History of Monarchy in Canada - Kingdoms and Colonies

Kingdoms and Colonies

The first French colonies in North America were established in the name of King Henry IV at Acadia (today Nova Scotia) three years into the 17th century—the second being named Port Royal in his honour—and, by 1610, the first British settlements were established on Newfoundland, which had earlier been claimed in 1583 for Queen Elizabeth I. The following year, Henry Hudson embarked on the first trading voyage that led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company by Royal Charter from King Charles II; the King claimed and area that covered what is now Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Minnesota, North Dakota, and more and called the area Rupert's Land, after Prince Rupert, who helped to form the HBC.

The French also monarch moved quickly and it was in 1602 that Aymar de Chaste was appointed as Viceroy of Canada to represent King Henry IV. In 1615,Quebec City was, on the recommendation of Samuel de Champlain made a royal capital of the French empire in the Americas, with Champlain—who had been representative of, or lieutenant governor to, most Viceroys of Canada—installed as the first viceregal representative of the King in New France. Some 60 years later, New France was designated as a royal province of France itself, ruled by the King through his appointed Conseil souverain, which included the governor general as the monarch's stand-in. One of the king's decrees, intended to augment, as well as level the gender imbalance of, the population of New France in the 1660s, was to send between seven and nine hundred women, known as the filles du roi (Daughters of the King), to the province, each with dowry, new clothing, and paid passage to the New World. As the population increased, infrastructure was built, such as the Chemin du Roi (King's Highway) between Montreal and Quebec City, and the Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral, in the welfare of which the King took great interest. This type of French royal patronage extended through the 18th century; for example, from 1713 until 1758, Île-Royale, and especially Louisbourg, was a project of Kings Louis XIV and XV, much of the financing for infrastructure—some 20 million livres—being provided by the monarchs (their names therefore appearing on such works).

As Europeans moved inland, they encountered the aboriginal peoples; relations with them were originally considered to be between European and North American monarchs—though, for the French, that later changed to be one between sovereign and subject, and for the British, between European and aboriginal nations under one king—leading to the incorporation of treaties with the Crown into the political culture of Canada. While the aboriginal chiefs did aid the monarchs with their North American conflicts, affairs in Europe would also affect the dealings of the New World and eventually almost all of the French king's possessions in what was known as Canada were transferred from him to the British Crown, providing Canada with one singular monarchy. But, this placement of French people under a British sovereign did not come without friction; during the escalation of hostilities in the lead-up to the Seven Years' War, the descendants of French colonialists in Acadia were asked by British officials, uneasy about where the Acadians' loyalties lay, to reaffirm their allegiance to King George III. The Acadians refused, and were subsequently deported from the area in what became known as the Great Upheaval.

Following the Treaty of Paris, which concluded the Seven Years' War in 1763, a Royal Proclamation was issued by George III, laying out his policy regarding the newly acquired colonies in North America. This was regarded by American colonists as one of the Intolerable Acts that together eventually led to the outbreak of the American Revolution. This conflict led some 46,000 people loyal to the Crown—dubbed United Empire Loyalists—to flee north from the United States; the King-in-Council granted each family 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land. At the same time, thousands of Iroquois and other Aboriginals were expelled from New York and other states, resettling under the protection of the Crown in what is now Ontario, and some 3,000 former slaves of African ancestry, known as Black Loyalists, settled in Nova Scotia. Continuing today, Ontario residents descended from these original refugees retain the post-nominals UE, standing for United Empire. The loyalists who settled in Nova Scotia, however, were not immediately made to feel comfortable, as many of the already settled residents were aligned with the United States and its republican cause; Colonel Thomas Dundas wrote from Saint John in 1786: " have experienced every possible injury from the old inhabitants of Nova Scotia, who are even more disaffected towards the British Government than any of the new States ever were. This makes me much doubt their remaining long dependent."

Prince William (later King William IV) arrived in Canada in July 1786, when he stated of the country, and more specifically, St. John's: "truly deplorable... a most dreadful, inhospitable and barren country"; though, he later changed his opinion after meeting the local women, commenting on Canada's "inexhaustible supply of women of the most obliging kind." He also became, in 1787, the first member of the Royal Family to visit Quebec. Four years later, the Prince's brother, Prince Edward (later the Duke of Kent and father of Queen Victoria), served from 1791 until the turn of that century in Canada on military duties and as Commander of British North American troops; it is speculated that during that time he fathered two children by his Canadian mistress, Julie de St. Laurent. The Prince lived at Quebec City, where he oversaw the establishment of the Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral, a project of personal interest to his father, the King. In 1792, when the first elections for the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada took place, a riot, fuelled by ethnic character, broke out at one of the polls. Prince Edward was said to have climbed up to where he could be heard and addressed the crowd, stating: "Part then in peace. I urge you to unanimity and accord. Let me hear no more of the odious distinctions of English and French. You are all His Britannic Majesty's beloved Canadian subjects." It was reportedly the first time the word Canadian, which had previously been reserved only for Francophones, was used in a manner that included all colonialists.

Almost twenty years later, Prince Edward's only legitimate daughter, Victoria, was born on 24 May 1819, at Kensington Palace. However, Edward died shortly thereafter, leaving Victoria as heir to the throne until, upon the death of William IV, she ascended as queen at the age of 18. Though she would never visit Canada, she received numerous Canadians in audience (especially her father's friends) and her image, thanks to the spread of newspapers and the invention of photography, was reproduced sufficiently to maintain popularity and loyalty in her colonies.

Insurrections against the Crown did still take place, though; notably the Rebellions of 1837, which had been stirred up by the rise in power and influence of the United States and republican sentiment. Most colonists, though, did not espouse a break with the Crown and, in the wake of the disturbances, the Queen called on her people in Upper Canada to eschew vengeance on the perpetrators in favour of justice. Further, the British parliament granted responsible government to the Canadas, with the support of Victoria herself, despite its decrease of the political influence in the colonies of both she and her representatives. Where royal influence was lessened, though, it increased in other areas; Canadians celebrated momentous moments in the Queen's life—such as her marriage to Prince Albert—royal events were inaugurated—such as the Queen's Plate, created with Queen Victoria's blessing in 1860—and, while she was monarch, Victoria's children and grandchildren would come to Canada as either the governor general or viceregal consort, or to tour the country.