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May 2, 1497
John Cabot 1st European to discover Canada
John Cabot landed on the coast of Newfoundland on May 2nd, 1497 and claimed Canada for England. -
Period: May 2, 1497 to
Back in the days.
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Jan 1, 1534
Jacques Cartier discovers the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence River
Jacques Cartier discovered the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River sometime in the year 1534 and claimed Canada for France. -
Samuel de Champlain starts fur trade between Europeans and Natives
Every thing began because of the fur trade. Samual de Champlain started the fur trade between the Europeans and the Natives on the land that is now Canada. -
Fur Trade
The natives hunted animals for their furs so they could trade them to the Europeans for weapons and alcohol (which the natives called Firewater). They also traded furs to the Europeans for pots and cooking supplies. The fur traders took the furs to trading posts and sold the furs to be made into hats and coats. Fort Langley is the nearest fort that was used long ago. Most trading posts were near a river for easier transportation. -
Treaty of Paris
French colonies in North America were passed to the British Crown ending the 7 year war between France and Britain over the rights to Canada. -
The Fraser river.
One location of gold was found in the Fraser River. Many prospectors set up campsites so they could stay overnight and pan for gold. It took many days to find gold. Many people just gave up and left without any gold. Prospectors took many minerals out of the river and might have disrupted living creatures. Since there were so many prospectors many people thought opening up towns would be a great idea so the prospectors would have a place to eat, sleep, live and raise their families. -
The Cariboo River
The Fraser River was not the only location to find gold. Nearby there was also the Cariboo River. Some prospectors started to venture up the Fraser River, found the Cariboo River, and started panning for gold there. So many people came that, in no time there was no gold left. After years of panning for gold, the one thing they didn't miss was all of the diseases, like scurvy. -
Fraser Gold Rush
The Fraser River Gold Rush started in1858. It started because gold was very valuable, there was lots of gold in the area, so prospectors rushed there for the gold. Not long after the rush started over 30,000 people had arived at the river. They included prospecters, miners and entrepreneurs. -
Chartres Brew
Chartres Brew was a gold commissioner in the Fraser River Gold Rush. His job was to maintain law and order among the thousands of miners. -
James Douglas
James Douglas was the Chief Factor of the Columbia Department at Fort Victoria and Governor of Vancover Island. He spred news of gold to provoke the Gold Rush. Because of the Fraser Canyon War, he was forced to take action. He declared the Colony of British Columbia and became it's first Governor on August 1, 1858. Prospectors had to get a license from Victoria to search for gold legally. -
Barkerville founded
On August 16th, 1862, 1 lucky man hit it rich and found lots of gold! His name was Billy Barker. He founded the town of Barkerville. Many prospecters came to camp there while mining for gold. -
ON, QC, NS and NB Join Canada
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick joined Canada on July 1st, 1867. -
British North America Act of 1867
The British North America Act (BNA) was entered into force on July 1st, 1867. The British North American Act created a dominion and defines a lot of the Government of Canada. This includes Canada's federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system. -
MB and NT Join Canada
Manitoba joined Canada as a Province, and the Northwest Territories joined Canada as a Territory on July 15th, 1870. -
Sir John A Macdonald
Sir John A Macdonald was British Columbia's first Prime Minister. He promised the railroad linking the Pacific Province to the Eastern Provinces of Canada would be finished by 1881. It finished 4 years late on Nov 7, 1885, but 5 years earlier than his new finish date of 1891 that he had announced in 1881. -
Railroad Difficulties
The 1st obstacle was economic. It was difficult to build through the Canadian Rockies, the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield and the Muskeg of Northern Ontario. They had to go through Black Foot nation land, so they talked to Chief Crowfoot and granted him a life time pass on the CPR. -
Why is the Railroad Here
The Railroad was absolutely needed to the creation of a unified Canadian nation. Manufaturing interests in Quebec and Ontairio desired access to sources of raw materials and markets in the west. It took 12,000 men, 5,000 horses and 300 dog sled teams to build the railway. -
BC Joins Canada
British Columbia joined Canada as a Province on July 20th, 1871. -
PEI Joins Canada
Prince Edward Island joined Canada as a Province on July 1st, 1873. -
Railroad
The Gold Rush helped build towns and cities, but some of the gold was also used to get Chinese workers to help build a railway that would go all across Canada. This railway was called the Canadian Pacific Railway. Chinese workers worked on the railway without getting paid much. Some difficulties that they faced would be planting the dynamite in the right spot and not blowing up the entire tunnel. The Chinese did not argue about how they got treated unfairly but they sure didn't enjoy it. -
Railroad continued
In those days there was lots of racism against the Chinese workers. White people had no respect for them. The Chinese workers had to work many long hours to get their meals. If Chinese workers died they could be easily replace by new ones. -
The Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway was incorporated on Febuary 16, 1881 and took over the railway project. The Canadian Government gave grants of money and land to the CPR. By the end of 1883, they reached the Rocky Mountains. Under the initial contract of the Canadian Government to build the railway, the CPR was granted 25 million acres of land. The CPR began an intense campain to bring immigrants to Canada. -
Last Spike Driven in the East
November 3, 1885 last spike of lake Superior driven just west of Jackfish, Ontario. -
Last Spike Driven in the West
November 7, 1885 last spike driven at Craigellachie, BC -
YT Joins Canada
The Yukon Territories joined Canada on July 13th, 1898. -
AB and SK Join Canada
Alberta and Saskatchewan joined Canada as Provinces on September 1st, 1905. -
NL joined Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada as a Province on March 31st, 1949. -
Constitution Act of 1982
The Constitution Act of Canada was signed by the Queen of England on April 17th, 1982. It is important to have a Constitution so that Canada can have a functional system of government, as well as giving all Canadian citizens civil rights. -
NU Joins Canada
Nunavut separated from the Northwest Territories and became it's own Territory of Canada on April 1st, 1999. -
Bibliography #1
On line; http;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/provinces_and_Territories_of_ Canada
http;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/constitution_act_1982
http;//enwikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_Canyon_Gold_Rush
http;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caraboo_Gold_Rush
http;//www.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/goldery04/frames/main. htm
http;//.canadiana.ca/hbc/intro_e.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Canada
http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/places-timelines/09-canadian-history-timeline.htm -
Bibliography #2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Canada
htt://www.history-timelines.org.uk/places-timelines/09-Canadian-history-timeline.htm
http://www.canadiana.ca/hbc/intro_e.html
http://www.biography.com/people/john-cobot-9234057
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_gold_rushes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway
Book; Canadas Road to Independance byDon Wells.
Connections Canada by Don mills -
Interesting Facts
In the olden days Vancover was called Gas Town. Sea otter fur is worth more then beaver fur, the Russians call it soft gold. In 1969 Efren Specogna and his brother-in-law, John Trinco discovered the Specogna gold deposit west of port Clements, BC, on Graham Island. The Specogna gold deposit remains an unmined deposit with over 3,000,000 ounces of gold.