Canada under British Rule 1760-1900
Bourinot, John George, Sir, 1837-1902
English
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1760-1900***
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CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE 1760-1900
BY
SIR JOHN G. BOURINOT, K.C.M.G., LL.D., LITT.D.
Author of 'Parliamentary Procedure and Practice', 'Constitutional
History of Canada,' 'The Story of Canada,' etc
WITH EIGHT MAPS
1900
CAMBRIDGE HISTORICAL SERIES
EDITED BY G. W. PROTHERO, LITT.D., LL.D.
Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and Late Professor of
History in the University of Edinburgh.
GENERAL PREFACE.
The aim of this series is to sketch the history of Modern Europe, with
that of its chief colonies and conquests, from about the end of the
fifteenth century down to the present time. In one or two cases the
story commences at an earlier date: in the case of the colonies it
generally begins later. The histories of the different countries are
described, as a rule, separately, for it is believed that, except in
epochs like that of the French Revolution and Napoleon I, the connection
of events will thus be better understood and the continuity of
historical development more clearly displayed.
The series is intended for the use of all persons anxious to understand
the nature of existing political conditions. "The roots of the present
lie deep in the past"; and the real significance of contemporary events
cannot be grasped unless the historical causes which have led to them
are known. The plan adopted makes it possible to treat the history of
the last four centuries in considerable detail, and to embody the most
important results of modern research. It is hoped therefore that the
series will be useful not only to beginners but to students who have
already acquired some general knowledge of European History. For those
who wish to carry their studies further, the bibliography appended to
each volume will act as a guide to original sources of information and
works more detailed and authoritative.
Considerable attention is paid to political geography, and each volume
is furnished with such maps and plans as may be requisite for the
illustration of the text.
G.W. PROTHERO.
PREFACE.
I devote the first chapter of this short history to a brief review of
the colonisation of the valley of the St. Lawrence by the French, and of
their political and social conditions at the Conquest, so that a reader
may be able to compare their weak and impoverished state under the
repressive dominion of France with the prosperous and influential
position they eventually attained under the liberal methods of British
rule. In the succeeding chapters I have dwelt on those important events
which have had the largest influence on the political development of the
several provinces as British possessions.
We have, first, the Quebec Act, which gave permanent guarantees for the
establishment of the Church of Rome and the maintenance of the language
and civil law of France in her old colony. Next, we read of the coming
of the United Empire Loyalists, and the consequent establishment of
British institutions on a stable basis of loyal devotion to the parent
state. Then ensued the war of 1812, to bind the provinces more closely
to Great Britain, and create that national spirit which is the natural
outcome of patriotic endeavour and individual self-sacrifice. Then
followed for several decades a persistent popular struggle for larger
political liberty, which was not successful until British statesmen
awoke at last from their indifference, on the outbreak of a rebellion in
the Canadas, and recognised the necessity of adopting a more liberal
policy towards their North American dependencies. The union of the
Canadas was succeeded by the concession of responsible government and
the complete acknowledgment of the rights of the colonists to manage
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