CANADIAN HISTORY ON THE INTERNET
In the early 1500s, Jacques Cartier used a First Nations
word for village, “kanata”, to refer to the country he had encountered.
European map makers later used “Canada” as a name for all the
land north of the St. Lawrence River. Canada was home to aboriginal peoples
for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans, and so it's
appropriate that our name should come from their language.
From the aboriginal peoples to the present, the Internet does an admirable
job of rendering the breadth and depth of our historical record. The following
are just a few of the many quality resources available.
ACA NADA
The origin and meaning of the name Canada has been a matter of surmise since the arrival of the first explorer. Jacques Cartier, reporting on his 1535-36 voyage, noted that "kanata" was an Iroquois word meaning town, or cluster of dwellings. Other reports have it that early Spanish or Portuguese explorers, disappointed in not finding gold or other riches, derided the country as aca nada or cà nada (here nothing). Yet others have ascribed the word to Latin or Sanskrit. The weight of opinion to date, however, favours the Aboriginal origin noted in Cartier's report. Whatever the source, the Constitution Act, 1867, Canada's original constitution, announced that the name of the new dominion would be . . . Canada.
The above information is provided in Canada: A Portrait (Statistics Canada
Catalogue no. 11-4030XPE) and available from the Statistics Canada
website. http://www.statcan.ca/
To join the H-Canada (History Canada) discussion list go to: http://www.usask.ca/history/form4.html
H-CANADA is a daily Internet discussion forum focusing on the history of Canada and other related subjects (sociology, political studies, literature, women's studies, Canadian studies etc.). There are no chronological or topical limits and the list is bilingual (French and English.) They also publish news and announcements, and encourage debates on recent scholarly issues.
Aboriginal
people and their heritage-
First Nations in Canada
- Tribal Origins, The Peoples' Languages, Culture Areas, First Encounters, Religious Missions, the Ravages of Disease, Intertribal Conflict, French versus English... an extensive history of Canada's first peoples.
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North: Landscape of the Imagination
- Put together by the National Library of Canada, this website examines the history of the Canadian north and provides a good bibliography as well.
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Arctic Dawn
-- The Journeys of Samuel Hearne
- Samuel Hearne's remarkable journal was originally published two hundred years ago and is in the public domain. This revised version, although under personal copyright, is freely available for non-commercial use.
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Early Canadiana Online
- Early Canadiana Online (ECO) is a full text online collection of more than 3,000 books and pamphlets documenting Canadian history from the first European contact to the late 19th century. The collection is particularly strong in literature, women's history, native studies, travel and exploration, and the history of French Canada.
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The National Archives of Canada
- As with most archives the historical record is of utmost importance and this is where Canada's people and their history is kept. Look at the First World War CEF Database or request some information. Canada's archives are often used by academic researchers and historians. Also of great value is the Genealogy Research from the National Archives which includes census, land, military, citizenship, immigration records, Loyalist and Acadian sources and links to provincial and territorial archives.
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Canadian Studies: A Guide to the Sources
- "This essay attempts to delineate a core collection of print and electronic sources suitable for undergraduate use in Canadian Studies. Like most bibliographic endeavours, the resulting list of works cited is highly selective in its scope. The primary emphasis is on accessible titles originating in Canada and dealing with cultural subjects. Little attention is given, for instance, to business, economics or science."
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The Archaeology of
Saskatchewan Waterways
- "An overview of human occupation in northern Saskatchewan: archaeological investigations, history of various traditions, and an exploration of the early historic period and what it reveals about pre-historic peoples and their social organization." This website also includes information on native lifestyle and crafts and since it's put together by the Canoe Saskatchewan group it also includes information on canoeing and wilderness living.
Online
Resources for Canadian Heritage- This list focuses on Internet resources pertinent to Canadian heritage in the disciplines covered by the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation: archaeology, ethnology, history (including military history and postal history), and folk culture. Other resources are also included if they are considered to provide a larger context for understanding Canada, its history, and the multicultural backgrounds of Canadians. Finally, some general resources are included to help you pursue subjects further afield.
