British North America and the United States of America, 1776-1867

Undergraduate

This course examines the history of British North America from the Declaration of Independence of the United States in 1776 to the Confederation of Canada in 1867. Specifically, it examines the interactions between the various colonies that made up British North America (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Lower Canada, Upper Canada, British Columbia, and Vancouver Island) and the northern United States. Using a continental approach to Canada’s history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this course focuses on these cross-border links. It addresses many topics, including colonial wars, political loyalties and cultural identities, migration, trade, diplomacy, American perceptions of British North America and its residents, and the transnational origins of Canadian Confederation. (This is an experiential learning course.)