In 1775, American anger over taxation and British attempts to limit western settlement exploded into revolution. Within months American Rebels invaded Canada to secure their northern frontier. British colonies that joined the rebellion became the United States of America. Those that defeated American invaders and local Rebels later came together to form Canada.
After a long struggle with France during the Seven Years' War, Britain gained control of most of eastern North America. The French colony in the St. Lawrence valley became the British province of Quebec.
Many Canadiens resented the British authorities and the seigneurs (landlords), clergy, and merchants of Quebec. The seigneurs, from whom Canadien farmers rented their land, attempted to dominate local communities. The clergy collected taxes known as tithes. English-speaking merchants were persistent creditors.
Quebec's English-speaking merchants were equally unhappy. They resented a colonial government that denied them an elected assembly. Mostly American-born, they shared the anger of many Americans over British attempts to collect taxes in North America to support a colonial garrison and pay for the Seven Years' War.
Hoping to secure Canadien support, the British government passed the Quebec Act in 1774. This Act enlarged Quebec to include the Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley, granted religious freedom to Roman Catholics and allowed them to hold public office, established French civil law and British criminal law, and recognized the seigneurial system. The Quebec act further alienated Americans, and contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution.
In April of 1775, fighting broke out between British troops and American Rebels in New England. Within months, rebel armies had invaded Canada, captured Montreal, and besieged Quebec City.
American Rebels Besiege Quebec, 1775-1776
For Canadians, the American Revolution began when rebel armies attacked Canada and besieged Quebec City. In the early morning of 31 December 1775, the Rebels stormed the west and north sides of Quebec's Lower Town. A single volley fired by French- and English-speaking militia defeated the western assault. To the north, regulars (professional soldiers) and militia (part-time soldiers) stopped the Americans at the Sault-au-Matelot Barricade.In May 1776, British reinforcements arrived by sea and the Americans withdrew.
Rebellion in Nova Scotia, 1776
About 200 Nova Scotians rebelled against their colonial government in 1776. They attacked Fort Cumberland and planned to seize the entire province. Yet most Nova Scotians supported the British or remained neutral. Fort Cumberland's Loyalist garrison held out until British forces from Halifax lifted the siege. The Rebels fled and the rebellion collapsed.Consequences of the American Revolution
In Canada, British victories at Québec City and Fort Cumberland had saved the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia from conquest, annexation and defined the border with the United States. In the next century, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Upper and Lower Canada united to form the new Dominion of Canada.
Consequences of the Revolution
In 1778, France joins the war and sends fleets and regiments across the Atlantic to help the Americans. Following a major Franco-American victory at Yorktown in 1781, the British government decides that the war has been lost. They open negotiations with the Americans, and recognize American Independence at the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
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The Canadian War Museum
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