John Cabot: The Impact Of The Colonization Of Canada

Economic imperialism is a central part of the ongoing contemporary colonization of indigenous peoples in Canada. Since the colonial era marked the beginning of imperialism in North America, an intricate web of power and domination have formed leaving Indigenous communities in the grip of its economic philosophy. This has led to the ongoing contribution to the disposition of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Economic imperialism can be defined as the need for countries to expand their territories in order to collect resources from their colonies. This illustrates the inherent unsustainability of colonial settler society. In this essay I will look at how the impacts of economic imperialism has had an effect on the development of the indigenous

British empire was in control of Canada, “a deep and complex transformation.” (Calloway, 112) British empire envision North America with field of action while the French spent the next two decade revenging on their loss with the Seven Years’ War and Treaty of Paris. Even though the French did not succeed in North America, eventually they migrated towards large swaths of Canada, The Great Lakes, and Mississippi Valley using their social systems and culture to survive. “The Interior French”, (Calloway, 123) were French-Canadian who lived beyond the Great Lakes country. They had formed an alliance within the Indians and having a good reputation with dealing goods. Louisiana went to Spain eventually, a few French migrated to Louisiana as a Peace of Paris. More settlers were French in Louisiana during the Spanish era instead of the French. Louisiana changes hand in Paris a couple times in 1763.

When the English settlers began their colonization of America, they were unsure on how to approach the indigenous people. They were not prepared for a war initially, nor did they have all of the supplies required to survive. In chapter one of, Lethal Encounters Englishmen and Indians in Colonial Virginia, Albert Cave describes Sir Walter Raleigh’s decisions about the Roanoke colonial and Indian policies. Raleigh instructed the settlers to treat the Natives with ‘kindness and generosity’ (Cave, Lethal Encounters Englishmen and Indians in Colonial Virginia, pg 11). The English settlers recognized the

Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).

“New France was not merely the settlement of a few fur traders.” The Acadians were “a pastoral-like people who once formed a proud nation in a land called Acadia.” Although falling under the jurisdiction of “New France,” the Acadians governed separately than the rest of the country and were an independent entity within New France. Today, “the Acadians are the French speaking population of the Canadian Maritime provinces,” and these are the Acadians that were not displaced during the expulsions, under British rule. Acadia’s beginnings, with the construction of Port Royal, could have marked the colony for success, but instead, led to a troubling conclusion for the European descendents. Through failed leadership, two

The history of Canada is the era of where colonization all began towards aboriginal peoples. Over the past decades, aboriginal peoples have been mistreated and misused by the white-Europeans. They have been oppressed by Canadian society that we are known still by today and continue to live under racism resulting in gender and class oppression. The history of colonialism has been playing a big part in the way of how aboriginal people have been constructed and impacted on how aboriginal people are treated and viewed in Canadian Society. They have been dealing with the struggles, inequality, and discrimination that we have been putting them through for over three centuries, we’ve been also failing them with Canada’s racist policies

John Cabot was an explorer, who in 1497, was sent by King Henry VII to find a new trade route to Asia. John Cabot is being charged with Involuntary Manslaughter for the death of his crew. They left Bristol, England in May, and thus, their fate was made. The two crew members who will be out witnesses are Hugh Elyot and Robert Thorne. Our last, and final witness, is Akecheta, who is a chief of the Beothuk tribe. The ship was named the Matthew and had between 18-20 men on this ship.

With increasing number of voyages taking place in 15th century in order to look for a shorter path to China, John Cabot, an Englishman, was arguably the first one to reach Newfoundland in 1497. He set out for another voyage for North America in 1498 but was lost at the sea. However, the first Frenchman to reach Newfoundland was Jaques Cartier, who finally arrived in 1534, and in 1535 and 1536, Cartier was able to reach what later became Montreal and Quebec. Champlain was another Frenchman, who, in 1608, successfully managed to set up a settlement in Quebec. He is also said to have “opened up St Lawrence river and extended French influence throughout the Great Lake basin.” Champlain, along with Pierre du Gua de Monts, is also known to have made an attempt to establish a settlement in Acadia in 1604, which had to be aborted in the winter as 36 men died of scurvy. After a lot of other problems that the French colonisers had to face, finally, a settlement was established at Port Royal (capital of Acadia) in 1610. But the French colony did not go unchallenged for long. Sir William Alexander petitioned James I, who was originally James VI of Scotland, for a Scottish colony in Canada. James I responded favourably and the “Royal Charter of 1621, to Sir William Alexander” laid out land for this settlement. The charter also mentioned that this settlement was to be called Nova Scotia (“New Scotland” in Gaelic). However, Nova Scotia was supposed to be exactly where Acadia was.

The impact of colonization on First Nations peoples in Canada is unsurpassable, regarding every aspect of Aboriginal life and well-being. Throughout Canadian history, the government has been aiming to assimilate and annihilate Aboriginal people by way of racist policies, ethnocentric institutions, discriminatory laws and destructive capitalist behaviours. Because of this, Aboriginal people have suffered many losses, both physically and culturally. One of the main perpetrators of enacting this loss is the education system. The education system in Canada has and continues to threaten the relationship First Nations peoples have with the land. The connection First Nations peoples have with the land is crucial to their cultures, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. Colonization and colonialism jeopardize this relationship and that is what this essay will address.

Different laws like the Indian Act and other treaties played an outstanding role in shaping Aboriginal relationship in Canada. The Indian Act led to a huge conflict of interest following its effect on the Indians living in Canada during its implementation. The Indian Act was a mechanism that strengthened the eviction of Indians ad also a means of displacing Indians from their tribal lands. On the onset of the 19th Century, land hungry Canadian settlers clustered in the coastal south of Canada and slowly moved into the neighboring states. Since most of the tribes occupying that area were the Indians, the Canadian settlers petitioned the Canadian government to remove them as they perceived them as an obstacle to expansion towards the west. The rationale for the Indian Act was that the southeast Indian tribes had no attachment to any particular land. However, this rationale ignored the fact the Indian tribes had vast crops of corn and lived in settlements.

The colonisation of North America by the Europeans became one of the most crucial points for the native North Americans. The differing experiences of contact between both cultures had overwhelmingly disastrous impacts on the normal way of life. From such contact arose the issue of land disputes, in turn resulting in massacres and frontier wars which could have otherwise been unnecessary. The factors stated above provide a suitable stimulus for a discussion in regards to the varying encounters of the Indigenous North Americans.

After the strangling claws of the Indian Act were felt, the Canadian government began to issue more laws that intruded with the aboriginals lives and took away their rights. The first of these was the “Potlatch Law” (Hanson, n.p.). It banned potlatches and other ceremonies of the aboriginals, all for the purpose of forcing the

The Indians had an identity all their own, and were in many ways reluctant to open up to the English settlers, fearing the effects of their highly controversial way of life. Regardless, despite the devastating bouts with foreign disease that accompanied the settlers, and issues regarding the land the colonists claimed in the name of the king, the Indians were still relatively accepting and hospitable to the setting Puritans. (Drake 3) They traded openly, worked together in establishing villages, and notoriously, the Indians aided the Puritans in teaching them the ways of the land, and in guiding them through the difficult New England winters. Over several years, the two cultures began to mesh, and the bits and pieces

The Canadian government has great control of where the aboriginals are situated and what resources and services are made available to them. In 1876 the Indian act was created by the Canadian government (Indian Act). “The Indian act is a Canadian federal law that governs and matters pertaining to Indian statuses, bands, and Indian reserves”(Indian Act). A part of the Indian Act made the government give some crown land to the Aboriginals; the

French people. About twenty five thousands years ago populated area of Canada has been Indian