Frenchman Discovers Canada's History — I just didn't know it.

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Hi guys.

[00:00:01]First off, a very huge thank you for your comments. You teach me a lot and I learn a lot about your country. So, I decide to proceed step by step.

[00:00:17]And to learn about province by province.

[00:00:21]And I start today with a short video about your history. I think I need to learn your history because in France there is no real teach about the American, North American, or South American history. And I think I will better understand your culture, your architecture, your society and if I know at least a little about your history.

[00:01:00]So, let's start.

[00:01:02]One last word. If in this video there is mistake, please say me in the comment.

[00:01:09]Okay, this video is from the channel AP Meteus.

[00:01:13]Link of the original video in the description.

[00:01:17]Thanks to them.

[00:01:19]And I let the French subtitle for my French community and for me to be sure I understand well what it say.

[00:01:36]>> [music] >> Canada, known for their delicious maple syrup and being home to nearly all of the greatest hockey players of all time, is the second largest nation on Earth.

[00:01:50]It contains approximately 2 million lakes. Wow.

[00:01:52]>> over 50% of the fresh water lakes on the planet. For many thousands of years this region was populated with many indigenous tribes of hardy people capable of overcoming the severe and lengthy winters, thriving [music] and developing unique cultures. The first non-native Okay.

[00:02:15]Okay. people to settle in Canada and the New World in general that we know of for sure were the Vikings. They built a settlement in Newfoundland around 1000 AD. It is unclear for exactly how long this settlement was occupied for or if there was more, but ultimately it was either abandoned, pillaged, or its inhabitants succumbed to disease or assimilated into the local population.

[00:02:39]But theories abound. Nearly 500 years later in 1497, the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto was the first European to explore North America's coast, claiming it for the English crown. Short okay.

[00:02:52]>> After the Spanish and the Portuguese would do the same, but remained uncolonized for several decades with only a few seasonal Portuguese and Basque fishing outposts built until the French arrived. Jacques Cartier claiming the land for France in 1534. He named the Gulf and River [music] after St. Lawrence's feast day on which he arrived. The French called the territory around the river Canada after the native word for settlement.

[00:03:16]>> After several >> of attempts at permanent settlements succumbed to starvation and disease, the cities of Quebec and Port Royal were successfully established. By 1670, the English colonies in the south had expanded and new settlements were established in Newfoundland and south of the Hudson Bay. The fur trade, particularly in beaver pelts, became extremely lucrative as it became the favored material for hatmakers and luxury winter clothing in northern Europe. This greatly encouraged further northern settlement by both English and French fur trappers seeking to make a fortune.

[00:03:49]The French and the English did not peacefully coexist with the French temporarily taking much of the territory around the Hudson Bay during the lengthy period known as the Beaver Wars. Not As a French history is a succession of war, bloody battle, making babies, build build cities, um house, uh etc. Then war, bloody battle, making babies, and so on.

[00:04:26]We are the the country in the world with the the top with the maximum of battle in our history.

[00:04:43]We have spent, uh, many, many, many years, 2,000 years in war.

[00:04:51]In Africa, in Asia, in America.

[00:04:58]Voilà. Only the Europeans became wealthy and influential from the trade in beaver pelts. The Iroquois Confederation of six powerful tribes, armed with European firearms, initially allied with Dutch merchants and then the English to aggressively attack the French and most other Indian tribes in the region to obtain more furs. Many of these tribes banded together with the French to halt Iroquois expansion. Peace was negotiated after 72 years of fighting and many Indian lives lost and little territorial change. The region of New France was comprised of several colonies. Canada and Louisiana were the largest along with the smaller Plaisance and Acadia, which the British Empire obtained from the French in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 in a complicated agreement concerning the War of Spanish Succession. France also recognized the legitimacy of the Hudson's Bay Company's claim over Rupert's Land. Interestingly, the Hudson Bay Company is still in existence today, primarily as owners of a retail store chain bearing their name.

[00:05:56]Despite their larger territory, the French increasingly became outnumbered by the rapidly growing British colonies surrounding them by a margin of 10 to 1 by the time the next major conflict between the two occurred. During the Seven Years War or the French and Indian War as it has become known in much of North America, French-speaking Acadians were deported far from the Canadian borderlands, some of whom formed the basis of much of the Cajun population of modern-day Louisiana and New Orleans.

[00:06:24]Both English and French empires sent thousands of regular infantry to North America during the war, supported by local militias and Indian tribes. The greatly outnumbered French relied heavily on Indian allies and fought the British to a standstill early in the war until the British successfully besieged the cities of Quebec and Montreal.

[00:06:44]Despite the French later defeating the British in a pitched battle, they failed to retake their capital city. In the It's um We asked We have spent around 1,000 years in war with British.

[00:07:02]French and British and Great Britain and and the United Kingdom. And um the the more crazy things in this history is the royal family is linked.

[00:07:20]There is a a huge link between the the king in in Great Britain and and the French.

[00:07:33]So many people die for nothing.

[00:07:38]treaty that ended the war soon after.

