Foreword:

    Two great Countries enjoy a friendly and cooperative spirit with common ancestry. Never before have two countries peacefully shared such broad common interests. Borders between are largely un-guarded. Citizens from both sides travel freely to and from without need for passport, visa or pre-arrangement. It is almost as if they are one nationality, but they are both fiercely independent and are strongly nationalistic. Both Countries began under Colonialism. One broke its ties with Britain through war. The other retained its ties prideful of its British heritage. The two Countries compete in trade but do so in friendship and with respectful cooperation. Even the United States, having fought a war of Independence with Britain, later became its ally in other wars and its peaceful partner, thus restoring a historical affinity, kinship, and tradition. Almost all political events during the past 200 years have meaning to both Countries. Both Countries share an odyssey of courage, endurance, frontier life, hardship, as well as sharing a long enduring and shameful genocide of the Native Americans who were murdered and displaced from their lands. Thus, it seems to be appropriate to chronicle a history of the two Countries together.
    The events chronicled are close enough together to allow one to visualize spending a portion of one's lifetime at places during historical times. Imagine, for instance, living as a serf under a baron at Nova Scotia during the decade of 1621. Or, living with the Metis during their temporary try for independence 1870-85.
    The reader is left to interpret the historical effects that caused a fall of Colonialism and the emergence of two independent Nations.

A Synopsis of Related Events and Circumstances by Time Lines

1492: Christopher Columbus

Captain of three Spanish ships, landed at an island later to be named Grand Turk, an island of the Bahamas.

1497-1533: John Cabot (Giovanni Cabototo)

The first European to set foot upon North America (after the Norsemen of the 11th Century) was John Cabot. Cabot managed to be honored with an interview by King Henry VII in 1495, whereupon the King issued permission (Mar. 6, 1496) for Cabot and his sons to sail to Asia under the British flag.
    Cabot's first voyage began in a small vessel, The Matthew, on May 2, 1497. Cabot's crew consisted of eighteen men. On June 14, after weeks of varied winds, land was sighted. They had reached the coast of Cape Breton Island. John Cabot stepped ashore and claimed the land in the name of King Henry VII. Although no natives were seen, the crew found snares set for animals in the near forest. Cabot observed the land to be fertile and judged that he had reached the coast of Asia. Cabot named the place , Cape Discovery, and the large island St John's Island, as that day was the feast of St John the Baptist. (The island is now Scatari Island). Cabot spent little time on exploration and returned to Bristol Harbor on June 6, 1497. King Henry paid him ten pounds and commissioned him in the rank of Admiral
    On Feb. 3, 1498, Cabot was issued new letters of patent for a second voyage of exploration with six vessels. Cabot set sail in late May via way of Iceland. He reached the coast of Greenland in June, naming it Labrador's Land.
    Cabot's crew became increasingly apprehensive of the broken ice they were sailing through and they mutinied on June 11 at 67-30 Latitude. Cabot pacified the crew by turning the fleet Southward. He proceeded on to encounter more ice, finally arriving at the coast of Labrador at the present place of Table Hill (57-40 N. Lat.) Following the Coast further South and assuming they were in Asia, Cabot reached Cape Race, where he had explored during his first voyage. Cabot continued around the shores of Labrador, Nova Scotia, and New England to reach the bay of New York. A quote from Cabot's log: "- sayled in this tracte so farre towarde the weste, that the Ilande of Cuba bee on my lefte hande, in manere in the same degree of longitude."
    Cabot continued South along the Atlantic coast to reach New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland and 38 degrees N. Latitude. Provisions running low and not having found traces of eastern civilization, Cabot began the return voyage and arrived back in England in late Autumn of 1498. Cabot thought that the lands he explored were the coast of China, beliefs that were in keeping with those of the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus..
    In general, Cabot's voyage was considered to be a failure by King Henry. Yet Cabot had laid claim to much of the territory where British colonies would be established during later years, when Britain would steadfastly and forever claim the whole of North America, based upon first discovery by John Cabot.

1519-1521: Spain Conquered Mexico (Hernando Cortez)

From this time Spanish Conquistadors, consisting of mounted soldiers and Jesuit priests would explore and conquer much of the territory from Mexico northward, including what are now Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and California.

1525: St. Augustine

Spain established a Fort at St. Augustine, Florida.

1534-43: Discovery and Occupation of the St. Lawrence

Starting with voyages in 1534 by Jacques Cartier, a succession of French explorers charted the St Lawrence strait and eventually the river. Cartier captured two Indians who became a source of information about the river, telling him of a wealthy kingdom of Saguenay. Cartier returned to France on July 16.

1541: Second Voyage by Jacques Cartier

The purpose of this voyage was to conquer the (Indian) Kingdom of Saguenay and claim the territory for France. Five French vessels were involved. Cartier went on up the St Lawrence to Cap Rouge (above Quebec) where he spent the winter. He was joined by the French noble Jean de Roberval who with several vessels had made the journey. Cartier was ordered back to France taking three of the vessels. In June of 1543 Roberval set out with 8 boats and 40 men up the St. Lawrence rapids to conquer Saguenay. The mission was aborted when Saguenay could not be found. During this time the French established some camps along the St. Lawrence and began fur trading.

