What Brought African-Americans to Canada?

• During the nineteenth century (1800s) many African slaves from the United States ran to Canada and Mexico. 
• Approximately 50,000 men, women and children ran away each year but only a few thousand made it to freedom.
• For most escaped slaves the goal was permanent freedom. 
• Slavery was a system that brutalized and exploited the Africans and their descendants that ended up living on plantations in the US.  
• The run for freedom often meant leaving loved ones behind in slavery.
• Slaves who were caught were returned to bondage - even when they got away, runaways did not have any right to freedom. The law protected the rights of slaveholders to retrieve their "property."
• Most runaways were young men in their teens and twenties because they had not yet married or had not yet begun a family.  
• Women had often begun to raise families by their late teens and early twenties which made it harder to get away or evade capture.  Still, many women embarked on the migration to freedom.
• Runaways showed great strength of character - courage, ingenuity and organizational skills.
• They had to change their appearance - clothing, hair, and sometimes even gender. 
• Most runaways chose one of the five places to run to: towns and cities in the South, remote areas near the plantations, the West, the Northern US, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Canada.
• In 1772, England declared that any slave reaching Canadian soil was automatically free so after the War of 1812 many runaways started to settle in Canada. People began to call it the "Promised Land." 

• Over the next thirty years, between one and two thousand African Americans entered Canada each year.
• By the start of the American Civil War which ended slavery in the US about thirty thousand fugitives lived in Canada.

From Runaway Journeys

SYMBOLS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Those helping the runaways used symbols to show them the safest way to run.  Some of the symbols could be found in the patterns in quilts.  Each of the quilt patterns gave a different message to the runaways.

Another way that runaways were given messages was through songs - specifically "spirituals" as the slave songs came to be known.

Today, you can choose one of two tasks:

• Create a (paper) quilt that gives a secret message.  Write a description of what message you are trying to pass along to the runaways.
• Create a music poster with the lyrics of one of the songs.  Illustrate the poster with pictures that show what message the song is giving the runaways.

These are due at the end of the block.

Go to this link and follow the journey of the Underground Railroad:

The Underground Railroad

What Brought the Irish to Canada?

How Many Irish and Irish Descendants Live in Canada Now?

Guess!

The 2006 census by Statscan, Canada's Official Statistical office revealed that the Irish were the 4th largest ethnic group with 4,354,155 Canadians with full or partial Irish descent or 14% of the nation's total population. This may understate the Irish contribution to Canada's population, as those responding "Canadian" in census surveys are thought to be largely of British or Irish descent.

How did we end up with so many Irish and Irish descendants in Canada?

The reasons for the Irish coming to Canada in the 1800's are complicated and multi-layered.  Think about the Irish like this.  The Irish were the original inhabitants of Ireland.  They spoke Irish.

and they were Celts and followed the Celtic religion until 
they were converted to Catholicism.  The Irish are the 
indigenous people of Ireland.  Just as the British 
colonized North America, India, Australia and so many 
other countries, they colonized Ireland.  

The British took lands from the Irish farmers and forced 
them to pay high rents.  They bought their crops, as 
much as the farmers could grow in the poor soil in 
Ireland, for an undervalued price.  As a result, the 
farmers made only a subsistent living - barely making 
enough to feed themselves and certainly not to set any 
money aside.

From Potato to...

Potato Blight

In 1846, the potatoes in Ireland were hit with Phytophthora infestans or potato blight.   With farmers making only a subsistence living at the best of times, and having no money to buy extra food due to the high rents and low prices available for their crops, the potato blight caused almost immediate famine all over Ireland.

Out of desperation, those that were able fled Ireland.  Between 200,000 and 300,000 crossed the Irish Sea to England.  Ships took others to Canada, the US and to Australia.  Ships full of food sailed from North America to help fight the famine and to bring back the impoverished immigrants.  The starving and weakened Irish filled the "Coffin Ships" to face conditions just as bad as they had in Ireland.

"These ships, crowded and disease ridden, with poor access to food and water, resulted in the deaths of many people as they crossed the Atlantic, and led to the Typhus epidemic of 1847 at quarantine stations in Canada. Owners of coffin ships provided as little food, water, and living space as was legally possible – if they obeyed the law at all.

