History of Canada

Canada is a nation of 33 million inhabitants, occupying almost all of the northern half of the North American continent, and being the second largest country in the world. Canada has evolved in four hundred years from a group of European colonies into a federation of ten provinces and three territories, having been granted its sovereignty peacefully from its last colonial possessor, the United Kingdom.

Western B.N.A., American trade

Once the U.S. agreed to the 49th parallel north as the border separating it from western British North America, the British government created the Pacific coast colonies of British Columbia in 1848 and Vancouver Island in 1849. By 1854, most border questions were settled, and the Governor General of British North America, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, signed a significant trade agreement with the United States on behalf of the colonies. This agreement endured for ten years until the American government abrogated it in 1865.

Related Topics:
49th parallel north - Pacific - British Columbia - 1848 - Vancouver Island - 1849 - 1854 - Governor General of British North America - James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin - Trade agreement

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By the mid 1850s, politicians in the Province of Canada began to contemplate western expansion. They questioned the Hudson Bay Company's tenure of Rupert's Land and the Arctic territories, and launched a series of exploring expeditions to familiarize themselves and the Canadian population with the geography and climate of the region (see Simon James Dawson, George Gladman).

Related Topics:
Province of Canada - Hudson Bay Company - Rupert's Land - Simon James Dawson - George Gladman

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