the great migration: british immigration 1815 - 50 canadian history
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The Great Migration:British Immigration 1815 - 50
Canadian History
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1806 1831 1851
Upper Canada
Lower Canada
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
PEI
NL
Why leave Europe?
The Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815 causing an economic depression & high unemployment
Massive population growth Higher life expectancy (more people were
surviving famines & disease due to new farming methods & better diets)
Population Explosion Effects
Pop had outpaced economic opportunity
Land & jobs were scarce for many
People crowded into urban areas & lived in slums
Many decided to leave for America for better opportunities
British Govt Reaction
Increased policies for emigration to solve the problems such as high unemployment, poverty, & social unrest
Scotland
Many Scottish farmers were evicted from their homes in a process called clearances
Landlords reclaimed farmland from settlers & created huge sheep farms to provide wool for English textile mills
Over 50,000 Scots moved to Nova Scotia
Ireland…..1840s
Potato was the main crop & staple of the Irish diet
Mid 1840s “potato blight” spread to Ireland & destroyed the crops
Famine set in killing approx. 1 million Irish between 1847-51
In 1847 over 90,000 emigrated to BNA
The Voyage Out
Immigrants arrived at Halifax, St. John, & Quebec
Cargo ships were used to bring the immigrants from Britain to earn extra profits
Cramped conditions, disease,
little food, sea sickness, death
“Coffin Ships”
The Voyage Out (Pp 44-46)
Summarize the voyage to North America for:
An English gentlewoman Regular immigrants
Where is Grosse Isle?
What purpose did it serve?
Why was Canada considered a ‘poor man’s country” in the mid 1800s?