July 1 is Canada's 132nd Birthday! Although the Age of Enlightenment pre-dates our nation, you could say that the party that started before this country was born brought everyone together. You might even say that Canada still suffers from the hangover.
For openers, the Age of Enlightenment is a European concept. This simple fact is important to our history. Because of the Enlightenment, although we are a New World nation, we have Old World European customs and institutions; Eurocentric attitudes dominated until very recently.
The Enlightenment in Europe tied the acquisition of wealth to trade. Trade meant travel to other parts of the world, to buy and to sell. Travel led to discovery and exploration of previously unknown lands. Canada was in the way, blocking access to the riches of Asia, concealing the mythical Northwest Passage to the Orient. By 1700, Irish, Icelandic, Norse, British, Spanish, French, and Portuguese traders had landed on the eastern shores. France had established permanent settlements along the St. Lawrence and around the Bay of Fundy. England and France had forts around Hudson Bay. By 1800, the Spanish had missions on the West Coast; the Russians had a city at Sitka and a fort in California. Alexander Mackenzie had reached the Pacific overland from Canada in 1793. Captain George Vancouver mapped the coast in 1792. His journals inspired U. S. President Jefferson to send Lewis and Clark overland to establish an American claim in the west. This rush of Europeans into a new land, guided of course by First Nations scouts over old routes, set the stage for a party that would get pretty rowdy. http://www.discovervancouver.com/vancouv...
Although the European traders and settlers claimed the land for their kings, the country now known as Canada was already home to dozens of indigenous civilizations that had inhabited it since the last glacier retreated. More than one hundred First Nations had their own well-defined systems, organized cultures attached to specific landscapes. With one or two significant exceptions, these Nations are still here, although many have been pushed onto lands reserved for them. Although they welcomed the Europeans as equals and guided them through difficult terrain, the Age of the Enlightenment allowed the newcomers to convince themselves that indigenous people were uncivilized, that their beliefs were superstitious and their science irrational. The invaders, uninvited guests determined to party on, convinced themselves that they were bringing enlightenment, and could thus usurp the First Peoples. Although the Age of Reason questioned the church's control of man's spirituality, Christianity or monotheism were still considered superior. The elevation of the scientific model also excluded other worldviews such as those that existed in North America. These Enlightenment attitudes are still prevalent in Canada; they are part of the reason why there is an epidemic of despair among displaced peoples who wish this party had never happened in their home. http://www.ntc.bc.ca/Timeline/Nisga'aNat...
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