[00:07:41]France ceded Canada to Britain while giving Louisiana territory to her ally, Spain. It is important to note at this time much of North America's non-coastal areas were still largely unpopulated with many of the native tribes heavily depleted through warfare and invasive diseases from which they had little immunity. With a population of approximately 3 million, the American colonies waged a successful rebellion against the British Crown a little over a decade later. The Americans attempted and failed to take Quebec which remained loyal to Great Britain. After the war, many British loyalists moved north into Canada. During the following War of 1812, both British and American armies launched several failed invasions of each others territory ending in military stalemate and the status quo was maintained. The treaties following the war established a more formalized border between the two nations. Despite the Canadians desire not to join their American neighbors to the south, movements for self-rule increasingly grew among the Canadian lower and middle classes culminating in the rebellions of 1837 and 38 that were severely dealt with and crushed and saw the short-lived Republic of Canada established by William Lyon Mackenzie. Despite the Republic's short-lived lifespan and diminutive size, widespread public support not only from many Canadians both French and English speaking but also from Americans to the south spurred Great Britain's government to make major concessions in the rebellions aftermath.

[00:09:07]The Act of Union in 1840 united Upper and Lower Canada into the new province of Canada and the granting of responsible government soon after allowed for a far greater degree of self-rule to be exercised by the elected representatives of the people. In 1846, the disputed Oregon Territory was peaceably divided between Great Britain and the United States pretty much by drawing a straight line and giving Vancouver Island to Canada. Throughout the 19th century, a massive boom in the logging industry fueled large waves of immigration to Canada, gradually replacing the fur trade as Canada's most lucrative industry. In 1867, the British North America Act, or more commonly called the Constitution Act today, established Canada as a self-governing democracy with Ottawa as its capital city. To the west, the Hudson's Bay Company negotiated the sale of Rupert's Land to the newly formed Canadian government. The Métis people of mixed European, primarily French, and Indian ancestry were the largest population of the Winnipeg area of what is now Manitoba. Fearing the land they had held for generations would be seized by newcomers from the east, they rose in rebellion, creating a provisional government. And after a tense standoff and eventual occupation by federal troops, many of their demands were met respecting their rights. The leader of the rebellion, Louis Riel, would lead another larger but less successful rebellion 15 years later that ended with his trial and execution. Louis Riel became a martyr or villain to many Canadians. His death increasing the tensions between Indian, Métis, English, and French groups in society. Because of the key role the partially completed transcontinental railway played in the suppression of the rebellion, political support for completing it soared among English-speaking Canadians, and the railroad was completed in only four years from when it had begun. The 1890s saw the Klondike Gold Rush, in which over 100,000 prospectors set out to the remote Yukon region in hopes of striking it rich. Some did, but most didn't.

[00:11:08]After several decades of stagnant population growth, largely due to immigration to the United States, Canada's population sharply increased due to a good economy and high foreign immigration throughout the early 20th century. During the First World War, Canada, still a dominion of the United Kingdom, sent 620,000 troops Yes. to fight in Europe. 67,000 would die.

[00:11:32]Yes, This uh we learn this in our school.

[00:11:38]We know Canadian help us in the first and the second World War.

[00:11:45]And thank to you. Very thanks.

[00:11:47]We are grateful for those um men to those men.

[00:11:54]While another 173,000 would be wounded. The staggering casualty rate grieved and shocked the nation. The war had a strong impact on Canadian nationalism and the desire to self-govern its own international affairs, which they obtained when the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which acknowledged Canada's co-equal status with the United Kingdom. Between the World Wars, Canada was hit particularly hard during the Great Depression of the early 1930s with unemployment rates reaching 25% and many men living in unemployment relief camps.

[00:12:27]During the Second World War, over 1.1 million Canadians served in that brutal conflict that left nearly 100,000 of them dead or wounded. In 1949, Newfoundland became the last Canadian province to incorp- So, this is a map of with all province.

[00:12:50]Okay.

[00:12:56]Interesting.

[00:12:57]-orate. In 1965, Canada adopted its current flag. Here's a selection of some of the other national flags that were proposed. Let me know in the comments of which one do you think looks best. In 1982, the Canada Act passed the Parliament of the United Kingdom and was ratified by the Queen, granting Canada the right to create their own constitution, which they promptly did, still recognizing the constitutional monarchy in a mostly ceremonial role.

[00:13:22]The new const- It's not old. Okay.

[00:13:28]-itution abolished the British Parliament's remnants of influence over Canada. Canada is now a nation of over 36 million people where over 20% speak French as a first language and has the 10th largest economy in the world. The province of Quebec has maintained a strong French influence over the centuries and has on two occasions voted in referendums to decide whether Quebec should proclaim national sovereignty and become an independent country.

[00:13:52]>> In 1995, it very nearly did not pass with secession still being an issue till this day. This Okay. Prometheus. Let me know what you think down in the comments. What Canadian province is your favorite to visit or live in? Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon to get notifications every time I make a new video. And big thanks to my supporters over on Patreon. They help me keep making content like this.

[00:14:16]Thank you so much for watching till the end of the video.

[00:14:18]>> [snorts] >> Okay.

[00:14:21]Interesting. I didn't know France have uh this impact in the American conquest. It's a real paradox and almost shame that someone like me with a good knowledge and understanding of my country's history could have missed uh this.

[00:14:50]I always thought that France had a rather limited impact in America.

[00:15:00]And when we leave, we go in Africa. As I said, the teaching glosses over certain episode and focus more on Africa.

[00:15:14]I heard about the tension with Quebec uh at this time at the time.

[00:15:21]But again, I wasn't aware uh of the full extent of the issue.

[00:15:30]So, when I will discover the Quebec through video, should I use English or French?

[00:15:42]Please say me in the comments.

[00:15:44]I think there is a lot uh lot of things to learn for me.

[00:15:52]And again, a huge thanks to you for your comments.

[00:15:58]See you next time.