B3. Understanding Historical Context: Events and Their Consequences
Specific Expectations
B3.1
identify factors contributing to some key events and/or trends that occurred in and/or affected Canada between 1800 and 1850 (e.g., the War of 1812, the Upper Canada Rebellion, the Battle of Saint-Eustache, Irish immigration, establishment of the Underground Railroad, exploration by John Franklin or David Thompson), and describe the historical significance of some of these events/trends for different individuals, groups, and/or communities, including Indigenous individuals and/or communities
- What were the major causes of the War of 1812? What impact did the war have on Canadian identities and communities?
- What were some of the factors that led to First Nations and Métis involvement in the War of 1812? What were the major consequences of their involvement?
- Why did Tecumseh support the British in the War of 1812?
- What were some of the key social, economic, and political issues that led to the Rebellions of 1837–38? What is the significance of the rebellions for Canadian political history?
- Why was the Battle of Saint-Eustache significant to French Canadians?
- What was the motivation for the Franklin expedition? What was the significance of this expedition for Inuit communities? For the British?
- Who or what was most responsible for the genocide of the Beothuk?
B3.2
identify a few key treaties of relevance to Indigenous people during this period, including wampum belts exchanged, and explain the significance of some of these agreements for different people and communities in Canada (e.g., with reference to the Selkirk Treaty, 1817; the Huron Tract Treaty, 1827; the Saugeen Treaty, 1836; the Mississaugas of New Credit Land Cession Agreements; the Manitoulin Island Treaties, 1836 and 1862; the Robinson-Superior and Robinson-Huron Treaties, 1850)
- What were the short-term and long-term consequences of being included or not being included in the treaty process for First Nations? For the Métis? For Inuit?
B3.3
identify key political and legal changes that occurred in and/or affected Canada during this period (e.g., alliances between First Nations and British forces during the War of 1812; the Treaty of Ghent, 1814; the Abolition of Slavery Act, 1833; the Durham Report; the Act of Union; responsible government; the Common School Act, 1846; the Rebellion Losses Bill, 1849; the Sayer Trial, 1849), and explain the impact of some of these changes on various individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities
- In what ways did the Treaty of Ghent affect members of the militia in colonial Canada?
- Who did the Act of Union benefit?
- What impact did the expansion of the Hudson’s Bay Company monopoly to the Pacific coast have on First Nations and Métis people? On European traders? On prospective western settlers?
- What were the intended and unintended consequences of the Pemmican Proclamation?
B3.4
identify key social and economic changes that occurred in and/or affected Canada during this period (e.g., increasing immigration, the global recession of the 1830s, growing markets for lumber and wheat, political reform movements in Upper and Lower Canada, the construction of canals and railway lines, education reform, mining in Canada West, cholera and smallpox epidemics, the genocide of the Beothuk in Newfoundland), and explain the impact of some of these changes on various individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities
- What impact did the economic downturn of the 1830s have on farmers in both Upper and Lower Canada? What impact did it have on ports in the Maritimes?
- How did the merger of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company in 1821 affect the way of life of Métis and First Nations communities?
- In what ways did the construction of canals benefit various people in the colonies?
- In what ways might the condition of roads have hurt the colonial economy?
B3.5
describe significant interactions between different groups and communities in Canada during this period (e.g., French, English, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Loyalists, African Canadians, Irish and Scottish immigrants, different religious denominations, the Family Compact, the Château Clique, landowners, servants)
- Why was there so little interaction between Inuit and settlers/newcomers at this time?
- How did alliances during and after the War of 1812 affect land distribution between the Algonquin and Haudenosaunee in the Ottawa region?
- How would you characterize French-English relations at the time of the Durham Report?
- Why was there conflict between Irish Catholics and Protestants in Upper Canada?
- How did alliances between First Nations and Métis groups shape the outcome of the Mica Bay incident?
B3.6
identify some significant individuals and groups in Canada during this period (e.g., Robert Baldwin, General Isaac Brock, Cuthbert Grant, Charles Ermatinger, Peter Jones, William Lyon Mackenzie, Grace Marks, John Norton, Louis-Joseph Papineau, Richard Pierpoint, Peggy Pompadour, Louis Riel Sr., Laura Secord, Shawnadithit, Tecumseh, Catharine Parr Traill; groups advocating responsible government or public education; immigrant aid and other charitable organizations; the Family Compact and Château Clique; groups such as Mennonites in Waterloo County or the Six Nations in the Grand River region of Upper Canada), and explain their contribution to Canadian heritage and/or identities
- What was Chief Shingwauk’s vision, and why was it significant?
- What role did immigrants play in the settlement of Canada? What impact has that role had on Canadian heritage/identities?
- Why is there a memorial at Grosse Île in Quebec? What does this memorial tell us about the challenges immigrants faced at the time?