1597: Hopewell

    The British ship Hopewell of London was driven away from the Magdalenes by four French ships who united against her. She repaired to the port of Ste. Marie in Newfoundland where she found two more French ships The Rocheller (from a Protestant Port) and the Belle Isle (of a Catholic port) at the mouth of the Loire river. From the log of the Hopewell: "We first sent our boat aboord the Rocheller to certifie him that we were his friends and to request him not hinder our fight with our enemy. This message sent, we made all haste we could unto the ship Belle Isle, which first began us with three great shot, one whereof hit our maintopsaile, but both the other missed us. And we also sent one unto them; then upon being approached nere unto them ten or twelve of us went in a shalop to enter them. And when we boarded them in our boat, they betook themselves to close fights, playing chiefly upon us with shot and pikes out at two ports, between which we entered very dangerously, escaping meere dangers by both shot and pike. Some of our were wounded but no great harme was done."
    The Hopewell returned to England with the captured Belle Isle. In the following year a (failed) attempt was made to establish a British colony on Sable Island.
    The friction had begun between France and Britain over control of the St. Lawrence.

1598: The French Colonize Sable Island

    In the summer of 1598 the Marquis de la Roche landed on Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, with "60 sturdy beggars taken from the prisons of Normandy." The colony, headed by Captain Querbonyer, suffered a revolt two years later accompanied by a series of murders. The remnants of 11 persons were taken off the island by a fishing vessel in 1603. On this failure of la Roche's colony, no sign was left of French claim to the St Lawrence region. To retain some authority and to continue to receive furs in trade, France granted a monopoly to a fur trader named Pierre Chauvin, who would send out vessels each year to the St. Lawrence. In addition, Chauvin would people the area with 50 colonist each year.

1604: Nova Scotia founded

A French colony was established on the island of St. Croix, in the Bay of Fundy. That following winter proved the island to be so exposed to the severe winter as to be unlivable. Upon spring the colony was moved across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal (now Annapolis Basin).

1606: The Virginia Company

British King James I Chartered The Virginia Company of London and The Virginia Company of Plymouth. The London Company was granted lands in America from Cape Fear to the Potomac River. The Plymouth Company was granted lands from the Northern part of Maine to Long Island Sound. Each company was governed by its own council in England and both were under a royal council which represented the King. Both companies sent colonists to America in 1606.
    The Plymouth Company (Aug. 1607) settled 120 men at Sagadahok, on the Kennebec River, in what is now Maine. They built a fort, some houses, and a thirty ton ship which was named Virginia. That winter was harsh and many died from hunger and cold. The next year those who were still alive abandoned the colony and sailed back to England
    The London Company dispatched 100 men in three ships (Susan Constance, Goodspeed, and Discovery). They explored the coast and sailed up the James river. Jamestown was established on the James River in May 1607. The colony was re-supplied in 1608 and another group of 800 arrived. Then in 1610 another 300 colonist arrived. The colony of Virginia was firmly established, but in an area of hostile Indians.
    During this time in England, the established church was the English Church (Anglican). The British thought was that if anyone refused obedience to the Anglican Church they would disobey the law in other matters. Some people who believed that the Church needed to be purified formed a sect within the Church, calling themselves Puritans. Others refused to belong to the Anglican Church at all and were considered rebels against the Church and the King, which wrought severe persecution against them. Many of this religious sect found refuge in Holland and were called Pilgrims. About 100 of these managed to join a group of English merchant adventurers who had been promised land in America by The London Company.

1607: The Voyages of Henry Hudson

Voyage 1: On May 1, 1607, Henry Hudson and his son set sail from England with 11 crewmembers in the vessel Hopewell. They spent the summer looking for a Northwest passage to the Orient. Finding no passage through the ice they returned to England.

Voyage 2: On April 22, 1608, Henry Hudson again sailed with his son in the Hopewell and returned.

Voyage 3: In 1608, this time in the Dutch ship Half Moon, Henry Hudson and his son sailed. This time he landed at the coast of (present day) Maine, then sailed southward to explore the Hudson river, named it, and claimed the region for the Dutch. The territory claimed by the Dutch included much of the present state of New York and this area was named New Netherland. Subsequently Holland offered large tracts of land along the Hudson River to any man who would bring in 50 or more settlers. Soon the Hudson River valley became well settled.

Voyage 4: In 1610 Henry Hudson and his son sailed in a British ship, The Discovery. They found and sailed through a strait (The Hudson Strait), and in August he sighted a large body of water he thought to be the Atlantic Ocean, but later discovered to be a large inland sea, which he named Hudson Bay. The Discovery became locked in ice in the bay and remained ice locked until the spring of 1611, upon which the crew mutinied and cast Hudson and his son off in a small boat. (At least that is what the crew later told.) Neither Hudson nor his son were heard from since. A few of the crew returned the Discovery to England, where the Admiralty recovered the ships log.

