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Ottawa - History |
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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada was explored by the French in the early 17th cent., but settlement was slow. The British, who had established (late 17th cent.) trading posts on Hudson Bay, gained control of Ontario and all of French Canada by the Treaty of Paris (1763). Many united emoire loyalists migrated to Ontario after the American Revolution, and in 1791 it was split from Quebec and called Upper Canada. The area was a major battleground in the war of 1812. In 1841 Upper Canada and Lower Canada (Quebec) were merged into a united province, but it proved unworkable because of conflict between English and French residents. In 1867 Ontario and Quebec entered the Canadian confederation as separate provinces. During the 20th cent. the mineral wealth of the Canadian Shield was exploited and the province's economy expanded enormously. Ontario's main political parties are the Liberals (most dominant in the late 19th cent. and most recently in power from 1985 to 1990), the Progressive Conservatives (who governed from 1905 to 1985 with three Liberal interludes and were returned to power in 1995), and the New Democrats (in power from 1990 to 1995). The province sends 24 senators (appointed) and 99 representatives (elected) to the national parliament.
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War 1812 armed conflict between the U.S. and Great Britain, 1812-15. It was partly occasioned by U.S. insistence on neutral shipping rights during the Franco-British hostilities of the FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS and the wars of Napoleon. British
impressment of sailors and confiscation of U.S. ships were causes of strong anti-British sentiment. The outbreak of hostilities stemmed from clashes in the West between American frontiersmen and the British and their indigenous allies over American encroachment onto land claimed by the British. The battle of Tippecanoe (Nov. 7, 1811) was an outstanding example. The war hawks in the U.S. Congress prevailed, and war was declared on June 18, 1812. The early land
confrontations - at Detroit, on the Niagara R., and in Queenstown Heights - proved how ill-prepared the U.S. forces were. The small American navy fared better; the early victories of Isaac Hull, commanding the Constitution, and Stephen Decatur were notable. In 1813, however, British naval superiority prevailed until the victory of Capt. Oliver Perry. The low point of the war for the U.S. was the British capture of Washington, D.C., in Aug. 1814. But the Americans were successful at the battle of the Thames, Plattsburgh, and the British entered into serious negotiations to end the hostilities. The Treaty of Ghent brought the war to an indecisive end. But the Americans had a final triumph. On Jan. 14, 1815, after the treaty had been signed, Andrew
Jackson's troops defeated the British decisively at the battle of New Orleans. The war ushered in a period of great American nationalism and increasing isolation from European affairs.
