British military regime in New France
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The British military regime in New France was the British army's
occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...
of
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
from 1759 to 1763 as part of its
Conquest of New France Conquest is the act of military wiktionary:subjugation, subjugation of an enemy by force of Weapon, arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast area ...
. Between 1760, following the surrender of Montreal, and 1763, when the colonial
province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
(1763-1791) was created, a temporary military regime administered the colony of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The military regime officially ended following the enactment of the
Treaty of Paris (1763) The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Kingdom of France, France and Spanish Empire, Spain, with Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in agree ...
, which ended the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
and created the province of Quebec a new colony in
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...
. However, it was not until August 10, 1764, that this military regime was replaced by a civilian regime, because of the 18-month delay allowed by the ratification of the Treaty of Paris.


Beginning

On September 8, 1760, the city of Montreal was surrounded by the British army. In order to avoid a destructive siege like the one the city of Québec experienced in 1759, the city capitulated. This led the whole of New France to be under the domination of the British military. Because the Seven Years' War was still raging in Europe, the fate of the colony of Canada and the rest of New France could not be determined yet. As a result, the British authorities established a military regime whose mandate was to govern the colony while awaiting the end of the Seven Years' War. To administer the territory, Great Britain set up temporary institutions and appointed James Murray to the post of military governor of the city of Quebec.


Living conditions

The clauses of the
Articles of Capitulation of Montreal The Articles of Capitulation of Montreal were agreed upon between the Governor General of New France, Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, and Major-General Jeffery Amherst on behalf of the French and British crowns. They ...
negotiated between the governor general of New France
Marquis de Vaudreuil The Marquis de Vaudreuil may refer to: *Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil (1643–1702), governor of Montréal then of New France *Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil (1698–1778), last governor-general of New France *Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis of V ...
and the British major general
Jeffery Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...
allowed the inhabitants of New France to retain certain freedoms during the years of military rule. Some of these include: being allowed to retain ownership of their property, being able to continue to practicing
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the preservation of French civil laws and the continuation of
fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...
activities. The population was also given the opportunity to immigrate to France if they so chose, and those who chose to stay could not be deported like the
Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...
were during the
deportation of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...
. Because the previous six years of war between the French and British armies for control over New France were destructive, many efforts were made by the British during the military regime to rebuild buildings, put fields back into production and bring order to the area.John A. Dickinson et Brian Young, Brève histoire socio-éconimique du Québec, Sillery, Les éditions du Septentrion, 1995, p.65


End of the Seven Years' War

On February 10, 1763, the
Treaty of Paris (1763) The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Kingdom of France, France and Spanish Empire, Spain, with Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in agree ...
ended the Seven Years' War. Because of this treaty, New France became a British possession. On October 7, 1763, the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The Procla ...
reorganized the territorial division of North America it had newly acquired, thereby creating the
Province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
which lasted from 1763 to 1791 and ultimately became
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, one of the provinces of the
Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...
.


References

{{reflist ''This article was translated from its French-language counterpart Régime militaire britannique en Nouvelle-France, please see its history for full authorship attribution.'' New France 1759 in Canada 1760s in Canada History of Quebec