1613 Port Royal Captured

Port Royal (Nova Scotia) was captured by in a raid by Samuel Argall, from the British Colony of Virginia.

1620: HMS Mayflower

The HMS Mayflower, out of Southampton, chartered by The London Company and carrying a group of 102 persons, plus its crew, was bound for the coast of New Jersey. Instead, navigation errors caused them to land at what is now Provincetown, Mass, near Cape Cod. In the group landed were a mixture of well-to-do merchants and Puritans. King James never gave them a charter as a colony, but The New England Company (formerly The Plymouth Company) granted them permission to remain and settle there.

1620: Plymouth, Mass.

The Pilgrims of New England had their first hostile encounter with the Nausite Indian tribe whose arrows were tipped with horn, eagle claws and brass. Such encounters with various local Indian tribes became commonplace throughout the colonies. The nature of these encounters were local by individual village people who perceived they had been wronged by the settlers. It was only during the phases of French and British wars that Indian warriors were recruited to accumulate into large forces to be allied with either the French or the British. Usually the pay to the Indians for such alliances in battles was the right to scavenge the battle sites.

1621: Nova Scotia given away

British King James I granted Nova Scotia to Sir William Alexander of Scotland. In the grant, Alexander would have regal powers. He was to establish "baronites" by parceling the land into 6 by 3 mile properties to be given to gentry who would populate the parcels with settlers. In all, 111 barons were appointed and given parcels of that dimensions. (Even today, the Baronets of Nova Scotia is a distinct order of the British aristocracy, having a provincial flag bearing the saltier of Sir William Alexander and the lion of Scotland on gold.)

1625: King Charles I succeeds Henry IV

King Charles' rule was tentative due to friction between him and the House of Commons after a failed expedition against Spain in 1626, and another to assist the Hugenots of Rochelle (1627). Internal conflicts with the Irish and the Scots added to the turmoil in England. The House of Commons undertook to reduce the Crown's powers to its becoming only ceremonial. In 1642 Charles headed an armed retinue and attempted to arrest five members of the Commons. These five retired to the city and was protected by the city militia. There followed a miniature civil war within England. On Jan. 20 1649 King Charles was seized, stripped of all marks of royalty and brought before a special court created for his trial on the charge of high treason against the people. On Jan. 30, 1649, King Charles I submitted to the broad axe of the executioner and was beheaded. He was 49 years of age. The executed King was succeeded by his son Charles II during a time of revolution with the Scots.

1628: War broke out between France and Britain

French colonies along the St. Lawrence were raided by the British, some changing hands.

1628: Salem settled

After more religious persecution in England, other Puritans bought the right to settle on land between the Charles and Merrimac Rivers. They arrived that year and founded Salem. Then the following year still another group of Puritans arrived. By 1634 Salem had grown to more than 5000.

1629: Carolana

Charles I granted the Province of Carolana to Sir Robert Heath, but no attempt was made to settle the region. Over the years restless men from Virginia and other colonies re-settled there and lived under no law or government but their own free will. The many creeks and inlets along the coast became havens used by pirates and buccaneers. In 1663 King Charles II granted to eight Lords as proprietors a territory south of Virginia 350 miles along the coast and extending clear to the Pacific Coast. This was called Carolina. That colony grew, around Charlestown, faster than any in the northern province and in 1691 was divided into three parts, North Carolina, Albermarie, and Charlestown. For a while the Tuscarora Indians repeatedly attacked the colonists but were eventually driven away to join the Five Nations of Iroquois Confederacy of the north to become the sixth nation of the confederacy.

1632-1755: The Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye

This treaty restored to France her possessions in North America. Prior to this time, Port Royal and Quebec had hardly advanced beyond the status of convenient landing points. Tadoussac and Trois-Rivieres were mere rendezvous places for barter. The next 123 years would see France develop its colonies in North America. During this time Britain and France fought the war of the Austrian Succession (1744-48), during which the hostilities spread between the French and British Colonies in North America. Bitter and bloody conflicts occurred across the St. Lawrence area and included Indian allies on both sides. In 1748, The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle terminated that war, only returning the two sides to "pre-status-quo." Britain and France would continue to be at odds in North America.

1634: The Colony of Maryland was established

George Calvert, who King James I had made Lord of Baltimore, became out of favor because he converted his faith to Catholicism. Calvert wanted to found a colony where all Christians would have freedom of worship. At that time Catholics were being persecuted in England. King James granted him a charter (to be rid of him), and made him Lord Proprietor of a large tract of land north of the Potomac river where the states of Maryland and Delaware are now. (Calvert was related to King James by marriage). It is ironic that later, the Puritans became influential in the Maryland Colony and there was continual religious strife between them and the Catholics.

1638: New Sweden

Swedish Queen Christina sent a group to settle a colony on the Delaware River. The colony was named New Sweden. The Dutch in New York would not agree that Sweden had any right to this land and Peter Stuyvesant, the one legged governor of New Netherland made them yield to his power. This was the beginning of the Colony of Delaware.

