Canada´s history (0)

Canada ’s History
North America was first settled by people who came from the northern and eastern parts of Asia about 15,000 years ago. They crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska . Some of those people followed the Yukon River and found their way south . Others followed the MacKenzie River which opened the way to the plains of the interior , and then travelled on to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
The third group of people inhabited the Arctic regions. The first two groups were called Indians, the group that settled in the north were called Eskimos. These people are the only true native Canadians, the rest are new Canadians who have been transplanted from other parts of the world, especially from Europe .
The first European visitors to North America were Norsemen who settled briefly in the 11th century.
John Cabot , a Venetian seeking riches for England , made the next known voyage in 1497. He took back word that the sea was full of fish which could be taken not only with a net but in baskets let down into the water.
The early 1500s saw the start of a rush by other seafaring countries to fish in the coastal waters of Canada . Finally the contest of claims came down to two: England and France . French claims date from explorations by Jacques Cartier (1534) and Samuel de Champlain ( 1603 ). Neither Cabot’s nor Cartier’s explorations left any permanent settlers behind , but after Champlain’s trip , in 1604 the French founded the first permanent settlement in what is now Canada. The first city founded by the french was Quebec . New France was generally the name given to the french colonies of Canada and Acadia.
British settlements appeared along the Atlantic coast. As the colonies grew, a struggle for control over North America started between England and France. For almost a century Canada was caught up in the struggle for power , until in 1763 England finally gained control over almost all of Canada.
Gradually the British started to move westward and new provinces and territories appeared. During this settlement process the native Canadians were treated with more respect than the natives of the USA.
Canada’s real birthdate is July 1, 1867 when the British created the Dominion of Canada under British rule . In 1931 Canada peacefully broke away from direct British rule. In 1965 a new flag with a red maple leaf on a white background was adopted.
The name Canada is believed to come from the Huron-Iroquois word Kanata, which means " village " or "settlement". In 1535, locals used the word to tell Jacques Cartier the way to Stadacona, site of present -day Quebec City. Cartier used Canada to refer not only to Stadacona, but also to the entire area subject to Donnacona, Chief at Stadacona; by 1547 , maps began referring to this and the surrounding area as Canada.
In 1864 and 1866, British North American politicians, in what became known as the Great Coalition, held three conferences to create a federal union. Spearheaded by John A. Macdonald, on July 1, 1867, three colonies—Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were granted a constitution, the British North America Act, by the United Kingdom, creating the Dominion of Canada. The term "Canadian Confederation" refers to this 1867 unification of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (formerly Canada East or Lower Canada), and Ontario (formerly Canada West or Upper Canada).
The remaining British colonies and territories soon joined Confederation. By 1880 Canada included all of its present area except for Newfoundland and Labrador , which joined in 1949. (It should be noted that, although part of Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan did not gain Provincial status until 1905.) In 1919, Canada became a member of the League of Nations and, in the Imperial Conference of 1926, Canada assumed full control of its own through the Balfour Declaration. In 1927, Canada appointed its first ambassador to a foreign country , the United States. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster gave the Balfour Declaration constitutional force, confirming that no act of the UK's parliament would thereafter extend to Canada without its consent. Canadian citizenship was first distinguished from British in 1947; judicial appeals to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ended in 1949. The power to amend Canada's constitution remained with the British parliament, although subject to the Statute of Westminster, until it was "patriated" to Canadian control by the Canada Act 1982.