Former colonies and territories in Canada

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Former colonies, territories, boundaries, and claims in Canada prior to the current classification of provinces and territories.[1] In North America, ethnographers commonly classify Aboriginals into ten (six in Canada) geographical regions with shared cultural traits and by related linguistic dialects.[2] The colonization of Canada by Europeans began in the 10th century, when Norsemen explored and attempted to settle areas of the northeastern fringes of North America.[3] Early permanent European settlements in what is now Canada included the late 16th and 17th century French colonies of Acadia and Canada (New France),[4] the English colonies of Newfoundland (island) and Rupert's Land,[5] the Scottish colonies of Nova Scotia and Port Royal.[6]

France relinquished nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War to the British Empire.[7] Britain's imperial government over a century later then ceded the land to Canadian control in 1867 after confederation.[8] Since then, Canada's external borders have changed several times, and has grown from four initial provinces to ten provinces and three territories as of 1999.[9]

Contents

Pre-colonization

Aboriginal societies

Main articles: Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas and Indigenous languages of the Americas

Aboriginal peoples in what is now Canada did not form state societies, instead they were organized into bands of a few families, grouped into larger tribes and chieftainships. In the absence of state structures, academics usually classify aboriginal people by their traditional "lifeway" (or primary economic activity) and region into "culture areas", or by their language families.[10] Some of these extended language family groups united into loose confederacies, such as the Ojibwa, who according to oral tradition formed the Council of Three Fires in 796 CE with the Odawa and the Potawatomi.[11] The six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, was formed in 1142 CE according to their oral traditions.[12][13] There was also the four or possibly five tribes of the Huron Confederacy,[14] both in the Great Lakes region, or the four tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy in present day Alberta and neighbouring Montana.[15] The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and peoples of the Northwest Plateau developed highly structured cultures from relatively dense populations. Some cultures in this region were very similar and share certain elements, such as the importance of fishing to their communities.[16]

European colonization

European colonization
of the Americas
First colonization
British colonization
Courlandish colonization
Danish colonization
Dutch colonization
French colonization
German colonization
Norse colonization
Portuguese colonization
Russian colonization
Scottish colonization
Spanish colonization
Swedish colonization
Colonization of Canada
Colonization of the USA
Decolonization
Further information: European colonization of the Americas and Timeline of the colonization of North America

Norse settlement

See also: Norse colonization of the Americas

While the Norse colonies in Greenland lasted for almost 500 years, the continental North American settlements were small and did not develop into permanent colonies.[17] Vinland - Markland - Helluland are the names given to three lands possibly in Canada, discovered by Norsemen as described in the Eiríks saga rauða[18] and Grœnlendinga saga.[19]

Portuguese outposts

See also: Portuguese colonization of the Americas

The Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the Atlantic waters visited by explorer John Cabot in 1497 and 1498.[21] In 1498 to 1500, the Portuguese mariner João Fernandes Lavrador visited the north Atlantic coast, accounting for the appearance of the name "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period.[22] In 1501 and 1502 the Corte-Real brothers explored present day Newfoundland claiming the land in the name of Portuguese Empire.[23] In 1520-1521 trading outposts were founded by João Álvares Fagundes and Pêro de Barcelos in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. This outpost were abandoned within five years.[22]

New France

See also: French colonization of the Americas and List of French possessions and colonies

In 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula and claimed the land in the name of Francis I of France.[24] In 1600, a trading post was established at Tadoussac, but only five of the sixteen settlers survived the winter and returned home that summer.[24] In 1604, a settlement was founded at Île-Saint-Croix on Baie François (Bay of Fundy) which was moved to Port-Royal in 1605.[24] It was abandoned in 1607, reestablished in 1610, and destroyed in 1613, after which settlers moved to other nearby locations.[24]

British North America

See also: British colonization of the Americas and Scottish colonization of the Americas