Bienvenue
de Québec! - history
from 1524
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Virtual Museum
of New France
- From the Canadian Museum of Civilization comes an excellent source of information emphasizing "the contribution of Europeans who tamed, explored and lived in this land. From meeting with the first inhabitants to the end of French rule..." Included are the topics: First inhabitants; Exploration; Environment and climate; Population; Culture and traditions; and Everyday life.
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Fort
Edmonton Project
- "Canada's earliest reason for existence was as a source of furs for the gentry of Europe. In particular, the wool from the beaver pelt was prized as raw material for top hats. As Eastern Canada became developed the fur traders moved west and most of the cities of Western Canada have their origin in the era of fur trading posts." Fort Edmonton was such a fur trading post. This website (from the University of Alberta Department of Anthropology and the Alberta Provincial Museum in Edmonton) includes material relating to the early history of Edmonton and the investigations into the archaeology and geophysics of the original Fort Edmonton site.
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The Beaver
- This bi-monthly publication was established in 1920 by the Hudson's Bay Company. Initially an employee magazine that emphasized HBC and fur trade history, it is now available to non-employees and has over 40,000 subscribers around the world. "In the mid-1980s the focus of the magazine was changed. Originally subtitled the "Magazine of the North", The Beaver's new thrust is that of "Exploring Canada's History"" Excerpts from the current issue as well as a contents listing of issues published since 1984.
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Northwest Journal
- "Northwest Journal is the quarterly publication of the Northwest Brigade Club and provides detailed, and referenced information for Canadian fur trade era re-enactors, historic site interpreters, and educators."
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The
Territorial Evolution of Canada
- "On July 1, 1867 the Dominion of Canada was formed by the confederation of three provinces in British North America. [The maps on this website] depict the evolution of the nation's international, provincial and territorial boundaries." The information here is based on a map sheet of the National Atlas of Canada, 5th Edition, entitled Canada - Territorial Evolution.
Concise
History of the Acadians
- The
British Columbia History Internet/Web Site
- Alberta GenWeb Genealogy
Research Aid for the Province of Alberta
The Caribou
Gold Rush from SchoolNet's Digital Collection
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CanText
Library: Canadian Documents Collection
- These are fairly focused documents ... eg. prime ministerial speeches, acts of parliament etc.
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CanPix
Gallery
- CanPix is an image base of over 3,500 pictures and audiovisual resources for Canadian Studies. You can search, view and extract images of important Canadian people, events and places, examples of Canadian culture, flags, coats of arms, flowers and maps of Canada and the provinces, audio and text files, including O Canada.
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Bone Snow Knives and Tin Oil Lamps: Enduring
Traditions among Canada's First Peoples
- This web site is the collaboration of the Musée de la civilisation (Québec), the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (Ottawa). Both museums possess collections of Canadian native material of national and international significance, and were therefore ideal participants in a project to create an image resource on collections pertaining to Canada's First Nations.
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The
Directorate of History and Heritage
- The Directorate's primary role is the researching and writing ofofficial histories of the Canadian Forces and Department of National Defence. In addition to producing official histories, DHH 2 is tasked from time to time with the research and writing of commemorative histories to mark significant milestones in Canadian military history and other historical studies which will be useful to official historians in the future. Also check the Canadian Land Forces website for more military history along with other important military info.
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Canada's SchoolNet
Digital Collection
- Industy Canada’s SchoolNet Digital Collections (SDC) program, an element of the federal government’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES), pays young people to create websites featuring significant Canadian material in the public domain. Choose the subject heading 'History' for research, images and documentation of Canadian wartime history.
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Learning
and Teaching Canadian History
- From the University of Victoria... Canadian quote of the day, today in history, Canadian history quiz, and historic documents, images, history.