1654-1667: Acadie (Nova Scotia)

Captured by Britain in 1654, then restored to France by the Treaty of Breda in 1667.

1664: New York: New Netherland becomes British

The British had always claimed all of North America by rights of first discovery by John Cabot. After King Charles II was restored to the throne and British internal strife ended, a fleet was sent to New Amsterdam and their surrender was demanded. Both the colony of New Netherland and the town of New Amsterdam were re-named as New York.

1670: Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company was chartered by King Charles II. Chartering was a method for trade and territorial expansion by rights of exploration. By this Charter, the HBC became an instrument of the Crown, completely independent of the various British Colonies in North America. The charter gave HBC "control of all lands whose rivers and streams drain into Hudson Bay." These vast lands would become known as "Rupert's Land." The trade aspect of the HBC charter would become its driving force and result in the establishment of many trading posts, first along the shores of Hudson Bay, and then throughout the Interior. Yet the Crown was mindful of its rights of claim by exploration.

1674: Defections

Two French traders, Pierre Esprit de Radisson and Médart Chouart, sieur de Groseillier, who had originally brought the notice of the British Crown to the fur riches of Canada, switched their allegiance back to France and together formed a new company, "La Compagnie du Nord", which would become a fierce competitor of HBC in the fur trade. For many years, these two companies carried on brisk competing trade for furs. They were antagonists not just in trade but in territorial claims as well. In the beginning, the French company roamed outward while the HBC established trading posts and depended upon the Natives to visit the posts for trade. As a result the French became dominant in the interior, and the HBC was dominant along the coast of Hudson Bay and some rivers.

1681: Pennslyvania

King Charles II gave William Penn a large tract of land lying west of the Delaware River. Penn and his descendants were to own the land as the Calvert family also owned Delaware. William Penn gave a great deal of planning to the sort of colonist he wanted. Many English Quakers came, as well as Scotch, Irish, and Welsh, but Penn especially encouraged farmers and craftsmen from the Rhine valley, Switzerland, and Sweden. He made friends with the Indians and crafted wise laws for the colony.

1689-1815: Britain and France at War

Britain and France were at war almost continuously over North American interests. Important events will be listed by dates that follow sequentially with others.

1684: King James II and the Bay Company

King James II took away the Bay Company's charter and all of New England, New York, and New Jersey were placed under one Governor, Sir Edmund Andros. For the next 60 years the people of the colonies were affected by the continuing wars on the continent between France and Britain, and they played an important role in the conflict.

1689-97: King William's War (The war of the Palatinate in Europe)

    The Governor of New York led this off by stirring up the Iroquois tribe to make an attack upon the French village of Lachine near Montreal. Then the French led their Indian allies in attacks upon New England and New York. The English Colonies sent expeditions to capture Port Royal.

1702-13: Queen Anne's War

    In this series of skirmishes Spain allied with France against the British. The French and their Indian allies captured many British settlements throughout the colonies, killing many. Some colonists were captured and ransomed, but some children were adopted into the tribes. The British again captured Port Royal in Acadia and the French settlements around the St. Lawrence. A mixed French and Spanish fleet attacked Charleston but failed to capture it. A party of Carolinians and Indians burned the Spanish city of St. Augustine.
    At the end of the war the British kept all of Acadia and the country around Hudson Bay. Port Royal was re-named Annapolis Royal. Acadia became Nova Scotia. France had lost much territory but was still a power in America.

1713: Treaty of Utrech

    Resulting from wars, France recognized Britain's claims to HBC explored territories, ceded Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Britain and abdicated its claims to Newfoundland.

    After Britain regained Nova Scotia, the treaty provided for the free exercise of the Catholic religion by such of the French inhabitants as were willing to remain there, and also allowed that any who might chose to leave could do so within a year. To remain, each person must declare their allegiance to the Crown.

    Most of the French remained, but in the hope of a return to French power, they postponed taking the oath of allegiance. Later, they became of such concern that they were rounded up and expelled to other colonies. Many of these French refuges, called Acadians, found their way to Louisiana where their descendants now live.

1728: Vitus Bering

    Russian Vitus Bering discovered the Aleutian Islands, and the Bering Straits. Bering sent two boats out to make contact but neither returned. This, and other Russian explorations were the basis of their claims to Alaska.

1732: The Colony of Georgia

    A charter establishing the colony of Georgia was granted in June 1732 by King George IV upon an application of a group of men who desired to found a refuge for the Salzburgen and other persecuted religious sects, and a home for the poor of England. Gen. James Oglethorpe landed a group of 162 immigrants at Yamacraw Bluff on Feb. 12 1733. Later, a large number of Scottish refuges entered the colony upon the collapse of the Stuart Pretensions in England. While the grant gave Georgia the whole of the lands extending westward to the Pacific Ocean, Oglethorpe obtained lands from the Indian Tribes for the settlers until the beginning of the Revolutionary War and there were no clashes between the colonists and the Indian tribes.

