Canada

In 1759, the British captured Quebec from the French, and by 1763 New France (French Canada) had become British Canada. The Canadian people developed a unique culture of French, British and Native American traditions.

Canada was a vast land with few people. During the American Revolution (1775-83), thousands of United Empire Loyalists moved from America to Canada. Canadians later resisted American attempts to invade them during the War of 1812. Britain split Canada into two: Lower Canada (mostly French-speaking) and Upper Canada.

At first, only eastern part of the country was settled by Europeans. The west and Arctic north were left to Native Americans and Inuit peoples. But soon, fur traders and explorers pushed west, followed by farmers and railway builders. Britain reunited Upper and Lower Canada in 1841, and in 1867 Canada became a self-governing dominion.

In 1869 the Red River Rebellion, an attempt by French-speaking settlers to set up a provisional government, failed to break up Canada, and by the 1890s the country extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and included the Yukon territory.