For a long period of history, Canada was not an independent state. From the beginning 17th century it was a possession of France. Since 1763, as a result of the Seven Years’ War, it became a possession of Great Britain. On July 1, 1867, Canada was the first of the British colonies to receive the status of a self-governing British dominion.
According to educationvv, 25 thousand years ago, the territory of Canada was inhabited by the ancestors of the Indians, who moved from Asia through the land isthmus that existed then on the site of the Bering Strait. Much later – 6 thousand years ago – the Eskimos came to its Arctic part in the same way. The first Europeans appeared in Canada as early as 1000 AD, when a Norman settlement arose on the island of Newfoundland, which lasted a little over a year. In 1497, an Italian in English service, John Cabot, reached Newfoundland. The French sailor Jacques Cartier in 1534 explored and mapped the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and in 1535 climbed up the St. Lawrence River to the Indian village of Stadacona (the place where Quebec now stands). He made contact with the local Iroquois Indians and declared the surrounding lands to be the possession of the French king, giving them the name “Canada” (in the language of the Iroquois, it simply meant “village”). Quebec, Canada’s oldest city, was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain (1567–1635), a French traveler and statesman who received the title of “royal geographer” in 1601. He was the first European to travel up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes (to Lake Huron in 1615–16), explore their banks, and make an alliance with the Huron Indian tribe. From 1633 Champlain was the governor-general of “New France” (future Canada). The fur trade with the Indians stimulated French colonization, which began to spread especially actively from the 2nd floor. 17th century He was the first European to travel up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes (to Lake Huron in 1615–16), explore their banks, and make an alliance with the Huron Indian tribe. From 1633 Champlain was the governor-general of “New France” (future Canada). The fur trade with the Indians stimulated French colonization, which began to spread especially actively from the 2nd floor. 17th century He was the first European to travel up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes (to Lake Huron in 1615–16), explore their banks, and make an alliance with the Huron Indian tribe. From 1633 Champlain was the governor-general of “New France” (future Canada). The fur trade with the Indians stimulated French colonization, which began to spread especially actively from the 2nd floor. 17th century
Simultaneously with the French, English colonization also developed. The British Hudson’s Bay Fur Company took possession of a large area in the north of the country. In the south, the expansion of the English colonies (on the territory of the future United States) led to constant Anglo-French conflicts, in which Indian tribes were also drawn. After the Seven Years’ War between England and France, under the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Canada became a possession of Great Britain. The French, who settled in the St. Lawrence Valley and preserved the feudal system of the old metropolis, formed the basis of the population of the province of Quebec. English immigrants populated the Atlantic coast and the shores of the Great Lakes. After the end of the American War of Independence (1775–83), at least 40,000 supporters of the British crown, the “loyalists”, fled to Canada; they formed the core of the Anglo-Canadian people. In 1867, according to the British North America Act adopted by the British Parliament, the British Dominion of Canada was created, which has the state status of a self-governing state, but with the British monarch as its head. Initially, it consisted of 4 provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which formed a confederation, which was later joined by 5 more provinces. The territory of Canada acquired its modern shape by 1949, when the former separate British dominion of Newfoundland became part of it as the 10th province. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which formed a confederation, which was later joined by 5 more provinces. The territory of Canada acquired its modern shape by 1949, when the former separate British dominion of Newfoundland became part of it as the 10th province. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which formed a confederation, which was later joined by 5 more provinces. The territory of Canada acquired its modern shape by 1949, when the former separate British dominion of Newfoundland became part of it as the 10th province.
In the 20th century Canada’s orientation towards pursuing a policy independent of Great Britain intensified. This was facilitated by the growing influence of the United States on the country’s economy. The milestones in the assertion of Canada’s sovereignty were the adoption of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which recognized the complete independence of the British dominions in domestic and foreign policy, the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 and the Constitutional Act of 1982. The adoption of the latter by the Canadian Parliament was called “patriation of the Constitution” in the country. In 1982, in accordance with the Canada Act, the country received the right to any changes to its Constitution, i.e. complete independence.
