2.4.1 Imperialism in Canada
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2.4.1 Imperialism in Canada
What was the effect of imperialism on Canada?
Hupa Indian, Edward S. Curtis
Image in public domain
Image in public domain
Cree Camp
Courtesy Glenbow Museum
Courtesy Glenbow Museum
Plains Indians
Courtesy Glenbow Museum
Courtesy Glenbow Museum
Canada was founded as a direct result of imperialism. What would Canada be like today if the French and then the English had decided not to colonize it? Would it be inhabited only by Aboriginal people? Or would immigrants from Britain, France, and elsewhere have settled in Canada without imperialism - without trying to control the people or the land? Undoubtedly, it would be a far different place than the country we know today!
Before the first white man came to the Americas (North, Central, and South America), the land was inhabited by many tribes. Evidence of human settlement of the Americas goes back 12 000 years. These tribes were very different from one another. Some were bands of hunters, others farmed the land, and still others had economies based on fishing. Many complex civilizations existed with art, agriculture, armies, architecture, religious beliefs, and government.
Canada's First Nations and Inuit people were multicultural with many languages, customs, and beliefs among the tribes. Tribes were interconnected through intermarriage and trade, but they had very separate cultures. Some Aboriginal tribes, especially in Central and South America, had developed their own empires, including the Incas of Peru, the Aztecs of Mexico, and the Mayans of Central America.
Cooperation and domination: When the first white explorers arrived in Canada, they tried to live with respect for the native people. The native people helped them to survive, and the European settlers provided the native people with technology to improve their lives. Soon, governments and the wealthy merchants of Europe began to see that the Americas were rich in resources.
The first Europeans did not understand the Aboriginal concept of stewardship of the land, and the Aboriginal people did not think of land as an item that could be owned.
Before the first white man came to the Americas (North, Central, and South America), the land was inhabited by many tribes. Evidence of human settlement of the Americas goes back 12 000 years. These tribes were very different from one another. Some were bands of hunters, others farmed the land, and still others had economies based on fishing. Many complex civilizations existed with art, agriculture, armies, architecture, religious beliefs, and government.
Canada's First Nations and Inuit people were multicultural with many languages, customs, and beliefs among the tribes. Tribes were interconnected through intermarriage and trade, but they had very separate cultures. Some Aboriginal tribes, especially in Central and South America, had developed their own empires, including the Incas of Peru, the Aztecs of Mexico, and the Mayans of Central America.
Cooperation and domination: When the first white explorers arrived in Canada, they tried to live with respect for the native people. The native people helped them to survive, and the European settlers provided the native people with technology to improve their lives. Soon, governments and the wealthy merchants of Europe began to see that the Americas were rich in resources.
The first Europeans did not understand the Aboriginal concept of stewardship of the land, and the Aboriginal people did not think of land as an item that could be owned.