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La petite histoire du Quebec:
un nouveau regime: 1760-1867
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Pier 21
- "Between 1928-1971, at Pier 21 on the Halifax waterfront, 1.5 million immigrants first set foot on Canadian soil. During World War II, 3,000 British evacuee children, 50,000 war brides and their 22,000 children, over 100,000 refugees and 368,000 Canadian troops bound for Europe passed through Pier 21. The Pier 21 Society has been created to revitalize Pier 21 as a permanent testament, designed to celebrate the profound contributions of immigrant Canadians." This website shares to stories and historical data that were a part of this waterfront entrance to Canada.
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Canadians at
war: an historical perspective
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Canada at War: the valour
and the horror
- This is a website whose goal is to explore the historical issues of Canadians in the Second World War including an exploration of the information presented in the controversial CBC production In Desperate Battle which described Canadian action in Normandy. "Of the 46,542 Canadians who gave their lives for their county during five years of the Second World War, more than 5,000 died in Normandy between June 6 and August 24, 1944. Within this site you can find information, stories, and opinions about Canadians, sometimes troubling and sometimes heartwarming, in their struggle for Normandy." Also at this site is an extensive list of books which have been published about Canada's participation in World War II.
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Veterans Affairs Canada
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Maple Leaf Up: The
Canadian Army Overseas 1939-1945
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Ghost
Town Internment: The story of Japanese Canadians in Kaslo,
B.C. 1942-1945
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The Unofficial Canadian
Army Homepage
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The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
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The Queen's Own Rifles
of Canada: World
- "Organized in 1995, the recreated Queen's Own Rifles of Canada seeks to commemorate the sacrifices of the men of the regiment from 1939-1945, and to tell the mostly forgotten story of Canada in World War II. This is done by participating in living history programs, displays, and in tactical demonstrations at various historic sites."
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The Great Depression
- In the spring of 1995, the grade 11 class at Point Grey Mini School, along with their teacher and some helpful collaboration from ExCITE labs, put together a project on Vancouver during the depression of the 1930s. As well as being exceptionally well written and well researched, this internet site is also very well designed. The brown background and plain graphics visually communicate a well understood topic.
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Politics and
History from Canadiana
Canadian
Museum of Civilization- Access to detailed multimedia information concerning the Museum's collections, exhibitions and research.
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CPAC
Online Historical Documents
- A public service funded by Canada's Cable Companies, there are full text documents here of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, The Constitution, Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords as well as links to other Constitutional and historical documents.
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Canadian Confederation
- Historical documentation on the path to Confederation from the National Library of Canada.
Canadian Institute for Historical
Microreproductions- "The Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions (CIHM) was established in 1978 to locate early printed Canadian materials (books, annuals, and periodicals), to preserve their content on microfilm, and to make the resulting collections available to libraries and archives in Canada and abroad."
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Barkerville, Williams
Creek, Cariboo, British Columbia
- Historic towns which lived during the gold rush.
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Ghosts of the Gold Rush
- Pierre Burton and a number of other authors who have documented stories and information about the Gold Rush are featured here. There are profiles of people who went to the Klondike looking for fortune.... "Belinda Mulroney ... On arriving in the Klondike, she threw her last 50 cents into the Yukon River, swearing she would never need such small change again. She began her quest for riches by selling rubber boots, cotton goods and hot water bottles at a 600% profit. She built a roadhouse at Bonanza Creek, owned six mining properties by the end of the year, and eventually built the Fairview Hotel, one of the swankiest establishments in Dawson City."
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Northwest Journal
- "Northwest Journal is the quarterly publication of the Northwest Brigade Club. The focus of Northwest Journal is to provide detailed, well documented and referenced information for Canadian fur trade era re-enactors, historic site interpreters, and educators."
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal
Canadians) Regimental Museum - "The regiment traces its origins
to the School of Mounted Infantry, authorized by the Canadian government
in July 1885 to be formed as a Permanent Militia unit in Winnipeg. ...Raised
to support the North West Mounted Police in preventing lawlessness and
disorder in the Yukon gold fields, the force was made up of some 200
Permanent Militia soldiers..."