1744-48: King George's War

    The French had built a fort at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island and it was thought to be so strong as to be impregnable. In 1745 Britain sent a force of 4000 New Englanders in ships to attack the fort. The fort was captured.

1748: Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

    This treaty restored Cape Breton to France.

1749: Halifax founded

    Halifax was founded by Col. Edward Cornwallis for Britain. Cornwallis arrived in 13 transports carrying 3,000 colonists. A new fort was quickly built and the colonists were organized into a militia. The founding of Halifax brought about the second capture of Lewisburg (1758) and the eventual downfall of Quebec and the French power in North America.

1749: Ohio

    In the valley of the Ohio River, there was much game but few Indian tribes. Virginia said that this was part of the territory granted by King James I. Pennsylvania claimed part of the land. New York also claimed part of the western lands. France claimed that it was theirs by rights of exploration, since La Salle had discovered the Mississippi River and the Ohio River was one of its tributaries. In those days, a nation that occupied the mouth of a river always claimed the entire watershed of that river and all of its tributaries. France began building forts along the Ohio. When Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia heard of these French forts he sent the young George Washington to warn the French that they must leave the Virginia territory.

1754: George Washington's first Military achievement

    Since the French would not abandon their forts on the Ohio, Virginia's Governor sent Washington back to attack Fort Duquensne with a group of 40 and some Indian allies. They dragged cannon along rough cut roads through the wilderness. While building entrenchments at a place he called Fort Necessity, Washington was re-enforced to a strength of 300 white men and 150 Indians under command of the Indian Chief Half-King. There were about 1500 French at Fort Duquensne (now Pittsburgh). Six hundred marched out and attacked the Virginians. Washington's force surrendered and were allowed to depart without penalty. Thus the illustrious first President of the United States began his military experience in defeat. But this began another war between Britain and France. Soon the British sent General Edward Braddock with 1,000 regulars to Virginia. About 600 Virginians commanded by George Washington joined Braddock and were received with contempt for such un-trained troops, and Braddock refused the assistance of the Indians. This account will be continued under 1756-63 The French and Indian War (below)

1754: HBC Begins to Explore.

    Britain authorized the HBC to launch a "scouting party" from York Factory into the interior. This was prompted by the French having become dominant all the way from Hudson Bay westward to Edmonton. This first tentative venture launched HBC into ever widening exploration of the Northwest.

1763 (Feb 10): Treaty of Paris

    In this treaty between Britain, France and Spain, the following North American territories changed hands:
1. France ceded to Britain all North American territories except Louisiana;
2. France ceded Louisiana to Spain;
3. Spain ceded Florida to Britain;
4. France retained possession of the colonies of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (on the St Lawrence River).

1775-1776: The War of Revolution (The War of Independence)

The American colonies south of the St. Lawrence River declared independence from Great Britain. The first skirmish of the war was in 1775 at Lexington, where General Gage sent a detachment of militia to confiscate a cache of arms. Eight of his "Minutemen" were killed. Skirmishes between rebellious Minutemen and British troops continued. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by representatives of all of the Colonies. War continued with a general building of strength by the Colonies. The war ended when General Cornwallis' British forces were defeated at Yorktown on October 21, 1781.

1783 (Sept 3): Paris Peace Treaty

This treaty settled the war of revolution between Britain and the United States. Britain recognized the independence of the United States of America. Additionally, the treaty restored Florida to Spain.

1784: Another fur company emerged in North America

The North West Company quickly became a major competitor to both HBC and the French. For some 60 years these three companies continued a fierce and sometimes bloody competition in fur trade.

1799: Sitka Established

The Russian American Company established a fort at Sitka (Archangel).

1802: Sitka's Importance Grows

Sitka became headquarters for the Russian American Company. Bands of Tlingits massacred most of the Russians at Sitka. Although Russia rebuilt their compound, they were never able to exercise complete control over the Tongass region. The Tlingits kept them confined mostly to their forts except for well-armed groups sent frequently by the Russians to sack Tlingit villages.

1803: Louisiana Purchase

The United States doubled its territory by purchasing the Louisiana Territories from France for $15 Million. The U.S. gained (827,000 sq mi) included the heartlands of the French fur trade (Le Campagnie de Nord), and more or less isolated that company's ventures to the Canadian territory around Winnipeg, Edmonton, and the Great Slave Lake region.

1810-1821: Mexican War of Revolution

The Catholic Church (Father Hidago) declared Mexican independence from Spain. War ensued. On one side was Spanish Caste with peon Indian conscripts who fought the Loyalist Spanish Army. A treaty between the two sides in 1821 recognized Mexico's independence. A Republic was proclaimed in 1822 and established in 1824.

1812: The War of 1812

The war began as the U.S. invaded the British Colony in Canada. In the first skirmish the U.S. forces were defeated and Detroit was captured by the British. But at sea, U.S. privateers captured over 500 British ships. During 1813 the British fleet was annihilated on Lake Erie. Detroit was re-captured by the U.S. The U.S. pursued the British into Canada defeating them and their Indian allies. A turn in the war came upon another British fleet being defeated on Lake Champlain. Lacking Naval support, the British invasion force of 10,000 retreated into Canada. Then in 1814 a British force captured the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC and burned much of the city as well as the Capitol itself. The war actually ended with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. But unaware of the treaty, the battle of New Orleans was fought, where the U.S. forces prevailed over the British. Called a useless war by the U.S. Congress, the powers of the Presidency was reduced by legislative acts.

