Transcript Document

Canada & The British Empire
Kevin J. Benoy
What Kind of Nationalism?
British Subjects
• In the late 19th & early 20th century most Canadians were of
recent British extraction.
• They felt a strong kinship to Great Britain.
British Subjects
• Canada was an integral part of this world empire.
• We were British subjects and proud of it.
British Subjects
• During the 19th century,
Great Britain had the largest
fleet in the world,
maintaining a 2 power
standard – her fleet was
larger than the next two
national fleets combined.
• Britain was committed to
“Splendid Isolation” –
staying out of international
commitments and only
committing when Britain
could force the balance of
power in Britain’s interests.
• British Canadians felt pride
in British power
British Subjects
• British subjects were
enormously proud of
the size of the British
Empire – which was
between 1/6 & 1/5 of
the world’s land mass
and contained a
similar proportion of
the world’s people.
• Like Americans
today, the British saw
themselves as
tremendously
powerful.
Canadiens
• French Canadians
felt no such
connection to
things British.
• They had been
isolated from
Europe since
before “the
Conquest”,
beginning in
1759.
Canada First
• Of course there were some
English Canadians who
wanted an independent
Canada.
• However, this “Canada
First” movement was
small in number and
resentful of the Canadiens
– the only other group
who supported a distinctly
Canadian nationalism.
Charles Mair – of Canada First
Imperial Federation
• At the end of the 19th
century there was even a
movement to strengthen
ties with Britain.
• In 1884 the Imperial
Federation League was
founded in Britain.
• Proponents wanted to
strengthen, not loosen, ties
between Britain and its
colonies.
Imperial Federation
• The idea was to create
a single federal
Imperial state, with a
super-Parliament in
London.
• The Colonies would
be mere provinces
within this.
A British Nation
• The
overwhelming
bulk of Canada’s
population and
particularly the
controlling elite,
felt themselves
British through
and through.
Imperial Entanglements
Imperial Entanglements
• Even as a self-governing
dominion within the
British Empire, there was
the danger of getting
caught up in conflicts with
little or nothing to do with
Canada.
• After all, a global empire
had to maintain itself.
– Against rebels.
– Against other imperial
powers.
Sudan, 1885
• In 1881 a religious leader
in the Sudan, Mohammad
Ahmed, declared himself
the Mahdi – the messiah
of Islam.
• He set out to clear his
country of foreign
influences – including the
Egyptians, who he saw as
impure Moslems – and
their allies, the British.
Gordon of Khartoum
• A British force, under
the command of
General Charles
Gordon, was under
siege at Khartoum.
• Britain called on its
colonies to contribute
to a force to put down
the radical Islamic
forces.
Sudan, 1885
• Sir John A. Macdonald
understood that though
British Canada might
support sending troops,
Quebec would be strongly
opposed.
• The conflict ended before
any Canadian commitment
was needed. (Though
Australian forces were
sent.)
The Anglo-Boer War
The Anglo-Boer War - Origins
• Another Imperial
crisis arose in
Southern Africa.
• In the late 19th century
a three power struggle
took place there
between:
– The British
– The Boers
– The Zulu
Anglo-Boer War - Origins
• Shaka Zulu led the most
powerful African military
force to ever emerge.
• After initial set-backs –
like the complete
annihalation of the British
24th regiment at
Isandlhwana - British
firepower eventually
broke the Zulu, who had
conquered much of
southern Africa.
Anglo-Boer War - Origins
• British supremacy in
Southern Africa irked the
Boers (Afrikaaners) –
descendants of early
Dutch settlers who had
trekked out of the Cape
area to escape British rule.
• In 1880-1881 the Boers
won the right to selfgovernment – though
theoretically under British
oversight.
Anglo-Boer War - Origins
• In 1885 gold was
discovered in Transvaal,
one of the Boer republics.
• Uitlanders flooded in, as
did British investment.
• The Boers feared being
swamped by the
newcomers and restricted
their voting rights. They
also heavily taxed the gold
business.
• Investors and British
residents of the Transvaal
hoped Britain would
intervene.
Anglo-Boer War - Origins
• In 1895 a British
businessman, Cecil Rhodes,
financed an attempt to seize
control of the Transvaal, in
what came to be known as
the Jameson raid.
• It failed, but convinced the
Boers that the British would
try again – possibly using
the British army in Cape
Colony and Natal. After all,
Lord Milner, the British
Governor of the Cape
publicly favoured
annexation.
Anglo-Boer War - Origins
• The Afrikaaner
republics of
Transvaal and
Orange Free
State spent
heavily on
modern
armaments,
buying mainly
from Germany.
Anglo-Boer War
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In 1899 it looked as though the British were seeking war.
The Boers struck first.
On October 11, the Boers invaded Cape Colony and Natal.
Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberly were encircled.
The British suffered one setback after another.
Anglo-Boer War
• Britain called on the
Empire to help.
• Prime Minister Laurier
was torn between two
impossible positions:
– Support Britain and
lose all support in
Quebec.
– Avoid committing
Canada and enrage
British Canada.
British Canadian view of
Laurier’s dithering
Anglo-Boer War
• Laurier had to
compromise.
• He decided to send
volunteers, providing
that Britain paid their
expenses.
• 7,000 Canadian
soldiers (including 12
female nurses) served
in Southern Africa
over a 3 year period.
Anglo-Boer War
Three generations of Boer guerilla
fighters
• In 1900 the tide of battle
turned. British forces took
control of most Boer
territory.
• Superior British forces
forced the Boers to turn to
guerilla tactics.
• From September, 1900 to
the end of the war, in may,
1902, a nasty guerilla
struggle drained both
sides.
Anglo-Boer War
• The Boers threw off
their uniforms and
fought asymmetrical
warfare.