This is an excellent website for historical information on the Lord Strathcona Regiment of the Canadian armed forces. Check the Mounted Troup link for information on the history of the "musical ride" which originated with this regiment. Included are photos and this is also where you will find information on the uniforms and a sound file of the regiment march: Soldiers of the Queen. -
Canadian Plains
Studies (CPS)
- The CPS consists of monographs, biographies and edited proceedings and documents.
- Canadian Plains Studies includes the former categories of Canadian Plains Biographies (CB) and Occasional Papers (OP), which have been discontinued. Examples of the content: Historical Essays on Saskatchewan Women, Views from Fort Battleford: Constructed Visions of an Anglo-Canadian West, Fashioning Farmers: Ideology, Agricultural Knowledge and the Manitoba Farm Movement, 1890-1925, Alberta's Metis Settlements Legislation: An Overview of Ownership and Management of Settlement Lands
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The Canadian
War Museum / Musée
canadien des civilisations
- The Canadian War Museum is dedicated to both education and remembrance.
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Canada's Verteran
Affairs Commemoration
- Historical annecdotes as well as information on many aspects of Canadian participation in WWI, WWII, the Korean War. Information on the Wartime Contribution of Canada's First Peoples is also here.
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Canadian Air Aces and
Heroes
- Check the disclaimer page near the bottom of the homepage for information regarding source documents. This is archival material on the men and women who flew in the Canadian Air Force during World War I, World War II and Korean War.
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Memorial Day in Newfoundland
and Labrador
- "Before Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, July 1 was seared into the memories of all Newfoundlanders as a Day of Memorial for those who died in War. On that day in 1916, 778 members of the Newfoundland Regement left to fight behind and between enemy lines in the Battle of Beaumont Hamel as part of the Battle of the Somme. At night fall only 67answered the roll call." This information and a lot more is available and this very readable site. Links to other war websites are also available here.
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Women in History: Canadian
history by the byte
60
years of CBC Radio - This is a wonderful website with sound clips from programs aired by the CBC. Wonderful historical moments we may all recall in one way or another.
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The Great Depression
- Although this is put out by the Writer's Den and the links are to Paragraphs, Sentences and Words, there is excellent information about the depression on the prairies.
British Columbia Archives- The photo included here is from their
phenomenal archive of digitized Visual Records of Western Canadian history.
See the Conditions
for Electronic access for information on the use of their images
and resources.
Diefenbaker Web:
links and information on the 13th Prime Minister of Canada
Canadian Archival Resources
on the Internet
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CCA (Canada Council Archives)
Directory of Canadian Archives
- Location, contacts, phone numbers and information about the inclusive dates, mandate and holdings.
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Parks Canada
- Parks Canada manages over 130 national historic sites and many of them have their own web pages within the 3,000+ pages of the Parks Canada Website. You can also find historical background on many of the 38 National Parks, and a feature titled "This Week in History" which is changed every Sunday night. "This Week" can be reached from the Parks Canada home page, and also from the Canadian Heritage home page club.
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The Archaeology of Saskatchewan
Waterways
- Human history in Northern Saskatchewan, Aboriginal rock art, stories from the past, bibliographies, native lifestyles and crafts are just some of the important historical information presented by this website produced for the Canoe Saskatchewan club.
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Glenbow
- "Glenbow is western Canada's foremost centre of history and art. Under one roof, Glenbow houses a museum of western heritage, international cultural collections, an outstanding art gallery, and an unparalleled library and archives of western Canadian history." This website is a treasure of images reflecting the history and culture of those who populated the western provinces.
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Canadian
Indian Treaties
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Historic
Lighthouses of Newfoundland
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Canadian Military
Aviation Photographic Archives
- This is one among many websites that provides Canadian military information. Also worth looking at are The Canadian Navy Home Page and Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces. There are some photographic images at the latter which document past UN missions.
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Canada's National
History Society On-line
- Building
Canada
- "During his tenure as educator
and director of the McGill School of Architecture (1941-1972) Professor
Emeritus John Bland assembled a unique collection of slides of buildings
from across Canada. The collection became the basis for his course on
the History of Architecture in Canada, the first course of its kind
in Canada.