1815: End of French Power

Britain defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, thus ending all of French authority in North America.

1821: HBC Expansion

The Hudson's Bay Company merged with the North West Company. The consolidation resulted in HBC achieving a monopoly in North American fur trade. But still, the French were strong traders, especially in the Western interior of Canada. Sir George Simpson (1787-1860) was Knighted by the King in 1821. Shortly thereafter Simpson was appointed Governor of Rupert's Land (HBC Territory). Simpson ruled as a tantamount emperor of the Northwest for some 40 years. During this time HBC explored the Northwest to the Arctic Ocean and into territory that is now Alaska. The British established a safe harbor (Gordon) near the isthmus of the Mackenzie River. Fort McPherson became a springboard for further exploration into Alaska. The superior position of HBC served to reduce the influence of the French trading company.

1835: Russian Exploration of Yukon River

Russia began exploring up the Yukon River from Saint Michaels. The Russians stopped at Nulato, some 70 miles from the coast but 300 miles up the Yukon river from its isthmus.

1836 (March 2): Texas Independence

Texas declared independence from Mexico.

1837: Nulato Established

A Russian fort was built on the bank of the Yukon River at Nulato.

1837: Smallpox Epidemic

An epidemic of smallpox decimated the population of Nulato. Chief Unilla and two others were the only survivors.

1838-1867: Britain in the Arctic

Britain mastered the Arctic Coast from Hudson Bay around Alaska, explored the Mackenzie and Porcupine Rivers, the mid Yukon River 500 miles into the interior of Alaska at Tanana, established fur trade, and cemented its claim to the Pacific coast from Seattle northward to Prince Rupert. Also, Britain had established posts all along the Arctic shores of Alaska around to Nome, thus cementing British claim to more than half of Alaska.

1839: Massacre at Nulato

A band of Koyukons headed by a Yataalii spiritual Leader massacred the Russians at Nulato. Also caught in the frey and killed were Lt. Barnard and a crew of 12 British marines of the HMS Enterprise. The Russian Captain Darabin and 57 others were killed.

1845: Annexation of Texas

Texas was Annexed by consent to become a U.S. Territory.

1846-1848: War between Mexico and The United States

1846 (June 15): Oregon Treaty

Oregon and the Pacific Coast south of the 49th parallel were acquired by the U.S. from Britain.

1846: Porcupine River

HBC crossed the Continental divide at Eagle Plains and established a trading post, Lapierre House, on the Bell River, a tributary of the Porcupine.

1847: New HBC Posts

HBC Trading posts were established at Old Crow, Gwichyaa Zhee (Fort Yukon), and others along the Yukon and Porcupine Rivers in Canada and Alaska. (Alexander Murray was the HBC Principal in charge.)

1848: More HBC Posts

HBC established trading posts down the Yukon at Tanana, This extended territorial claim by Britian some 500 miles into Alaska's interior.

1848: U.S. and Mexico treaty of Guadalupe

The U.S.gained the territory of six Western States. This consolidated the territory of the United States to its present continental boundaries, except for Alaska.

1848: More HBC Posts

HBC continued to establish trading posts further down the Yukon River at Kokrines. The HBC Territory (British) had then extended over halfway across Alaska's Interior and the entire Arctic Coasts where no other country had explored.

1850: Smallpox

A Smallpox epidemic struck in the Porcupine and upper Yukon River areas, killing more than half of the Native population. All of the people of Fort Yukon and Gwichyaa Zhee died (approximately 800 Gwich'in and twelve HBC operatives perished).

1854-1856: The Crimean War

Russia attempted to conquer the old Ottoman Empire. Russia's opponents were; Britain, Turkey, and France. While having far reaching consequences in that area, the main effects of the Crimean War in North America was the diversion of attention of Russia from its interests in Alaska.

1859: Reassessment

British Parliament began to re-assess its North American holdings. Wary that westward expansion by the United States would result in the annexation of parts of British territory, the British Parliament decided to merge HBC territories (Rupert's Land) with its colony in Ontario. Proceedings begin in Britain to grant more powers of self government to the Colony.

1861-1865: The U.S. Civil War

Southern States banded together and seceded from the United States. The Confederates States of America was formed. A bloody war that pitted North against South and relatives fighting on opposite sides continued for five years.

1862: The Homestead Act

U.S. Congress passed the Homestead Act which allowed persons to claim up to 65 hectares of land. Upon building a dwelling and tending the land for five years the homesteader would be given title to the land. This act in effect violated the Treaty of Paris and the U.S. Constitution and its agreement to respect the rights to lands by the original users, the Native American people. The Act also spawned the great western expansion of settlers and spelled the doom of Indian Tribes.

