Oct. 7-11: British rule, part 1 (1760-1815)

This week we start the period of British rule! I know! Exciting...  

This week, we will examine changes and continuity to the population of Quebec, after the Conquest (1760). In terms of the population, little changed at first, despite the  new rulers. There was one notable change: no further immigration from France. From that point on, immigrants to Quebec were, for the most part, from the Thirteen colonies or from England.

First 50 years of British rule: 1763-1815:

British control of New France officially began in 1763, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. New British laws were introduced to the colony with the Royal Proclamation (SIGNED 250 YEARS AGO, TODAY) and the boundaries of Quebec were reduced considerably. The first British governor of "Quebec," James Murray, was faced with a difficult situation; he was expected to implement laws and policies that would ultimately assimilate an overwhelmingly French-canadien society. 99% of the population was French-Catholic; 75% were farmers in rural areas. They had very few dealings with any English types.

Very few English migrants arrived in Quebec; by 1766, they numbered about 500. The English merchants who arrived in  Quebec were interested in controlling the economy, especially the fur trade. This small minority also wanted to pass laws that were beneficial to them. Governor Murray, however, was sympathetic to the canadiens farmers and seigneurs, even to the Catholic church. He found himself in direct opposition to the English merchants, owing to his conciliatory attitude toward the French majority.

In 1775, EVERYTHING changed. The "American War of Independence" began in the Thirteen Colonies. It had a major impact on Quebec's territory (before and after American independence), as well as on its society. Prior to the revolution, the British government expanded Quebec's boundaries (Quebec Act, 1774) to include the Ohio Valley. This enraged the governments and citizens of the Thirteen Colonies. During the American revolution, not everyone fought for independence; there were many who wanted continued ties with the British. Many of them suffered terrible things in America because of their support for the British King. These people came to be known as the "Loyalists." Thousands of them left the American colonies seeking safety; approximately 6000 migrated to Quebec in the late 1770's-early-1780's because Quebec was under British rule. With the creation of the United States of America, in 1783, Quebec lost the territory south of the Great Lakes that it had gained in the Quebec Act.

The Loyalist arrival had a tremendous social effect on Quebec; it was the true beginning of dualism in Quebec. By 1784, the English-speaking population made up 15% of Quebec's population. The Loyalists who arrived in Quebec expected to find British institutions: laws, Protestant churches, out-right ownership of land, as well as the right to vote. They were sorely disappointed. Instead they found French-language institutions which were unfamiliar to them - and a system of government that was not democratic. The Loyalists petitioned the British government for changes. The British solved the problem first by settling the Loyalists in the western part of Quebec (now the Great Lakes region) and then dividing Quebec into two separate colonies, Lower and Upper Canada (see map below). This was enacted in the Constitutional Act, of 1791.