British colonization of the Americas (including colonization sponsored by both the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland before the 1707 Acts of Union which created the Kingdom of Great Britain) began in the late 16th century and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas. The Kingdom of Great Britain acquired the French colony of Acadia in 1713 and then Canada, New France.[25]

Great Britain also claimed the west coast of North America; indirectly via (from 1804) the North West Company and (after 1821) Hudson's Bay Company licenses west of the Rocky Mountains, the Columbia and New Caledonia fur districts, most of which were jointly claimed by the United States, which called it the Oregon Country, from 1818 until the 49th parallel as the international boundary was extended west of the Rockies by the Oregon Treaty of 1846.[25] The Colony of Vancouver Island, founded in 1849, and the Colony of British Columbia, founded in 1858, were combined in 1866 with the name Colony of British Columbia until joining Confederation in 1871.[25] British Columbia also was expanded with the addition what had been the Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands and also most of the Stikine Territory, in 1863, and upon joining Confederation with the addition of the Peace River Country, formerly part of the Northwest Territories.[25]

New Spain

See also: Spanish colonization of the Americas

Spanish colonizers had originally taken the lead in the Pacific Northwest coast, with the voyages of Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774 and 1775.[26] This was in response to intelligence that the Russians had begun to explore the Pacific Coast of North America, which the Spanish considered part of New Spain.[27]

Russian America

Further information: Russian colonization of the Americas

In 1799, Tsar Paul I proclaimed Russian title and established the Russian American Company's trade monopoly and rule in the North Pacific through the creation of Russian America.[29] The stated southward limit of Russian claims was 51 degrees north latitude, roughly that of Cape Scott at the northern tip of Vancouver Island.[30] Though no Russian settlements were established in what is now British Columbia, Russian trade and scientific expeditions frequented the North Coast. Intense tripartite negotiation led to treaties between Russia with the US and Britain in 1824 and 1825, respectively, setting the new southward limit of Russian territories at 54 degrees, 40 minutes north latitude, corresponding with Cape Muzon at the southern tip of Dall Island, at the extreme southwest of what is today the Alaska Panhandle.[31][32]

Canadian territorial evolution

Main article: Territorial evolution of Canada

Canada became an independent nation after the Constitution Act of 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act, 1867).[9] Originally three provinces of British North America, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (which would become Ontario and Quebec) united to form the new nation.[9] Since then, Canada's external borders have changed several times, and has grown from four initial provinces to ten provinces and three territories as of 1999.[9]

Alaska boundary dispute

Main article: Alaska boundary dispute

The Alaska boundary dispute, simmering since the Alaska purchase of 1867, became critical when gold was discovered in the Yukon during the late 1890s.[34] Canada argued its historic boundary with Russian America included the Lynn Canal and the port of Skagway, both occupied by the U.S.,[34] while the U.S. claimed the Atlin District and the lower Stikine and even Whitehorse. The dispute went to arbitration in 1903, with the British delegate siding with the Americans.[35]

Norwegian claim

Otto Sverdrup a Norwegian explorer claimed the Sverdrup Islands for Norway in 1898, but the Norwegian government showed no interest in pursuing the claim until 1928.[36] On 11 November 1930 (Remembrance Day) after formal Canadian intervention, Norway recognized Canada's sovereignty over the islands.[37]

Danish claim

Further information: Territorial claims in the Arctic

Hans Island is the smallest of three islands located in Kennedy Channel; the others are Franklin Island and Crozier Island.[38] The island is the traditional hunting grounds of the Inuit and is claimed by both Canada and Denmark.[38]

Northwest Passage

Main article: Northwest Passage international waters dispute

The Canadian government considers the Northwestern Passages part of Canadian Internal Waters,[39] but the United States and various European countries maintain they are an international strait or transit passage, allowing free and unencumbered passage.[40]

Areas disputed by the United States

Main article: List of areas disputed by Canada and the United States

Although Canada and the United States share the longest non-militarized border between two countries, there is a long history of disputes about the border's demarcation.[41]

See also

Book: Canada
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References

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Further reading

Main article: Bibliography of Canada

External links