Wednesday, Nov.27

A Block: Notes on Black Islanders (notebooks); copied questions (1-7) to be completed for homework.
B Block: Notes

Tuesday, Nov. 26th

B Block:
Students performed Murder in the Bog re-enactments
Watched short film on African ancestry http://www.nfb.ca/film/black_soul
Copied notes (Black Islanders)
Copied questions (passed out hand-out from the book Black Islanders

¨Read the excerpt from Jim Hornby’s Black Islanders.

¨Please answer the following questions in your notebooks:

1.What percentage of Black Islanders lived in rural areas? What types of jobs did they occupy?

2.Explain what John Prevost represents to the  Island’s black community.

3.Outside of Charlottetown, name the community that had the highest black population. What three black families were most prominent?

 

¨4.  Explain the evolution of the “Suckles/Sickles” family name.

¨5.  What can be attributed to the high proportion of mixed marriages in rural areas in the late 1800s?

¨6.  Explain the quote “Rural white Islanders also appear to have accepted blacks to a high degree in practice.” What does “in practice” mean? Explain.

¨7.  What was a positive for those living in The Bog? A negative? If you were a Black Islander living during this time, where do you think you would have preferred to live? Explain and support your answer.

 

Block A: Same as above, but we did not get to the questions.

Monday, Nov.26

Block A & B:
Worked on "Murder in the Bog" re-enactment
Groups that did not present will go first thing tomorrow:)

Friday, Nov. 23

Worked on Slave Life assignment questions (due Monday if you did not finish)

We will also be trying to tidy up outstanding mini-projects on Monday and Tuesday.

Slave Life Assignment

Read the article: "Slave Life and Slave Law in Colonial Prince Edward Island, 1769-1825"

By: Harvey Amani Whitfield and Barry Cahill

http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/12734/13665
I will not accept typed answers!

Please copy and answer the following questions:

1.       What Act was passed in 1781 by the colonial government of St. John's Island? Explain.

2.       When was this act repealed? What societal change did the repeal signify?

3.       Identify and discuss the two main problems encountered by historians studying Prince Edward Island slavery.

4.       List reasons why slaves and people of African descent are typically absent from historiography.

5.       Discuss slavery and African American influence during the French regime on the Island.

6.       Why did many ex-slaves migrate to the Maritimes after the American Revolution?

7.       How did the migration of Loyalists with slaves to Prince Edward Island differ from that of the slaves into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia?

8.       How did slaveholding differ on St. John's Island as opposed to in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick?

9.       Explain the notion that slaves were considered a "renewable resource".

10.   Explain "family slavery". What was the exception to this rule?

11.   Was Island slavery a kinder institution than the free labor market faced by poor white workers? Explain.

12.   Make a list of tasks, jobs, and duties often performed by Prince Edward Island slaves.

13.   Explain the statement "the slave act repeal was cosmetic".

14.   What did the repeal of the slave act signify?

Tuesday, Nov. 20

Passed out fill in the blanks notes sheets for "Loyalist and Black Immigration"
Copied and discussed notes
Passed out map of "The Bog" and article for "Murder in the Bog"

Monday, Nov. 19th

Block A & B: worked on independent mini-projects in the library.

New Islanders and the Retention of Unique Culture -- Notes

New Islanders and the Retention of Unique Culture

—  In 1901, PEI was the most ethnically homogenous Canadian province

—  Ethnic- pertaining to or characteristic of a people sharing a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like.

—  Homogenous- composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind

Three Small non-European Ethnic Groups

—  141 Black settlers in 1901 (fell to 81 in 1911)

—  Lebanese settlers began to arrive in the 1880s

—  The first Chinese settlers arrived in July, 1891

Lebanese Settlers

—  The Syrian/Lebanese immigrants found their way to Prince Edward Island in the 1880s.

—  This was a result of border changes in Lebanon due to numerous military occupations (leading to persecution and overcrowding).

—  The family is the central force for Lebanese people and extended families and entire villages came to Canada between the 1880s and World War One.

Joseph Ghiz

—  Joseph Ghiz was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to Atallah Joseph Ghiz, a Lebanese corner store owner, and Marguerite F. (McKarris)

—  He studied law and went on to become PEI’s Premier (the first Canadian Premier to be of non-European descent)

Robert Ghiz

—  Son of Joseph

—  Grew up in a political environment

—  Earned a Bachelor of Political Studies from Bishop’s University.

—   Robert, was sworn in as the 31st Premier of Prince Edward Island on June 12, 2007

Chinese Settlers

—  The Chinese who came to Canada in the early days were discriminated against in a manner that no other ethnic group experienced.

—  From 1858 to 1885 they were allowed free entry into the country because they provided cheap, disposable labour for the building of the national railway. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o87MgkGAqeU)

—  From 1885 to 1923 the Federal government imposed a heavy head tax (see p. 32) on the Chinese that greatly reduced the numbers. The first Chinese arrived in 1891 and by 20 years later the Chinese population grew to six young, single men.

—  Due to the head tax, most could not afford to bring their families

—  Chinese settlers all tended to work in the laundry business (encountering much prejudice)

Recent Immigration

—  In recent years, immigrants from various ethnic backgrounds have found their way to PEI, bringing diverse languages, customs and skills

—  The aging Island population is being offset by the new immigrants (many of whom are young families)

Thursday, Nov.7

We covered notes on the European pioneers, and the Chinese and Lebanese immigrants.
Tuesday: please come to class prepared to engage in independent study for your exam.

European Pioneers

Unit 2: People and Culture European Pioneers

• Pioneer: a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.

• What images does the word “pioneer” bring to mind?