• The British adopted a
tactic of denying the
Boers food and
supplies.
• Blockhouses defended
rail and telegraph
lines.
Anglo-Boer War
• More controversially,
the British forced Boer
civilians into
“Concentration
Camps,” so that the
countryside could be a
free-fire zone for
British forces and
Boer farms were
burned down to deny
the guerillas supplies.
Anglo-Boer War
• Poor supply systems and
the continuing war meant
camp conditions were
often poor.
• Women and children were
often short of food and
medicine.
• A report after the war
concluded that 27,927
Boers and 14,154 Blacks –
25% and 14% respectively
– died of starvation and
exposure.
Anglo-Boer War
• Opposition to the war in
Canada was strongest in
Quebec.
• Henri Bourassa, a former
Laurier supporter and
Liberal MP, resigned over
the war and was re-elected
as an independent.
• In his newspaper “Le
Devoir” he opposed the
war and argued for a
nationalist policy for the
country.
Anglo-Boer War
• The war ended with the Treaty of
Veeriningen.
• 22,000 British Empire soldiers lost their
lives – the majority through disease.
• Between 6,000 and 7,000 Boer fighters
died and around 28,000 civilians.
• A direct result of the war was the
founding of South Africa – a country
that came to be dominated by the large
Boer population.
• Jan Smuts, a former Boer commander,
became Prime Minister of the Country.
The Anglo-Boer War
Canadian volunteers for South
Africa on board SS. Monterey
ca. 1901
Canadian soldiers returned
from the war, many receiving
land grants in recognition of
their efforts.
The Thomas Nye House, in North
Vancouver. Returning veterans, the
Nyes were given large parcels in North
Vancouver, including much of Lynn
Valley.
The Anglo-Boer War
• The Boer war revealed
how isolated Britain was
in the world.
• Opposition to British
action came from virtually
all countries. German
hostility was particularly
strong.
• Britain forged an alliance
with Japan to reduce her
Pacific commitment.
• Britain sought friends
elsewhere too.
German Kaiser Wilhelm II –
who opposed British action in
South Africa
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
Britain’s Commitment to Canada
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
• The Klondike gold rush of 1896 made the exact
location of the border between B.C. and Alaska a
pressing issue.
• This boundary and the ownership of territory along
the coast had been unclear since the United States’
Alaska purchase, from Russia, in 1867.
• Possession of the land at the head of deep inlets
would have allowed Canada access to B.C. across the
Alaska panhandle.
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
• Canadians believed that the
boundary followed the summit
of the mountain ranges near the
coast.
• The Americans claimed a line
which followed the
configuration of the coast but
included the heads of the inlets.
• By moving troops to the region
the American president, Teddy
Roosevelt, forced the issue to a
resolution.
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
• In 1903, an arbitration tribunal,
comprised of three Americans,
two Canadians and one British
representative, was appointed to
end the dispute.
• Lord Alverstone the British chief
justice represented Imperial
interests.
• Great Britain had no wish to
annoy the Americans over the
issue and Lord Alverstone was
instructed to side with them.
Lord Alverstone
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
Territory gained by the
United States as a
result of the 1903
boundary settlement.
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
• The decision was heavily
weighted in the American favor
and Canada lost all access to the
Pacific across the Alaska
panhandle.
• What would Britain do to support
Canada in future disputes with the
United States?
• Some worried about the
implications of Britain’s decision.
US President
Theodore Roosevelt
The “Tin Pot Navy”
The “Tin Pot Navy”
• In 1906, Britain launched HMS Dreadnought, a new class of
warship, more powerful than anything seen before.
• However, it also made existing British battleships obsolete.
• When Germany began launching similar vessels, a naval arms
race followed.
Laurier’s “Tin-Pot” Navy
• Britain’s colonies,
recognizing the need to
maintain naval supremacy,
committed themselves to help.
Australia, and New Zealand
both paid for battleships to be
added to the Royal Navy.
Laurier’s compromise was the
the Naval Service Bill of 1910 • In Canada, a Naval Aid Bill
was proposed by the
which created a small Canadian
Conservatives to send money
navy comprised of two ships.
directly to Britain – like the
other colonies.
Laurier’s “Tin-Pot” Navy II
• Laurier’s navy was
intended to be placed at
Britain’s disposal in time
of war.
• English Canadians scoffed
at the prospect of
Canada’s navy being of
much assistance to the
British.
• French Canadians led by
Henri Bourassa were
outraged at the thought of
Canada helping Britain in
any Imperial conflict.
Borden’s Failure
HMS New Zealand – a powerful
big-gunned Indefatigable Class
Dreadnought.
• In the election of 1911, Wilfrid Laurier
lost to Borden – in no small measure
due to his lukewarm support of Britain
in the Naval Arms Race.
• Borden proposed to build a battleship
for Britain in a Canadian shipyard, and
man it with Canadian sailors.
• Winston Churchill pointed out that no
Canadian shipyard was capable of
handling the job.
• Borden had the bill passed in the
House of Commons, but the Senate
rejected it, killing the project.
• Canada’s contribution remained puny.
Conclusion
• Before World War I
Canada was a colony of
Great Britain.
– It was self-governing
internally, and could even
make some decisions
regarding policy.
– Bigger military and foreign
policy decisions were
reserved for Britain
Conclusion
• Some Canadians
wanted an independent
Canada that need not
risk involvement in
Britain’s Imperial
struggles.
– Few were
Anglophones.
– Most were Quebecois
Nationalistes.
Conclusion
• Most Canadians,
particularly in British
Ontario, were rabidly
British.
• If there was a Canadian
nationalism, it was
nowhere near the
mainstream in English
Canada – though it might
be becoming so in
Francophone Quebec.
Finis