British Businessmen and the Canadian Confederation

By the late 1800s, it would have colonies, dominions, and spheres of influence all over the world. The island of Britain itself acted as a sort of headquarters for these colonies, and many of their finished products were exported back to the homeland. Another use of Britain's wide influence was that it provided diverse raw materials and a plethora of markets for finished products, as well as safe ports for British ships. The country prospered as a whole because of its influence worldwide, and because of its central location with ports in the Atlantic Ocean. It was easily accessible for ships coming from the colonies. (Doc. 1) However, some believed the island was not big enough to reach success. In 1895, Cecil Rhodes said, "in order to save... the United Kingdom from a bloody civil war, we colonial statesmen must acquire new lands to settle the surplus population, to provide new markets for the goods produced in the factories and mines." (Doc. 3) Despite this doubt, Britain still managed to spread its influence and leave a mark the world would not soon

In the year of 1867 the nation we know as Canada came into being. The Confederation in this year only came about after things had been overcome. Many political and economic pressures were exerted on the colonies and a federal union of the colonies seemed to be the most practical method of dealing with these pressures and conflicts. While Confederation was a solution to many of the problems, it was not a popular one for all the colonies involved. In the Maritime colonies views differed widely on the topic. Some were doubtful, some were pleased, others were annoyed and many were hopeful for a prosperous future.1

In conclusion, the origins and development of Britain’s North American colonies was sustained by the need to stay in economic power. Bacon’s Rebellion, a high demand for cash crops, and an easy purchase of slaves through trade overall introduced and developed slavery to the Americas all while increasing economic status for England and their

A simple beam bridge that is flat across and supported at the two ends. A longer beam bridge can be held up along the middle by piers standing in the river. The weight of the bridge itself, plus the load that it carries, plus gravity are the downward forces are spread evenly across the length of the bridge. The upwards forces that hold the bridge up come from the piers. The Confederation Bridge in Canada is a famous beam bridge.

For years Britain’s economy reaped the rewards of financial gain through the laws of the Navigation Acts which forced the use of only British vessels for trade between the Britain and its colonies and the Triangle Trade which Britain and its colonies and Africa traded between themselves for slaves, raw goods and manufactured products. During this time Britain’s concern for a relationship with its colonies diminished and as time passed so did the colonists sense of being British. As more immigrants from other nations settled in the colonies and children born in this new land became adults, being British lessened.

“I believe, from all that I can learn that the Provinces will, ere long, be one great country or nation, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Never before was there such an important meeting as this held in the history of British America; and it may yet be said that here, in little Prince Edward Island, was that Union formed which has produced one of the greatest nations on the face of God’s earth.” However the conference went undecided on a conclusion which led to the Quebec

British Columbia is a rich and fertile land located next to the Northwest Territories. We believe that joining confederation will bring a great benefit to not only our province but to all of the others. Our deciding factors of joining the confederation are the Transcontinental Railroad, defence and allies from the provinces, and more settlement which will eventually arrive (due to the railroad) in our province. There are mountains blocking British Columbia, which is preventing us from fulfilling our full potential as a colony. British Columbia is very remote for now but if we join confederation we can offer British Columbia’s gold, fur trade, fish and lastly lumber to our country. Our confederation will be a union under the British monarchy which will create a new and successful dominion under the name of Hi’quim’inum. We would

The Roman Law was created in 100 C.E it was the basic legal system of ancient Rome. It was a basic set of commands which of all there citizens must follow or will face the consequences. This law greatly helped the development of law in many other eastern and western civilizations. This law can still be seen today as it is a basic set of rules which all must properly comply with in our civilization now in

The British had the idea of mercantilism where a the economys wealth was judged by how much gold and silver it had, the colonies supplied the mother land with materials and then the mother country produced products to sell back to the colonies

(Make intro stronger) Before 1760 England and Americas’ relationship was on good terms. The imperial system provided the America’s with many benefits such as political stability, opportunities for trade and commerce, and also military protection. During this time Great Britain was known as a world power and desired to remain that way. In response to wanting to remain a world power, Britain, during 1763- 1775 passed a series of laws that would allow them to gain more control over the colonies which would ultimately increase colonial taxes, control trade in the colonies and pass strict laws. These regulations caused the Colonies and Britain to have a tumultuous relationship, and the colonies warnings that these regulations were strenuous were

Canadian confederation was a process in which the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one government of Canada, on July 1 1867. However Canadian confederation did not just happen like that there were causes that lead to confederation. The causes which lead to confederation are; political deadlock, American civil war, the railway, cancellation of reciprocity treaty, and Britain creating her colonies self-sufficient. So today in this essay I will be discussing about the causes of confederation.

Around 1750, England took more interest in the colonies than they previously had; not about the people or civilizations, but about the money and potential profit the colonists could make for the British. After more than a century of populating the lands and growing farms and cultivating new industries, England jumped in and ended their salutary neglect with the colonists and began to impose laws and taxes on the colonists so they could make as much money as possible off of the colonists. The British felt that making money passively like so would be a good effort to restore a large portion of the funds they lost after the French and Indian War. Unfortunately for the colonists, this not only interfered with their lifestyle but disturbed their business ventures in several ways. Due to these fifteen or so years of having to deal with the British, by the eve of the revolution the colonists had developed a strong sense of their identity and unity as an American Nation.

Britain created a lot of policies to keep the colonies under their rule. They also had these policies in place because it benefited their own economy. American colonies would give Britain supplies, and they would use these supplies to manufacture for a profit. The Navigation Acts were created so that trade would be more regulated.

The road to confederation was the making of Canada it was the joining of Canadian colonies. The British colonies wanted to make one large British North America. Many people were with the idea and many people were against it this essay will discuss why people were against it. The threat of american expansion into canada happened because the Americans were against the confederation of 1867. Documents 1, 7 will be used as evidence to support the idea of how people were against the confederation.

The idea of Confederation did not receive serious considerations in Prince Edward Island prior to the year 1863. Ten more years has passed by before the subject of union with the British North American Colonies moved into the non-academic and practical sphere. The location of Prince Edward Island in the Confederation negotiations explicated in large measure the characteristics of the Island’s politics and its attitude to distant administrators. This attitude is best described as a policy of exclusiveness. The history of the Prince Edward Island Confederation negotiations consisted of the interaction of British, Canadian, and Maritime influences upon this policy.