North America 1825

Changes in Upper & Lower Canada: 1815-18381.) A population explosion2.) A thriving timber trade3.) End of competition in the fur

trade

Lower CanadaPopulation Increase1806 250,0001841 717,000Largely population

increased from the high birth rate amongst the French speaking of Lower Canada

A small influx of British and Americans also helped with the population boom

Upper CanadaPopulation Increase1806 71,0001841 432,000Settled by LoyalistsAmericans until the

War of 1812Settlers from Great

Britain Ireland Scotland England Wales

Upper & Lower Canada

The Great MigrationTo start, most came from the

Highlands of ScotlandAfter 1815 they came from all parts of the British Isles but

particularly Ireland

Reason•Changing circumstances in Great Britain• Population was increasing• Less land for agriculture• Technological improvements

• e.g. Spinning and weaving

Great Britain’s Perspective on EmigrationPositiveBritish goods to be consumedRaw materials for British factories

Hardships in Crossing the AtlanticPoorly maintained shipsThe passage was often stormy11-12 weeks till arrivalPeople were crowded into

dark unsanitary conditions below deck

Cholera Outbreak 1832Emigrant ships were stopped at Grosse IsleQuarantine Regulations went into effectDisease still reached both Quebec and MontrealQuarantine sheds were established along the St.

LawrenceThe epidemic ended in September3500 victims in Quebec2000 in MontrealSeveral Hundred in Upper Canada

Thriving Timber TradeTrees now came to be used for more than just

housing1839, wood made up 80% of all goods exported

from Upper and Lower Canada Most went to Great Britain Some went to the United States While the ships building industry

of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick used the remains

The Ship Building IndustryNova Scotia built ships for local useNew Brunswick built ships to export

• British North America supplied more ships to Britain than any other country

Square timber, a bulky commodity, had to be shipped in relatively large vessels, and as Britain could not meet the need for such ships during wartime, so the shipbuilding industry in British North America expanded

Maritime timber merchants found they could keep transportation costs low if they owned their own vessels. When the prices for the vessels rose they made additional profits by selling the vessel as well as the timber cargo.

End of Competition in the Fur Trade1821 the HBC and the NWC mergedThis ended the NWC trade route via MontrealThe majority of all furs were now shipped

through Hudson Bay

George SimpsonBecame the governor of the

newly-restructured Hudson’s Bay companyHeld this position for 40 years, until his death in 1860He had jurisdiction over an area that included Hudson

Bay, the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, and the Missouri RiverIntroduced strict conservation measures in areas that had

been over trapped, laid off hundreds of redundant employees, kept salaries down, and closed unnecessary posts.