A Country In Progress

 This beautiful sleigh was made in Montreal during the first half of the 19th century.

Medals and chalices- a nod to the growing use of precious metals in British North America.

Montreal also saw the rise of sports clubs- from cricket to curling to lacrosse. That last sport, a game played for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, is one of Canada's two national sports.

William Logan was the first director of the Geological Survey of Canada, a government organization that went out to study the land, advancing knowledge as they went. Their first headquarters was in Montreal before moving to Ottawa.

Medals and an octant presented to Logan for the work of the GSC are displayed here.

The 1830s saw a time of rebellions in the colonies. In their wake, two colonial legislatures- Upper Canada and Lower Canada, what is today Ontario and Quebec- were fused into one. It was an ungainly fusion. And yet it would lay the groundwork for Canada becoming what it is today.

The Canadas had two co-premiers, Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, who went to work with an agenda for responsible government by the people. 

They had the support of the governor-general at the time, Lord Elgin. Their work would lead to Confederation in the years following their time in office.

Colonial politicians would come together to discuss the formation of a country.

A big factor in that lay south of the border, where the Americans had ambitions looking north, and spent years locked in the brutal fighting of the Civil War. Canadian leaders looked at what was happening to the south, and took it as an example of what not to follow.

Frontier Living

 After the French and Indian War had ended, the Acadians were allowed to return to their homeland. This chest dates back to that time. They would re-establish their lives, and in time would found organizations and do much to promote their distinct culture. The Acadian community continues to thrive today.

Southern Ontario began to see settlers, most of whom were English speaking. These items date to that period in the first half of the 19th century.

Montreal became the focal point of British North America, in commerce, industry, and education.

This is the crest of the Molson's Bank, established in the city.

New Realities

The French and Indian War, known as the Seven Years War elsewhere, decided the fate of the North American continent. The British won a decisive victory at Quebec City in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Both commanding generals, Wolfe and Montcalm, seen here in paintings, died of their wounds at the battle. It would bring to an end the era of New France.

This cloak belonged to Wolfe.

With the French vanquished from their former holdings, the British took to governing their new acquisitions. But in time they would understand that accomodation of the French speaking population, as well as the indigenous peoples who had been allied to the French, was a better way to move forward.

This illustration is A View Of The Basin of Quebec, by James Hunter.

Personal items are found here- belonging to James Thompson, a veteran of the French and Indian War who thrived in the new order of things, becoming adopted by the Anishinabe, and marrying a woman of French Canadian roots.

The book seen here is The History of Emily Montague, the first Canadian novel, written by Frances Brooke, wife of a military chaplain.

This painting of her was done by Catherine Read around 1771.

The American Revolution, and then the War of 1812 would see invasion by Americans, especially in the latter. Canadian militia would join British regulars and Indigenous warriors to repel the Americans time and time again.

These are Huron-Wendat style clothing. The vest was made in that style, but for a British aristocrat.

The capot was a Canadian hooded overcoat that became well used throughout the 1800s.

New France

 An old map of a section of Quebec, along with a contemporary photograph, shows in detail the seigneurial system of New France, in which settlers lived on long narrow lots to ensure access to the water. It's still apparent today from the air.

This clock always catches my eye.

Marie d'Incarnation was a nun in Quebec City who worked with her order to establish schools and hospitals. She also kept record of the history of the colony.

This contemporary sculpture shows the legacy of one of the filles du roi, the women who crossed the ocean to help New France grow. Catherine Moitie's name is at the bottom. Ascending, each line goes to one of her children, and their children. Inside of five generations, Catherine had over 600 descendents. The legacy of those women carries on today in many Canadians.

More household goods of New France.

The Catholic church was at the heart of everything in the colony.

Britain had established their own colonies, to the south and in what is now the Atlantic provinces. Their rivalry with France would lead in time to war in the New World.

This painting is Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, from the circle of Samuel Scott, dating around 1751.

Acadia had been a separate French speaking colony in the Maritimes, and over decades, it changed hands multiple times. It became known as Nova Scotia under the British, and the Acadians maintained neutrality as the British and French jockeyed in position. In time, during the French and Indian War, the British would take this neutrality as grounds for expulsion of many Acadians.

These four paintings are collectively titled The Four Kings Of Canada, by John Verelst, painted during a visit to London by four Indigenous leaders to Queen Anne, who commissioned the paintings.