1776 in Canada
Encyclopedia
Events
- 1776-77 - Capt. James CookJames CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
of England explores the Pacific NorthwestPacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. - US Revolutionary warAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. United Empire LoyalistsUnited Empire LoyalistsThe name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
move to Upper CanadaUpper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and settle (lumbering, farming starts). - April 29 - Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, Samuel Chase and Rev. Charles Carroll, a Jesuit, urge Canadians to send delegates to Congress, promising toleration. Franklin brings a printer and press, for a newspaper, to mould public opinion. Canadians regard Franklin as an enemy, and the priests remind Father Carroll that, unlike some of the Provinces, Britain tolerates the Romish Church. - May 6 - As a British fleet is in sight, the Continental ArmyContinental ArmyThe Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
, before QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, weakened by disease, retires from a superior enemy, who await reinforcements, behind strong walls. - June 8 - Attempting to surprise Three Rivers, General Thompson, with 200 of 1,800 Americans, is taken prisoner.
- June 16 - Arnold's force has retreated from Montreal.
- June 18 - General BurgoyneJohn BurgoyneGeneral John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
finds that the Continental Army has evacuated St. Johns. - The eleventh Article of "Confederation and Perpetual Union" provides that: "Canada, according to this Confederation, and joining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to, all the advantages of this Union; but no other Colony shall be admitted to the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine States."
- October 11 - The British are victorious on Lake ChamplainLake ChamplainLake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
. - October 13 - On Lake Champlain, Arnold runs part of his fleet ashore, to avoid capture.
- The Jesuits' College, at Quebec, converted into barracks.
- The American colonies declare their independence. The United States Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
is signed July 4, 1776. - Common Sense by Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
(1737–1809) appears. - Under Guy CarletonGuy Carleton, 1st Baron DorchesterGuy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
, Quebec withstands an American siege until the appearance of a British fleet (May 6). Carleton is later knighted.
Births
- January 23 - Howard DouglasHoward DouglasGeneral Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, GCB, GCMG, FRS was a British military officer born in Gosport, England, the younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, and a descendant of the Earls of Morton...
, soldier, educator, author, inventor, and colonial administrator (d.18611861 in CanadaSee also:1860 in Canada,other events of 1861,1862 in Canada.----Events from the year 1861 in Canada.-Events:*April 14 - A major flood hits Montreal...
) - February 21 - Joseph BarssJoseph BarssJoseph Barss was a sea captain of the schooner Liverpool Packet and was one of the most successful privateers on the North American Atlantic coast during the War of 1812.-Early life:...
, privateer (d.18241824 in CanadaSee also:1823 in Canada,other events of 1824,1825 in Canada.----Events from the year 1824 in Canada.-Events:*The first Welland Canal is begun, partly in response to American initiatives in the Erie Canal....
) - April 3 - François BlanchetFrançois Blanchet (physician)François Blanchet was a physician, businessman, seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud in 1776 and studied at the Petit Séminaire of Quebec. He went on to study medicine with James Fisher and then at Columbia College where he received a...
, author, physician, teacher, militia officer, businessman, seigneur, politician, office holder (d.18301830 in CanadaSee also:1829 in Canada,other events of 1830,1831 in Canada.----Events from the year 1830 in Canada.-Events:*Influenza epidemic strikes tribes of British Columbia.*Canada is divided into counties....
) - May 20 - Simon FraserSimon Fraser (explorer)Simon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...
, fur-trader and explorer (d.18621862 in CanadaSee also:1861 in Canada,other events of 1862,1863 in Canada.----Events from the year 1862 in Canada.-Events:*April 7 - United Kingdom-United States treaty for suppression of African slave trade is signed....
) - July 17 - John NeilsonJohn NeilsonJohn Neilson was a Scots-Quebecer editor of the newspaper La Gazette de Québec/The Quebec Gazette and a politician.- Biography :...
, publisher, printer, bookseller, politician, farmer, and militia officer (d.18481848 in CanadaSee also:1847 in Canada,other events of 1848,1849 in Canada.----Events from the year 1848 in Canada.-Events:*January 2 - Maple sugar is made in St...
) - August 1 - Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of GosfordArchibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of GosfordArchibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford GCB , styled The Honourable Archibald Acheson from 1790 to 1806 and Lord Acheson from 1806 to 1807, was a British politician who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada and Governor General of British North America in the 19th century.-Background:Born at...
, colonial administrator (d.18491849 in CanadaSee also:1848 in Canada,other events of 1849,1850 in Canada.----Events from the year 1849 in Canada.-Events:*January 1 - King's College becomes the University of Toronto...
) - August 5 - John WillsonJohn WillsonJohn Willson was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in New Jersey in 1776. He arrived in the Niagara District around 1789 and settled in Saltfleet Township, where he became a farmer, in 1797. In 1809, he was elected to the 5th Parliament of Upper Canada in a by-election in...
, judge and political figure (d.18601860 in CanadaSee also:1859 in Canada,other events of 1860,1861 in Canada.----Events from the year 1860 in Canada.-Events:*February 20 - 205 killed when the SS Hungarian is wrecked at Cape Sable, Nova Scotia...
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Full date unknown
- Colin CampbellColin Campbell (politician)Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Campbell KCB was a British Army officer and colonial governor.-Military career:In February 1792, at the age of 16, Campbell ran away from Perth Academy to join a vessel bound for the West Indies...
, army officer and colonial administrator (d.18471847 in CanadaSee also:1846 in Canada,other events of 1847,1848 in Canada.----Events from the year 1847 in Canada.-Events:*January 30 - Lord Elgin, Governor, arrives at Montreal.*September 1 - Lord Elgin visits the immigrant 'fever' sheds at Pointe St...
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Deaths
- March 30 - Jonathan BelcherJonathan Belcher (jurist)Jonathan Belcher was an American lawyer, chief justice, and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, second son of Jonathan Belcher and Mary Partridge, he received an Bachelor of Arts degree in 1728 and an Master of Arts degree in 1731 from Harvard College...
, lawyer, chief justice, and lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia (b.17101710 in Canada-Events:* The English recapture Acadia, this time permanently, and rename it Nova Scotia.* Francis Nicholson captures Port Royal for England.* The English take Port Royal and name it Annapolis Royal....
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