Page 32 of the Modern History of the World. Only a minority wee imperialists like Disraeli. Consequently Britain gained her second empire slowly. Although landings were made in Australia in 1788 the whole continent was not declared British until 1829. New Zealand was claimed eleven years later. In both cases it was fear of French occupation which drove the government to act. With Canada Britain showed a similar reluctance. In 1791 the territory had been divided into two provinces, Ontario English and Quebec French. The two were very different. French Canada had few towns. Its trappers and farmers lived in cabins strung out along the bank of the St. Lawrence in what was described as , one continuous white cottaged street,. Their life was lonely, cut off from both France and their English neighbors. By contrast, Ontario consisted of busy, thriving towns, inhabited in many cases by Empire loyalists whose fathers or grandfathers had crossed the border rather than live in an independent U. S. A. British North America at the time of Confederation 1867 The English speaking Canadians complained that their trade was being hampered by French control of the St. Lawrence. Page 33 of the Modern World History. The French feared that their way of life would be swamped by their more numerous neighbors. In 1837 there were riots in both provinces so Britain send Lord Durham to report on the situation. He stayed only seven months and annoyed most Canadians he met. Yet back home he wrote a report which became a blueprint for the Commonwealth type of empire we know today, the each part a separate , self-governing unity loyal to the Queen. Durham made two suggestions. First , he thought Ontario and Quebec should be united so that the French would be out-numbered. Second he suggested that Canadians should be allowed to govern themselves in all home affairs in order to prevent another war of independence. His superiors accepted the first suggestion immediately. The second was made law in 1867. By British North America Act four provinces, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were formed into one country. Dominion status, did not mean independence until the twentieth century( see Chapter 15). But it helped Canadian development in four ways. Trade could move about the country without any duties and defense could be planned on a national scale. The government could often bargain with foreign countries in trading matters on an equal basis. Last but not least Britain had found a way of keeping her Empire. Soon railways helped to bind the continent together even more securely. In 1869-70 Rupert’s land and Manitoba joined the Dominion, followed soon afterward by British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and North-West Territory. The final link came in 1885 when railways spanned the continent and reached the Pacific coast. Across lonely prairies and mountains unknown even to Indians, the engineers built a line which united Canada more surely than Acts of Parliaments. Settlers followed the engineers and soon the empty prairies of Saskatchewan and Alberta were transformed into vast farms supplying Europe with wheat. Durham’s home rule idea was applied to Australia also. Like Canada the isolated Australian states were unconnected for many year.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 03:01:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015