The aim of the Building Canada project was to digitize a selection of these images so that more people could see examples of Canada's architectural history. The title of the project, Building Canada, is referential to both the structures that are depicted and how the built environment of Canada is reflective of the country's builders, past, present and future." -
Toronto History
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The Colony of Avalon
- The Colony of Avalon at Ferryland, Newfoundland, Canada is a heritage site of international significance. Archaeologists have uncovered the oldest known remains of seasonal fishing stations from the early 1500s, when Portuguese, French and English mariners came to exploit the rich cod fishery of the New World... long before Europeans settled what would someday become Canada.
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Ville
de Deux-Montagnes's History Chronicle
Historical Atlas
of Canada
Canadian Re-enactment site- This group is involved with living history and the correct intrepretation of Canadian history. They are dedicated to historical research as well as to authenticty in re-enactment.
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The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology
- 75 million years ago, the landscape
of Alberta was very different. The climate was subtropical, like northern
Florida is today. Lush forests covered the coastal plain. The low swampy
country was home to a variety of animals, including dinosaurs. The Tyrrell
Museum resides at a significant palaeontological site near Drumheller,
Alberta, Canada. The virtual tour of the museum provides information
and images including those of dinosaurs such as Albertosaurus.
Also visit the website of Dinosaur Provincial Park. This website doesn't have nearly as much information or as many images as the Tyrrell website, but it's well organized and nicely done. -
Explorers of the West Series
- The creator of this site is a retired teacher who is illustrating the journals of early explorers... with the help of students. There's a good deal of information here on early Canadian explorers as well as lots of images. In conjunction with the Historical Research Centre in Lethbridge, this site may prove to be a very valuable resource on Canadian history.
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Guide
to Canadian Museums and Galleries
- This Guide "has information about events and exhibitions, collections, hours of operation, and services. The Guide will also take you directly to member museum and gallery home pages." The Provincial Museum of Alberta is typical of museum homepage contents... historical benefactors on the Internet.
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Canadian Archival Resources
on the Internet
- Based at the University of Saskatchewan, this website "provides a comprehensive list of links to Canadian archives and associated resources on the Internet. These include links to individual repositories, multi-repository databases, archival listservs, archival associations, educational opportunities, and other related sites."
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Genealogy: Acadian
and French Canadian
- "Acadians are descendants of the French settlers of Nova Scotia in the early 17th century. They all stayed in that local area until they were forcibly ejected by the British in 1755. Then they scattered all over the place, but probably the largest numbers ended up in Quebec, New England, and Louisiana. Their descendants in Louisiana are now known as Cajuns." This is a well done and informative site for anyone research Acadian or French Canadian names.
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Les Cowboys/The History
of the Canadian Cowboy
- This is a brief history of cowboys and the cowboy life in Canada. It is meant for a French language class as it is 'en Français' ... to be used for interesting reading when teaching French to school children. It does however provide enough factual information to be of use in an elementary social studies class.
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The Canadian
Historical Review
- This is an academic journal which chronicles "the ideas, people, and events that have molded Canada's society and institutions into their present state." The contents pages of each issue are provided here as well as subscription rates and guidelines for authors.
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"A Country by Consent":
Multimedia History of Canada on CD-ROM
- There's a demo of this CD-ROM on the West/Dunn Productions website, along with a fair amount of Canadian historical content.
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Canadian History
on the Web
- This website is put together by Susan Nylan, a sessional instructor and PhD candidate at the UBC Department of History. The site contains a large number of links to other websites which cover Canadian history and historical documents as well as pointers to museums and archives.
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Restoration Movement
in Canada
- This website is provided by Dr. Hans Rollmann, Dept. of Religious Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland. It provides historical texts, pictures, resources for historical research and links to other relevant pages dealing with the Christian Restoration Movement.
I'm always open to helpful comments.
If you have anything you think should be here...
let me know.
Return to: OH CANADA! HOMEPAGE
Author: Beverly.Leeck@UAlberta.CA
URL: http://www.ualberta.ca/~bleeck/canada/