1862: Railroad Expansion

The U.S. Congress Chartered the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific was to push westward from Iowa. The Central Pacific was to push Eastward from San Francisco. The goal was to establish a trans-continental railroad that would extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The railroads would be given "Land Grant" on each side of the tracks. In the East, the railroad company would own five miles on either side of the tracks. The distance of the land grant would increase to 50 miles on either side in such sparsely populated regions as Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. These lands granted to the railroads were, of course, Indian lands. The coast to coast railroad was completed in 1869 with the two railways connecting at Promontory Point in Utah. A railroad dynasty began with their controlling commerce for many years to come.

1865: Civil War Ends

The U.S. war between the States ended upon General Robert E. Lee surrendering the Confederate Army at Appomattox. Almost immediately, the U.S. Army was dispatched Westward in great force on the newly built railroad on a campaign to exterminate the Indians. Most of the Civil War Generals were given commands of the forces. Such new weapons as gatling guns, artillery, and repeating rifles made the outcome certain. Indian nations. such as the Sioux, Apache, Ute, and Nez Pierce fought valiantly and skillfully to save their home lands, but they were doomed. Even so, the organized Indian tribes were difficult to exterminate. It would take until 1876 to complete the genocide to the extent that there were no organized tribes, just indigents remaining.

1865: Russian American Telegraph Company

Survey work began for a joint American-Russian venture to lay a telegraph line between the United States and Russia via Alaska. This project never progressed beyond a tentative survey and is mentioned here only to reveal an early collusion between Russia and the U.S. about Alaska.

1867 (March 30): Alaska Purchase

U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 Million. Britain did not contest the boundaries of Alaska as set forth in the acquisition treaty between Russia and the U.S., thus forfeiting, by default, its rightful claims to HBC-explored lands, which included over half of the territory sold by Russia to the U.S.

1820-1901: A Pair of Kings, Queen High

Britain's internal weakness began with the reign of King George IV (1820-1830). The Monarchy became weaker and less decisive as to foreign affairs. King George's Cabinet of Ministers exercised more authority than did the King. During George's last two years, frustrated over his inabilities, he secluded himself and did not participate in government except for ceremonial requirements. During his self imposed seclusion a movement began to reduce the powers of the Monarchy.
George IV was succeeded by King William IV, who only reigned for seven years (1830-1837). William was the second king in a row to be submissive to the Ministers. During his reign the government underwent a struggle between the House of Lords and the Tories which further weakened Britain's attention to foreign affairs.
Then came the young eighteen year old Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Queen Victoria, too immature to grasp the meaning of her position, she allowed Prime Minister Lord Melborne to act in her stead. Then she married Prince Albert, who she entrusted with the Monarch powers. Prince Albert died in 1861, after which Queen Victoria secluded herself and did not participate in government except upon rare occasions. This last forty years of Queen Victoria's reign left Britain to be run by Ministerial compromise.
With its Navy having explored the Coast around Alaska, its Hudson Bay Company having explored and established trading posts 500 miles into Alaska's interior along the Yukon and Porcupine rivers, and with sustainable rights of claim that would have been internationally recognized, Britain let this great land mass slip from its grasp. But for the succession of three weak Monarchs, Alaska would likely be British or Canadian territory today. (See Map of Alaska Exploration) Yet, this could be a wrong assumption. Colonialism might have just out-lived its time.

1867: The British North American Act

This act, in its effects, created the Dominion of Canada as a self governing country, a Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to be governed under a Constitution. Ottawa was designated as the capitol.

1870: The Deed of Surrender

This act by the British Parliament effectively amended the British North American Act by transferring the HBC land holdings to Canada. Rupert's Land then became Canadian territory. The Hudson's Bay Company was given license to continue operation as an independent, but a private, commercial company, no longer an instrument of British government.

1870-1885: Metis Rebellion

The Metis people of Northwestern Canada were a mixed group consisting of pure Indians, French, and British people, and a mixture of all, as well as both Catholic and Protestants. Many of both French and British trappers and traders had married Indian women and there were several generations of off-springs who had melded and formed the Metis ethnic culture. Complicating the Metis uprising was the situation that some of the British and French did not align themselves with the independence movement, though a majority did. When word spread that the HBC land holdings, which the Metis believed to be theirs by heritage, was being transferred to Canada, they organized to resist the transfer of title of their lands to the new Canadian Government. In 1870 the Metis, under the leadership of Louis Riel, declared a provisional Government. Over a period of time the funds of HBC was confiscated and several pitched battles were fought with police, most of which resulted in victories by the Metis. Manitoba was created and it joined the Metis Provisional Government. In 1870 negotiations were started at Toronto between the Metis and the (new) Canadian Government in Ottawa. Conflicts continued for five years without resolution. Eventually Canadian federal troops defeated the Metis in 1885. Louis Riel was tried and convicted of treason and hung on Nov 16, 1885, thus ending the revolution and the Metis Provisional Government.