While coffin ships were the cheapest way to cross the Atlantic, mortality rates of 30% aboard the coffin ships were common. It was said that sharks could be seen following the ships, because so many bodies were thrown overboard."  Coffin Ships

When the Coffin Ships landed, the Irish were enclosed in quarantine shed in Grosse Isles, Montreal, Kingston, Toronto, and St. John. Many of the Irish suffered from typhus which is a disease carried by the lice found on rats.  Within ten days of being bitten by a louse, they would start to show symptoms of high fever, pain in muscles and joints, cerebral disorders, and headache. By the fifth day, a dark-red rash with elevated spots would appear on the trunk and shoulders, spreading to the rest of the body. Delirium would often set in by the second week. If the patients survived to the third week, they would often recover but would soon have a relapse with high fever, from which they would recover very quickly. The death rate was often as high as 50-70 percent of those infected.  Because so many people died, hundreds of children arrived as orphans.  These children were often taken in by Quebecois, Newfoundlander, New Brunswick and Ontario families, either as adopted children or as workers on the farms.

Officials in Boston and New York began to turn away the ships due to the illness and poor condition of the Irish on board.  These ships, thus turned back, made their way to Quebec and New Brunswick, greatly increasing the numbers of Irish immigrants arriving on Canadian shores.

Montreal's mass graves

The quarantine station at Grosse Isle, Newfoundland, Canada, was soon overwhelmed with the numbers of sick passengers crawling or carried off the coffin ships. It couldn't treat those that were ill, let alone provide for those that were not. So those that appeared healthy remained onboard their immigration ships and were simply waved on to Montreal. Unfortunately, many had already caught typhus – the fever that ran rampant on their overcrowded and dirty vessels – and they were to become ill further upriver. Soon, it was Montreal that was overwhelmed with the dead and dying.

Ten years after the year of the coffin ships, workers building the city's Victoria Bridge unearthed a mass grave containing the remains of about 6000 Irish immigrants. A 27-tonne granite boulder marks the spot beside the bridge's entrance where an annual ceremony remembers those who died escaping poverty and hunger.

British Agricultural Revolution

British Agricultural Revolution

• took place in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
• changes in agricultural practices resulted in tremendous increase in productivity
• the agricultural revolution resulted in growth of population and freeing up the labour force
• there were four main changes in agricultural practices: enclosure, mechanization, four field crop rotation, and selective breeding

Enclosure

• prior to the 18th century, farmers used the open-field system.  
• farmers subsistence-cropped on strips of land in 3 or four large fields held by the feudal land owner.
• these peasant farmers used common land to graze livestock
• enclosure farming enclosed fields for common use - this made farming more efficient but took the common areas away from the peasants
• When the small scale farmers had to pay for their land to be resurveyed they often couldn't afford the costs and were forced to sell their land, often for much less than it was worth.

Mechanization

• certain inventions made a huge difference to the efficiency of farming - these inventions included Jethro Tull's seed drill, the Rotherham iron plough and the Scot's iron plough, and Andrew Meikle's threshing machine.

Crop Rotation

• initially this was a three field rotation - two fields were planted with different crops (i.e. wheat and barley) and the third was left fallow, or empty, allowing the third field to replace minerals and nutrients that had been taken by the crops previously planted
• later, it was discovered that growing legumes in the fallow field helped to restore nitrogen
• eventually it was discovered that a four field rotation was more efficient than a three field system
• because the fields had better nutrients the crops were better
• this improved the diet of both people and livestock
• more and better livestock were kept which meant better and more manure which helped to grow better crops

Selective Breeding

• by breeding animals that had desirable qualities, quality of livestock began to improve

Effects on History

• this was a major turning point in history
• the increase of the population of Great Britain was able to be sustained due to better farming techniques and increased production of crops
• early in the agricultural revolution a new class of landless labourers developed leading to a growth in the cottage industries
• women had worked side by side with their farmer husbands, however the new iron ploughs were too heavy and women were relegated to other work, often taking part in cottage industries to supplement the farming income
• other women were forced into domestic services or prostitution

A Question of Loyalties

CANADA: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY

A QUESTION OF LOYALTIES

As you watch the film answer these questions.  Since there are quite a few questions, you may want to work with a partner and divide the questions between you.

1.     What does it mean when the narrator says that the Americans were at war with themselves?  The rebel Americans were attacking the Loyalists.

