A Brief History of Canada

The Canadian author and satirist, Will Ferguson, once said that "The great themes of Canadian history are as follows: Keeping the Americans out, keeping the French in, and trying to get the Natives to somehow disappear."

The reality of Canadian history is far more intricate and fascinating. Despite its might, the British Empire was unable to silence the voices of the tenacious First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and French Canadians, all of whom retained their unique sense of identity.

The bravery of Canada's people gave rise to a blended nation that maintains its influences, legacies, and scars.

A Brief History of Canada seeks to provide you with key historical facts, so you can confidently speak about Canadian history and ask Canadians pertinent questions, taking into account their unique perspectives and experiences.

Within its pages you will find:

• How the First Nations, the Inuit, and the Métis arrived in Canada, and how they lived, organized their political and social structure, and endured great pain and suffering at the hands of their white contemporaries.
• The arrival of the earliest Europeans in the 11th century, and the Norse occupation of parts of Newfoundland and Greenland.
• The powerful coalition founded by the Onondaga, Kanienkehaka (Mohawk), Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca, who embraced the Great Law of Peace and whose democratic and constitutional ideas impacted the formation of the US and Canadian governments.
• The role played by John Cabot, an Italian sailing under the commission of the English King Henry VII, in claiming Canadian land for England after making landfall in Canada in 1497.
• Canada's first French arrival-Jacques Cartier, who sailed up the St. Lawrence River and began claiming land for the King of France.
• The battle between France and England to claim one of Canada's most valuable treasures: fur.
• The Treaty of Paris in 1763, which saw the British take the entirety of Canada.
• How the British established the Constitutional Act of 1791, dividing Canada into two to pacify both Anglo and French Canadians.
• Why The War of 1812 was called "the war that nobody won."
• The drafting of a Canadian Constitution on July 1, 1864, and its emergence as a self-sufficient dominion that continued to be under British control.
• The statute of Westminster and Canada's achievement of full autonomy in 1931.
• Canada's involvement in WWII and the devastating racism faced by Japanese Canadians.

And so much more.

It is important to know the many struggles, battles, and clashing interests that gave rise to this blended nation-which is exactly what you will find in this book.