French and English Relations - A History of Conflict
A great man once said, "Love thy neighbor as thyself..." Unfortunately in Canada, that is not the case. For many years, hostility has existed between the two largest ethnic denominations in our country, the French and the English. Both have tried to undermine one another in aspects of religion, language, culture and politics. To understand the cause of this continuing bitter saga, one must take a journey back in time. Throughout the course of Canadian history, there were many occasions wherein the French and English Canadians have clashed but three major historical events tore the relationship into pieces: Red River Rebellion, Conscription dilemma of World War I and the FLQ October Crisis of 1970 in Quebec. This essay will discuss the importance of these situations and its impact on the French and English relations.The Red River Rebellion, led by Louis Riel, was one of the first major event that created the rift between the French and English Canadians. In 1869, when the Hudson's Bay Company sold the vast territory known as Rupert's Land to the Canadian government, the Metis were worried. "The Metis descended from the intermarriage of Europeans with indigenous peoples and they possess elements of both cultures." (Flanagan 1) T
Boulton, Major Charles. I Fought Riel: A Military Memoir. Toronto: James Encyclopedia, CD-ROM, 1998, ed. hey feared that the government would disregard their ownership of the Red River Settlement because they did not have papers to prove they owned the land. Louis Riel, a Metis man, took leadership and stood up for the rights of his people. He set up a provisional government in Manitoba. This act angered the English Canadians and was thought by the Canadian Government as an act of rebellion. These feelings of resentment and hostility further elevated with the execution of Thomas Scott. On the other hand, in the Roman Catholic province of Quebec, many people said Riel's actions were justified. They felt sympathetic toward Riel and his government. As one can see, this event led by a man of deep conviction and faith drove a wedge into a crack between the French and the English Canadians. Francophones regarded the Red River Rebellion a noble cause and Louis Riel a hero who stood up to protect the rights of the French-speaking Metis. The Anglophones saw the rebellion as a threat to Canada's sovereignty and Riel a traitor. This conflict of emotions would remain until the next major event. Fournier, Louis. FLQ: The Anatomy of an Underground Movement. Toronto: Canada's past is littered with conflict and struggles but none surpassed the enormity and gravity of the French-English dissention. The Red River Rebellion...the Conscription crisis of World War I...and the FLQ disaster in Quebec ... were key events in Canadian history that "split" the French-English Canadi
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Approximate Word count = 1064
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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