2.     Why did the rebels approach Quebec?  What was the response? They were sent an open letter "asking" them to join the American rebels.  Part of the the request was a veiled threat.  While there were some of the French who secretly hoped the rebels would over-throw the British, most felt that it was just infighting within the British 13 colonies.
3.     What does the expression “the shot heard ‘round the world” mean? This marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
4.     How did most Canadians view the war between the British and the American rebels and how did the Canadians’ response to the call to arms reflect this? See the answer to question 2.  The call to arms fell mainly on deaf ears.  The British forces had difficulty getting any of the French Canadians to sign up to fight the rebels. 
5.     What was the American plan to invade Canada? One garrison of rebels would head north towards Montreal and the other garrison would loop to the East and come down the St. Lawrence to Quebec.
6.     Describe what happened at Fort St. Jean.  What city was left unprotected? The British in Fort St. Jean stood against the rebel forces, however they were greatly outnumbered.  Eventually they had to surrender.  This left Montreal unprotected and the rebels marched into Montreal as soon as Fort St. Jean had fallen.
7.     What factors make the defense of Quebec City “doubtful”? The British continued to have difficulties in getting the French Canadians join the British forces.  In addition, there was one group of rebels marching toward them from Montreal and another coming down the St. Lawrence.
8.     What allowed Carleton to save Quebec City? Carleton threatened to evict any man - French or otherwise - from Quebec City if they refused to join the British forces.  Also, a rebel deserter came to the British and told them that the rebel forces planned to attack on the first snowy night.  This occurred on New Years Eve.  Because of the snow, when the rebels coming from Montreal attacked, they didn't see the British waiting for them and their leaders were all slaughtered.  This allowed the British to corner the other rebels and eventually the rebels surrendered.
9.     Who were the Loyalists?  What happened to them? The Loyalists were members of the 13 colonies (Americans) who were still loyal to the British crown.  The rebels took all their supplies and put their men in prison, leaving the women and children to freeze and starve in the winter.
10.  Who were Butler’s Rangers? These were Loyalists who joined with the British to make a crack fighting team to help to try to defeat the rebels. How did the Revolutionary War become a civil war? The rebels turned on the Loyalists even though both groups were Americans.
11.  Who was Joseph Brant?  Also known as Thayendanegea, he was a military and political leader of the Mohawks.  What message did he take to King George?  He promised George III that the six Iroquois nations would fight on the side of the British if the British would protect Iroquoian land.  What message does he take back to Canada? George III agreed to Brant's proposal.
12. What response do the Iroquois have to Joseph Brant’s deal? Three of the nations side with the British but the other three side with the rebels.
13.  What were George Washington’s orders in regards to the Iroquois?  He ordered the rebels to burn the Iroquoian villages.  What were the results of these orders? All the Iroquois nations had to flee north into Canada.
14. Other than the Loyalists and the Six Nations, which other group migrated to Canada? African Americans.
15. What impact did the Loyalists have on Nova Scotia?  So many Loyalists came to Nova Scotia from New York that they quadrupled the population.  What conditions did they live under that first winter? Many spent the winter in tents.  Food was scarce.
16. What difficulties did the black Loyalists face in their new home? They had difficulties finding work as the white Canadians felt that jobs should not be given to the black Loyalists over the whites.  In spite of this, most stayed and settled and tried their hand at farming.
17. What part of Canada was the “upper country”? Ontario Who settled it? Butler's Rangers moved into the rougher parts of the "upper country".
18. Who was forgotten in the treaty between the British and the Americans?  Why was this the case? The Iroquois nations were not remembered in that their territories were not protected.  The British tried to include protections for them in the treaty with the Americans, but the Americans refused to include it.
19.  The Loyalists petition Britain to create new colonies.  What are these colonies? Upper Canada and New Brunswick. Why did the British agree? They were afraid of tension between the Loyalists and the French.
20. Who were the new settlers into Upper Canada? Some British but also many Americans that were not Loyalists came for the chance of free land.

Loyalists

Many of the Loyalists who went to Quebec travelled by land.  This map shows the major routes they used.  Most of them arrived between 1776 & 1785.  The Loyalists who went to Nova Scotia travelled by sea.

