Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/362

LEFT CANADA 316 CANADA I. In 1608 Quebec was founded by De Champlain; in 1623 he built Fort St. Louis, from which stronghold France ruled for 150 years a vast region extend- ing E. to Acadia (now Nova Scotia), W. to Lake Superior, and ultimately down the Mississippi as far as Florida and Louisiana. The Recollet and Jesuit mis- sionaries traversed the country in all di- rections, and underwent incredible hard- ships in their zeal for the conversion of the Indians. These fearless priests were the pioneers of civilization in the Far West, and to La Salle is due the discov- ery of the Mississippi valley. In 1670 Charles II. granted the Hudson's Bay Company the perpetual exclusive right of trading in territory watered by all the streams flowing into Hudson Bay. Garrisoned forts were raised at suitable points, and the bitter enmity between the French and the English traders fre- quently led to bloody struggles, in which sometimes the Indians also took a part The most warlike native tribe was that of the Iroquois, who were persistent ene- mies of the French, while the peaceful Hurons were steady allies. Meanwhile, the wars on the American continent fol- lowed the course of the wars in Europe, until the long struggle between France and England for the supremacy in Amer- ica came to a close on the "Plains of Abraham" in 1759, when General Wolfe defeated Montcalm. Peace was con- cluded between Great Britain and France, 1763, when Canada was formally ceded to England, and Louisiana to Spain. In the same year a small portion of the recently acquired territory was by royal proclamation organized under English laws. In 1774 the new province was ex- tended by parliamentary enactment, and that under French laws, down the Ohio to its confluence with the Mississippi, and up the latter stream to its source. Finally, Canada receded to its present limits in 1783, giving up to the American repub- lic at the close of the Revolutionary War, the sites of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michi- gan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In 1791 Canada was divided under separate leg- islatures into two sections, the E. retain- ing French institutions, and the W. re- ceiving those of England; and these sec- tions, again, after political discontent had in each ripened into armed insur- rection, were reunited for legislative purposes in 1841. In 1867 Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united as the Dominion of Canada, and in 1870 the Hudson's Bay Company's territory was divided into Manitoba and the Northwest Territories and united to the Dominion. British Columbia entered the Union in 1871, and Prince Edward Island in 1873. In 1870 and in 1885 there were outbreaks of half- breeds under Louis Riel. In 1893 a court of arbitration concerning the Bering Sea seal fisheries met in Ottawa, and in the same year Canadians were awarded 2,126 prizes at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago. The Sault Ste. Marie canal was opened Sept. 10, 1895, and in 1896 the boundaries of Quebec were extended to the shores of Hudson Bay, adding 118,- 450 square miles to its area. A new tariff was adopted in 1897, giving a pref- erence to English goods. The gold dis- coveries of the Klondike in 1897 led to great improvement in the transportation service between Yukon and the rest of the Dominion. For ten years following the election of Sir Wilfrid Laurier as Premier, in 1896, the Liberal party was in power. This period was marked by remarkable eco- nomic developments arid the tightening of the ties of loyalty between Canada and the Empire. It was also marked by friendly and close relations between the United States and Canada. The partici- pation of Canada in the Boer War indi- cated her feeling of loyalty toward the mother country. Diflferences between the United States, Great Britain, and Canada were success- fully settled during Laurier's govern- ment. This included the settlement of the Alaskan boundary, which had been a source of irritation for many years. The period was also marked by the develop- ment of the rich vacant lands of west- ern Canada, to which American settlers in large numbers were attracted. In 1907 the Dominion entered upon the develop- ment of foreign relations, chiefly as a result of the objection against Japanese immigration and labor competition. As a result Canada was included in the com- mercial part of the treaty of alliance be- tween Japan and Great Britain. The revival of the issue of reciprocity of the United States brought about the defeat of "the Liberal party in 1911. The initiative in the negotiations was taken by the United States under President Taft. Sir Wilfrid Laurier warmly favored reciprocity, but it was unpopular with the people, and the Liberals were de- cisively defeated. Robert Laird Borden became Premier. Under his administra- tion the Dominion continued to develop economically and financially, and at the outbreak of the World War it was pre- pared to exert its entire power on the side of the Allies. The part taken by Canada in the great conflict was a notable one. In the valor of her soldiers and the extent of her sac- rifices she can bear comparison with any