The Strugglefor Control(1670-1774)

The Fall of New France

Overview❖ 1713 - British vs. French War in Europe and North America ends.

Treaty of Utrecht is signed. France loses Newfoundland and Acadia and must surrender forts in territories of Hudson’s Bay Co. The islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence remain French

❖ 1755 - The French and British struggled to control the western fur trade

❖ 1755 - Deportation of the Acadians by the British Soldiers Acadians forced to the 13 colonies and Louisiana

❖ 1756 - Seven Years’ War is formally declared (starts)The French and British fought to control the Atlantic andthe colony of Quebec. Three-pronged attack begins: 1758 - capture of Louisbourg (French military fort)1759 - capture of Quebec (Battle on the Plains of Abraham)1760 - capture of Montreal❖ 1763 - Treaty of Paris is signed (France surrenders New France)

After the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe and Queen Anne’s War in North America were over, the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) was signed. The result

was that France had to surrender a number of territories to Britain.

The chart below indicates what the French lost. The islands that the French were allowed to keep included Île St. Jean (P.E.I.), Île Royale (Cape Breton Island),

St.Pierre and Miquelon.

❖Notice how far the blue area belonging to France extends into the southern

-Forts in the Hudson’s Bay area

-Newfoundland (Grand Banks)

- Acadia (Nova Scotia)

French allowed to keep these blue areas:

-Île Royal (Cape Breton Island)

-Île St. Jean (Prince Edward Island)

-New Brunswick-St. Pierre and Miquelon

Existing British “13 colonies”

British gain thesepink areas:

Acadiansare asked to signan “Oath of

Allegiance”

Many refuse to leave Acadia

1720 - French build Louisbourg on ÎleRoyale (Cape Breton Island)

1749 - British

build Halifax onthe island of Nova Scotia

Deportation of the Acadians

❖ British and France likely to go to war again

❖ Acadians asked to take an Oath of Allegiance

❖ Acadians refuse -want to be loyal to British king but don’t want to fight against the French

Acadians are deported to the 13 colonies, Louisiana and France- families are separated from each other as they are loaded into boats, houses are burned, properties confiscated

by the British

Two main reasonsforthe British-French Conflict in North America

Seven Years’ War Begin

s1756 -1763

Britishplan a3-Pronged Attack1. Capture Louisbourg

2. Capture the fur trading forts in the Ohio Valley

3.Capture Quebec (the centre of New France)

With the capture of Louisbourg, the British could now control the

entrance to the St.Lawrence River and prevent the French from receiving their

supplies

Taking over the Ohio Valley forts allowed the British to gain access to and control of the

St.Lawrence River

just south of Montreal

Now that the British were able to gain access to the St. Lawrence River from either end, it was time to put Stage 3 of the three- pronged

attack into place. I t was time to

conquer Quebec.

Step 3: Capture ofQuebec

For three months, the French were able to fight off the British attacks on Quebec, and prevent the

British from landing on the Beauport Shore.

Step 3: Capture ofQuebecUnder the cover of darkness,

British General James Wolfe led his men past the walls of

Quebec City to a spot along the shore where his British soldiers

could climb the steep shore.They made their way to a flat field, known as

the Plains of Abraham.

The date was September 13, 1759

Step 3: Capture ofQuebec

Battle on the Plains of AbrahamThe French general, Joseph-Louis Marquis de Montcalm was caught

by surprise when in the early morning he was told that the British had assembled on a poorly defended area only 3 kilometers away.

Montcalm had 3 choices:1. Stay inside the walls of Quebec and wait for the British to attack?2. Send word to his army to attack the British from behind? or

3. Attack immediately, with the men that he had, on the Plains of Abraham. What should he do?

.

Wolfe on the other hand, lined his men up in rows that stretched a kilometer wide, and then made his men wait until they could see the

whites of their enemies’ eyes, before they returned fire.Eventually, the French became confused and retreated to the walls of

Quebec. The British followed close behind.Defeat would be inevitable.

The French fled and locked themselves inside the walls of Quebec, taking the injured Montcalm with them. French Officers who were taken prisoner, told the British that Montcalm lay dying in his bed, from the fatal wounds he had received. He was dead

by thefollowing morning. Quebec fully surrendered within a few days.

The FinalStage

- Captureof Montreal

After Quebec was captured, the other troops of the French army retreated to

Montreal. The British occupied Quebec over the winter, but in the spring, the French marched back to Quebec with the intent to drive the British out.They

hoped that the first ships to come up the St. Lawrence would bring

reinforcements from France; however, the first ships to arrive were British, and the French were forced to retreat back

to Montreal.

Between 1760 -1763, the British Army set up

a temporary government - this was called British Military

Rule

Although the war in North America ended with the capture of Montreal, the Seven Years’ War in Europe didn’t end until 1763. During those three years, the Canadiens kept hoping that the French would win and New France would be returned to France.

The Treaty of Paris (1763)

News F l a s h ! Seven Ye a r s ’War Ends

F r a n c e l o s t a l l Land P o s s e s s i o n s t o t h e B r i t i s h , except f o r t h e t i ny I s l a n d s o f S t . P i e r r e a n d Mique lon

AlternativesOpen to the British

❖ 1. Deportation of the Canadiens

❖ 2. Maintain the Status Quo - keep things the same

❖ 3. Isolation - create a separate space to put the French and the Natives

❖ 4. Assimilation - Make the French become British

❖ 5. Biculturalism - allow both cultures to co-exist

The British decide they will make Quebec BritishThe Royal Proclamation of 1763

was created following the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

According to this proclamation, all British laws, religion and language were to be

enforced in Quebec; however, the Canadiens were allowed to keep their French Language

and Roman Catholic Religion

British laws would replace French laws, except the French could keep their French

Civil Law and their Seigneurial Systems.

The province of Quebec was formed.

The Native people’s land in the Ohio and Mississippi valley was protected by

ensuring that only those trappers, traders and settlers with licences could travel in

this area.

Roman Catholics were not allowed to hold legal positions or be elected to the

Legislative Council

Guy Carleton was sent to replace James Murray in 1768 as the new governor of Quebec. Because

at this time, people in the 13 colonies were starting to have disagreements with officials in

Britain, Governor Carleton felt it was very important to ensure the support and loyalty of

the Canadiens to the British. To guarantee this, he made friends with the important leaders of the Canadiens, the seigneurs and the clergy

(priest of the Roman Catholic Church).

Governor Guy Carleton encouraged the British Government to allow the French people to keep

their systems of law and their religion. He disagreed with the assimilation policy of the

Proclamation of 1763 and felt biculturalism (allowing two cultures - both French and British to exist side-by-side) was the best way to keep

the Canadiens loyal to the British Government.This led the Quebec Act of 1774 to be passed.

Thanks to Cuy Carleton, biculturalism still exists in Canada today!

Governor Guy Carleton(1768)

Introduces Biculturalism

The Quebec Act(an attempt to keep the Canadiens Loyal to the British Government)

The main points to remember about this Act is that it was

very much like the Proclamation of 1763, in that

the Canadiens could keep their civil laws, religion,

language, and seigneurial systems.

English Criminal Law would be used and Quebec would be ruled by a Governor and an Appointed Council. The governor could grant land according to the British

Freehold system for land. The difference now was that

Roman Catholics could now hold government positions.The Quebec Act 1774

encouraged BICULTURALISM