 
The Loyalists

BACKGROUND:
 

The Loyalists were the people living in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution (1775-1783).  Many of their families had lived in the colonies for generations, while others were relatively recent immigrants from England or other European countries.  During and after the Revolutionary War, they left the United States rather than become American citizens.  Thousands of them chose to settle in Canada.

Many families were harassed, driven from their homes, fined, jailed and some were even killed since they were viewed as traitors by the American rebels.  They fled the Thirteen Colonies to find safety and a new life in other British Territories.  Other Loyalists were influenced to come to British North America (Canada) by the offer of free land for new farms.

The Loyalists came from many different backgrounds.  There were poor and rich Loyalists, and people from towns as well as rural areas.  Businessmen, farmers, soldiers, escaped slave and slave owners; men, women, and children left in large numbers.  Many of them had British ancestry and were loyal to the king.  But some people  from other cultures feared that if they stayed in the United States they would be forced to give up their religions and customs - they thought that the British Government would be more inclined to protect their way of life.  Some of these were First Nations who had fought as Loyalists alongside the British troops.  They feared that American settlers would take over their lands.  When the British lost the war in the Thirteen Colonies, many of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy moved into Canada for British protection and lands.

LOYALISTS IN CANADA

Two main groups of Loyalists came to Canada: the first waves came during the actual fighting of the American Revolution, followed by a later wave that fled north after the British lost the Revolutionary War.  At first, most settled in the Maritime region, Quebec City, and Montreal.  In total, more than 30,000 Loyalist refugees arrived in Nova Scotia in the early 1780s resulting in the formation of a new colony, New Brunswick, in 1784.   The Loyalists quickly became the majority of the population in the Maritime region, and their needs and political demands overshadowed those of the original inhabitants.

The governor of Quebec at the time feared that if large numbers of English-speaking Protestants (the Loyalists) settled amongst the French-speaking Catholics of the colony of Quebec, trouble would follow.  The Loyalist refugees were therefore encouraged to head further west into the then-unsettled regions near Lakes Ontario and Erie.  Some continued to settle in the Eastern townships of Quebec and around Montreal and Quebec City, but most took up the offer of large tracts of free land "out west".  By 1784 at least  5000 had travelled to the western region.  The population grew rapidly and in 1791 two colonies were created.  Lower Canada (what is now Quebec) was predominantly populated with French-speaking Catholics.  Upper Canada (now Ontario) was created to better represent the needs of its mainly English-speaking inhabitants.  Almost 2000 Six Nations refugees also settled near the Great Lakes.

To encourage the Loyalists to open new areas of settlement, the government offered each family or individual a piece of land (approximately 80 hectares) and farming supplies to start their new life in British North America.

THE LOYALIST LEGACY

It is not known exactly how many Loyalists came to Canada but the best estimates suggest that about 40,000 people came north in the 1770s and 1780s.  New colonies and governments were created as a result of their arrival.  The settlers in rural areas cleared the lands and established farms and towns that later grew into large cities in a relatively short time.  New businesses spring up and the trades and industries flourished, attracting  even more settlers.  The British systems of individual land ownership and grid surveys were introduced to give registered title to the farmlands settled by the Loyalists.

The Loyalists and their descendants also changed the ethnic makeup of Canada.  Before their arrival, the population had been mainly French-speaking Catholics.  They brought with them traditional British values on politics, religion, education, and the structure of society - some of these values would pave the way for conflict between the French and the English for many years to follow.  The leaders at the time also believed that the Loyalists would help protect the British colonies from any future threats of American invasion or expansion.

Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia & Canada Revisited (1992)

Let's play Loyalist Jeopardy!

For Homework answer these questions.  
Questions:
1.  Who were the Loyalists?
2. Why did they leave the Thirteen Colonies?
3. Give two reasons why some of the non-British people decided to leave?
4. Name the two regions of Canada where most of the Loyalists settled.
5. What were the Loyalists promised by the government?
6. What new colonies were created as a result of the Loyalist migration?
7. How many Loyalists in total came to Canada?
8. Name at least five results of the Loyalists settling in Canada.


Bonus Question - Answer this question for extra marks!
9. Now that you know the results of the Loyalist immigration into Canada, write a paragraph describing what you think Canada might be like in 200 years from now, taking into consideration the immigration to Canada we see today.