1871: American Exploration of Yukon River

A Detachment of U.S. Marines navigated up the Yukon River by steamboat. Along the way all non citizens of the U.S. were notified to depart the Territory of Alaska. This effectively deported all Hudson's Bay Company operatives and both Russian Orthodox and Anglican missionaries.

1876: Battle of Little Big Horn

General George Armstrong Custer led a sizeable force against a large Indian village with intent to destroy them. He attacked the village, but his regiment was overwhelmed; Custer and 268 soldiers were killed. There were few Indian casualties. Nevertheless, this great victory by the Indians meant nothing to their plight. Within the year, they were chased and destroyed, and by 1878 all Indian survivors in the lower United States were imprisoned in camps called Indian Reservations. But, the Native American saga in Alaska was yet to play out.

1881-1889: Canadian Pacific Railroad

Work began in 1881 to build transcontinental railroad across Canada. In 1889 the link was completed to Vancouver, connecting the west coast of Canada to the population centers of eastern Canada. During the Metis uprising a segment of the railroad had been completed to allow fast deliverance of Canadian forces to defeat the Metis. Some believe that, without the railroad, the Metis would have been successful and the western half of Canada would be a separate country today.

1898: Spanish-American War

Fought on three fronts, in Cuba, the Philippines, and at sea, the U.S. prevailed everywhere. The war culminated with the 1898 Treaty of Paris. Spain relinquished its claim to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam, thus ending all of Spain's colonial empire that began with the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Islands of the Bahamas, and the following spread of Spanish control throughout South, Central and much of North America.

The Plight of Native Americans

Sins of Omission.. The author has committed the same unpardonable sins of most writers of history, that is, ignoring the millions of Native Americans who were the owners of the lands before Europeans arrived to displace them. Columbus did not discover any lands anywhere. He only arrived after a long voyage from Spain. Alaska was not discovered by Russia. People were already there. Hudson Bay was not discovered. The Inuit had lived along its shores for thousands of years. The time lines given above only represent when and how the lands were wrested away from the Native American inhabitants, and even that story is continually recounted with great bias toward the invaders. The system of colonization in lands already populated was the real culprit. One should wonder if we would repeat that history, given the chance.
Population Estimates.. Some current estimates are that there were as many as 60 million Native inhabitants of North America during the 16th Century. A census was never taken, nor was there much interest ever given to the subject, except to assess the force necessary to overcome them. Such population estimates may be either close or distorted. It is well known that Native population declined drastically and consistently over four centuries. Some factors that caused the precipitous decline of population were; Institutional Genocide, Diminishment of Habitat and Animal resources (The Buffalo), and Epidemics of Contagious Diseases. By far, the most significant cause seems to have been the latter. Few today can visualize how new diseases could have had such drastic effects over such a long time period. To do so we must travel back in time before modern medicine.

Smallpox.. The following excerpts are quoted from the 1891 edition of Chambers Encyclopedia.

Smallpox: The cause of smallpox is universally allowed to be a specific contagion, of whose nature we are in profound ignorance. There is probably no disease so contagious as this. An American physician reported an instance in which the poisonous effluvium crossed a river 1500 feet wide and infected ten out of twelve carpenters who were working on the other side. The contagion acts through the air or by one being in the same vicinity with one who is sick. The disease may be caused by the dead body, even when it has not been touched. Clothing will retain it for months, and it is said for years when confined.
    Race has much to do with the severity of the disease; the constitution of the Red Indian being singularly susceptible to the consequences of the contagion and exhibiting very little power of resisting the fatal tenancy of the disease.
    In 1707 smallpox was introduced to Iceland when more than a fourth part of population died from it. Smallpox reached Greenland in 1733 when it spread so fatally as to almost depopulate the country.
    Smallpox was introduced in the Western hemisphere by the Spaniards about 15 years after the discovery of America. In Mexico within a short period 3.5 million persons died. Epidemics of smallpox exterminated whole tribes of Indians, the effects being so universally fatal that it spared no one to tell the story of the annihilation.

Chambers also records that several other diseases prevalent from the 16th Century were also mass killers of American Indians; due to the fact that America was isolated from the rest of the World, the inhabitants had never experienced the diseases, and the people had no naturally inherited resistance to them (antibodies). These other diseases were; Red Measles, Scarlet Fever, Influenza, Diphtheria, and Infectious Tuberculoses. The latter caused an outbreak of sores all over the body and in the lungs, complete weakness, and usually resulted in death within a year. And, the Indians were always isolated away from whatever medical care that might have been available to the colonial settlers, limited as that was.
        The epidemiology of Smallpox alone was about 90 deaths of 100 cases, and it was so contagious that it swept rapidly from tribe to tribe, year after year, for over three Centuries. It would be almost impossible that any tribe would have avoided repeated epidemics. So we can assume that 90 percent of the original American Indian population of North America died of Smallpox alone.
        It is ironic that the European settlers did not intentionally introduce these killing diseases to the Natives. It just happened as a consequence of people traveling from where the diseases existed. And it is more than likely that the diseases would have eventually reached the New World at some later time and would likely have had the same tragic results.

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