Britain vs France. Our January, 2020 News & Events posed a number of questions basic to understanding the impact of 1870 on local heritage. This month we’ll look briefly at the first area of interest: In what way did relationships between Britain, France, and their colonies in North America serve as a broad foundation for the events of 1870?
Between the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Britain and France were almost continuously involved in a series of some 23 battles, including the lengthy 100 Years’ War (1337–1453). Issues of religion, culture, language, imperial expansion and trade were closely intertwined in the conflicts. Each of these factors played a role in shaping events in what was to become the Province of Manitoba.
During much of this time, the empire-building aspirations of both countries, and of their Dutch and Spanish rivals, were playing out in a race to locate a western route to the riches of the Far East. Columbus’ discovery of what he thought was India sparked interest in North America. This in turn led to formation of the British colonies in New England and the French colony of New France along the St. Lawrence River.
Two of the many French/English wars directly involved their North American colonies— the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), also known as the French and Indian War, and the Anglo-French war of 1778–1783, which was part of the American Revolutionary War.
Between 1608, when Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec and 1760, when English General Wolfe defeated Marquis de Montcalm at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the colony of New France developed an agricultural base along the St. Lawrence River. They also extended exploration into the interior of the continent, claiming jurisdiction over vast lands of the Mississippi basin. Instead of discovering a passage to the Pacific or the richness of Inca gold, they returned with canoes laden with furs. They also returned with heightened interest in the West as a target for expanding trade and for spreading the Catholic faith. Fur traders from New France were soon making the annual voyage westward through the Great Lakes and into northwest in canoes laden with supplies and trade goods.
Meanwhile, Henry Hudson’s explorations for an ice-free north-west passage to the Far East led to discovery of Hudson’s Bay and James Bay. Although the northern passage never materialized, Hudson’s discoveries unintentionally opened up a shorter route to the rich fur-bearing lands of the north-west. Indigenous trappers and middlemen brought furs down the rivers to the forts and fur-trading posts built on the coastline, and opened up competition with traders using the longer canoe route from the East.
In 1763, the Treaty of Paris not only stripped France of most of her North American holdings, it also changed the dynamics that had developed in the competition over the fur trade. Meanwhile, to the south, the American Revolution created a new nation. Westward expansion of the former colonies under the banner of ‘Manifest Destiny’ brought a new competitor onto the scene. In our next News and Events update, we’ll look at development of the fur trade as a key factor in background to events in 1870 Manitoba.