New Beginnings And Challenges

 In the aftermath of the French and Indian War, the British came out the victor, expelling France from nearly all of its possessions in the New World. Taking charge of things would require adjustments in building a new society. Not only was there a large French population to come to terms with, the same applied to indigenous tribes that had previously been allied to the French. 

A portrait here is of Frances Brooke, who moved to Quebec City with her husband, a military chaplain, and wrote a novel.

A uniform coat is displayed here, along with musket, drum, and sword.

Canada's relationship with its southern neighbour was tense, starting with the American Revolution when the Continentals invaded early on in the whole affair, followed by the War of 1812 in which the States repeatedly invaded. The decades that would follow would remain tense, all while trade and immigration went back and forth both ways.

These are clothing of the Huron-Wendat, including a vest made for a British officer that features Huron influences. In each case, beautiful work.

This wampum belt represents the Treaty of Niagara, which settled many issues between the British and the First Nations.

This is an alliance medal signifying the connections between tribes and the Crown. I'll return to this series after the theme day.

The French And Indian War

 Starting where I left off yesterday. Indigenous peoples had a long tradition of trade among the many tribes of North America. They put that knowledge to good use in doing business with the British and the French.

The British established the Hudson's Bay Company, which still exists today, a network of trading forts around that bay, where First Nations traders would come to sell their goods.

Some of the relics of those forts can be found here.

The Bay still exists today as retail stores. Its signature striped pattern is found in multiple products, especially the blanket.

As time when on and both sides jockeyed for greater influence and position, tensions rose. In the Atlantic, the British governor paid for Mi'kmaw scalps, and the Acadians would be expelled from the area.

Over the course of 150 years in the new world, the British and French would continue to work against each other, caught up in smaller skirmishes and fights, a perpetual state of hostility mirroring their long vendetta in Europe.

This large painting is Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, dating around 1751, from the circle of Samuel Scott.

Four indigenous chiefs made a visit to London to meet Queen Anne in 1710 to ensure British support against the French in North America. Queen Anne commissioned paintings of them.

It was called the Seven Years War in the rest of the world, and the French and Indian War here in North America. It would decide the fate of the continent, and lead to further developments down the line. Indigenous peoples would be on both sides of the war.

At the climactic Battle of the Plains of Abraham just outside Quebec City, the British would win the day, a battle that decided much of the fate of the war. Both commanding generals for the British and French, Wolfe and Montcalm, would die. They are seen here in portraits.

Building A New Society

 The seigneurial system in New France was a way of land management and settlement. Long rectangular properties with waterfront access is a tell-tale of the system, still visible today. Settlers would pay a yearly fee to their seigneur, who wasn't really that much better off than they were.

This beautiful clock dates to the 1700s. Below it is a Croix de Saint Louis.

Some furnishings and other items of the era.

This contemporary sculpture is a creative way of looking at one of the filles du roi. Catherine Moitie would settle in Canada and raise a family, having children who had more children. Each line represents a descendant of her. The millions of Canadians who count a fille du roi as an ancestor are their legacy.

This large illustration marks the path as we go along.

But France had an old rival making its own inroads in North America. England had been in a state of general conflict with the French for centuries in Europe. By the early 18th century, the United Kingdom was forming up, and had already been present in the Americas, with colonies along the eastern seaboard and what's now the Atlantic provinces- and beyond.

Trade from afar can be seen in items in this display case, such as fine china.

It was the beaver trade in particular and the fur trade in general that would be a prized resource for both Britain and France. First Nations traders saw their own opportunities.

Rise Of New France

It was past time to put in a new seasonal header for the blog. This one was taken, appropriately enough, at the Champlain Lookout in Gatineau Park last fall. 

Samuel de Champlain left a huge legacy behind. He mapped out new places in multiple expeditions, and his name is all over the Canadian map today.

But in the wake of contact with Europeans, an unexpected turn- indigenous peoples were exposed to diseases that the French had been largely immune to for generations. 

The Post-Contact Wars were a violent and turbulent time.

Ultimately they ended with the Great Peace of Montreal, a 1701 peace treaty that resolved much of the conflicts.

The era of New France had already begun.

But to people it was another matter. Young women in France, known as Les Filles du roi, sailed to the New World to settle and make families.