Canadian History Time Line, 1711 to 1811

The Treaty of Utrecht affirms possession of Hudson’s’ Bay, Newfoundland & Acadia by the British. Cape Breton is still French. France begins building a fort at Louisbourg (here for timeline)

1734 A woman slave is hanged in Montreal

1739

The La Vérendrye expedition reaches Lake Winnepeg

1740-44

The War of the Austrian Succession in Europe sets England & France against one another with the conflict spreading again to NA

1745

Louisbourg is taken by Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts

1748

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (and here with more detail on repercussions in 1750's here) returns Louisbourg to France

1749

Halifax is founded by Britain to counter the French presence at Louisbourg

1752

The Halifax Gazette, CA’s first newspaper, is launched (See here for information on a date conflict)

1753

The French defeat George Washington’s military campaign

1754

France & Britain begin to square off in a final round of struggle in the French & Indian War (photos not to be missed unless you have a slow connection)

1755

Britain expels the Acadians from Nova Scotia for their neutrality in the English /French conflict. For Acadian links, try Tim Hébert's Acadian–Cajun history site; here for a history of Acadians in New Brunswick.

1756

Seven Years’ War in Europe (or here, and follow link to articles). Montcalm (or here) assumes command of French troops in NA

1758

Generals Amherst & Wolfe take Louisbourg for Britain (here for Louisbourg web site timeline)

1759

On the Plains of Abraham (here for Soldier's Account, Wolfe defeats Montcalm, thereby taking Quebec. (here for a comical return to the Plains of Abraham)

1763

France cedes claims in NA to Britain through the Treaty of Paris. British governing institutions are imposed on Quebec by royal proclamation. The tenor of relations between aboriginal peoples & government is established: land is set aside for Native people & the government has exclusive right to negotiate treaties

1774

The Quebec Act restores French civil law, while maintaining British criminal law, guaranteeing religious freedom for Roman Catholics (Catholicism was outlawed in Britain) [As a fan of time lines, may I direct you to a good one of this time period which pertains to Napoleon's life and Europe? If you have a 4+ browser and Flash, try here]

1775-6

Americans capture Montreal & attack Quebec City which, under (Sir Guy) Carleton, keeps the Americans at bay till the British fleet arrives. (Here for an author who explores the relationship between the American Civil War and Canada during this period.)

1778

James Cook lands at Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island (for picture of woman sketch, see here)

1783

The border between CA & the US is established at the end of the American Revolution (from the Atlantic to Lake of the Woods)

1789

Alexander Mackenzie follows the river that would later bear his name to the Beaufort Sea. (Try here for some information on the Gwich'in people he met there)

1791

CA is divided into Lower (now Quebec) & Upper (now Ontario) CA by the Constututional Act

1792

George Vancouver explores the Pacific Coast

1793

Mackenzie reaches the Pacific

1806

Le Canadien, a Quebec nationalist newspaper, is founded

1808

Simon Fraser explores the river that now bears his name to the Pacific

1811

David Thomson, a surveyor & mapmaker for the North West Company charts the Columbia River to the coast

Notes

Abbreviations:

CA–Canada

CDN–Canadian

HBC—Hudsons’s Bay Company;

NA–North America

NAFTA–North American Free Trade Agreement.

Standard provincal & other abbreviations used wherever possible.

Primary sources: The 1999 Canadian Global Almanac by John Robert Colombo; A Short History of Canada by Desmond Morton.

Icons are used primarily to illustrate the main tenor of the entry for a given date and to help follow events at a glance.

= Exploration

= Historic voyage (exploration)

= Settlement

= Events concerning Native people

= Conflict for a national claim

= Treaty, act or decree

= Battle or war

= Religious matter

= CA nation

= Railroad

= Religious matter

= Western Canada

= Culture and media

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