening of the Lachine Canal.
-______was financed by both the government of Lower Canada and private capital. ($$$) Gradually other canals were built to link the US to Montreal and Quebec City.
-The ______was founded in 1817. Its goals were to: to facilitate currency transactions, to issue loans and to issue paper money.
-The role of banks grew over time to include ______of transportation infrastructure (roads, bridges, canals, railways).