Lesson 6 — Activity 3: Supporting French Culture
Completion requirements
Lesson 6 — Activity 3: Supporting French Culture
Warm Up
At the end of the wars between France and Britain, the balance of power was tipped in Britain's favour, and the course of Canadian history was altered profoundly.
In this activity, you will learn how the British managed the French citizens they now controlled by recognizing and supporting their French culture.
In 1763, the Royal Proclamation was signed and the part of Canada called New France became a British colony called Québec.
The British government now was in charge of more than 60,000 French settlers who had been in New France for about 150 years. These French settlements were well established. Britain may have taken over Québec, but the people who lived there were still French.
Meanwhile, many citizens in the English colonies in what is now the United States were very unhappy with British rule. To keep their new French settlers happy so they would not join any revolution, Britain passed the Québec Act in 1774 to preserve French culture in the colony.
These citizens could use their French language and practise their Roman Catholic religion. French civil laws covered private matters such as marriage and ownership of property. British criminal laws were applied to those who broke a law.
The French had established the seigneurial system of land ownership. This meant that tenants paid their rent by working the farms for the landowners in exchange for basic supplies and services. The new British government also agreed to allow this system to continue.