Early Immigration

• Prince Edward Island experienced much change during the first half of the 19th century as a great influx of immigrants made the Island their home all seeking a better life.

• Social and economic factors often played the major role when people decided to leave their homeland.

• Other reasons for migration were war, persecution, discrimination, or simply the desire for adventure.

• Few Island pioneer settlers had backgrounds in agriculture but were forced to adapt and learn new skills.

Clothing

• Early French settlers, and later the British (English, Scottish and Irish) were generally economically poor

• Arrived with very little and wore their clothing until it literally disintegrated (reused everything possible)

• Gradually adopted Mi’kmaq styles and materials

• Began making clothing from sheep wool and flax

3 main reasons for Scottish migration to Canada in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

• Agricultural Revolution led to a large increase in population in Scotland (as in the rest of Europe)

• Agricultural Revolution led to a large increase in population in Scotland (as in the rest of Europe)

• The Enclosure Movement in Scotland and England and the transition from land crofting to sheep farming.

• Religious persecution of Catholic Scots, especially Highland Catholics

Three Waves of Immigration

• First Wave of Scottish Immigrants- arrived in 1770, sent by James Montgomery, Lord Chief Advocate of Scotland. About 50 Lowland Scots arrived on the Falmouth to his property at Stanhope, Lot 34

• Second Wave- the arrival in 1772 of Captain John MacDonald's Catholic Highlanders. MacDonald was an educated man and an inheritor of family estates in Scotland. MacDonald saw PEI as an ideal place to take Catholic Scots who were being evicted from their land.

• The largest group of Scottish settlers were led to PEI by Lord Selkirk who, in 1803, brought out 800 settlers from the Scottish Highlands to settle his lands in the Belfast area.

Selkirk – A Different Kind of Landlord

• He was interested in the welfare of his settlers

• He was not interested in remaining a landlord

• Arranged to settle his people in large communities on 50-100 acre lots per family (aimed to keep communities together)

• Selkirk sold his settlers land at a reasonable price, even financing those who needed three or four years to afford their land.



Reasons for Irish Immigration

• For the Irish who came 1815, they were leaving a country where the population had grown, the economy was in trouble, crop failure threatened starvation and English domination was hated.

• Roman Catholics had few rights and no representation under English rule.

• PEI and the Maritimes seemed ideal because land was available, fishing was good, lumber markets were strong and shipbuilding was entering its most profitable period.

The Journey

• Most Irish who came over traveled "steerage" class, because they could not afford the first class passenger cabins.

• These quarters were more like large storage bins for people than real accommodations. They were crowded, noisy, rat infested and there was no privacy. They were also an ideal place for contagious diseases to spread.

• The steerage quarters were places of crime at times, being compared by one observer to a concentration of all the crimes committed in Liverpool in one year now committed in one passage across the Atlantic on an immigrant ship.

First Wave of Irish Immigration

• The Colonial Pioneers were the Irish who arrived in small numbers during the early years after the British takeover of New France.

• They were Irish Protestants brought to the Island to establish British law, government and institutions in the new colony.

• Governor Patterson was one of these Colonial Pioneer Irish



Second Wave

• The Southeastern Irish Immigrants (“Southies”) came from the Southeastern counties of Ireland.

• Merchant ships from England often stopped in Ireland to pick up cargo and fishermen bound for the Grand Banks of Newfoundland

• Fishermen coming to the Island via Newfoundland were nicknamed “two-boaters”

Third Wave

• The last large group of Irish immigrants of the 19th century were known as the Monaghan Settlers named after County Monaghan in Ireland.

• This was the largest group of Irish immigrants to PEI and they arrived from 1830-1850.

• This was an organized immigration, began primarily through the work of Reverend John MacDonald, a Catholic priest (third son of Captain John MacDonald who brought the Catholic Scots to Scotchfort)

1770 Charlotte Town Develops

• Roads were very poor in the early days (muddy in spring and fall, dusty in summer)

• Men over the age of 21 were pressured into working four days a year on the roads

• Examine the three pieces of primary evidence on page 23 of your book. What conclusions can you draw about urban development in this time period? What are some of the challenges using primary sources? Which source provides the most reliable information?

Midterm Exam Review

History 621B                                       Unit 1: Land and Resources

You must be able to demonstrate your understanding on the following topics:

ü  Historical bias (understand how bias relates to and affects history)

o   Things to look for when recognizing bias

ü  Land and Resources : Prehistory and Mi’kmaq settlement

o   Please review all notes (slideshow)

o   PEI Dinosaur (questions)

o   First Peoples

o   Mi’kmaq relationship with the land

ü  Settlement Patterns on PEI (slideshow notes)

o   Define “site” and “settlement” à be able to give examples

o   Understand how site and settlement factors affect settlement patterns

ü  French Regime on Ile St. Jean ( slideshow notes)

o   Understand how the ownership of the Acadian colonies being thrown “back and forth” contributed to their identity as Acadians and their general attitude.

o   Understand the significance of the Fortress Louisbourg and identify the connection it had to Ile St. Jean (Granary of New France).

o   Jean Pierre Roma and his estate at Trois Rivieres

o   Acadian Expulsion (know History Frame Story Mapping, movie worksheet)

ü  British Rule (slideshow notes)

o   The Earl of Egmont’s vision for the Island (understand the feudal system)

o   Samuel Holland (survey, lot system, lottery à questions from “Lotto 1767” article.

o   Conditions and obstacles to the landlord system

o   Walter Patterson

o   Pioneer Life à obstacles à how did  they view the environment? Impact on the future?

o   “Gloomy Forest” – questions

ü  Be able to describe how an economic initiative or policy involving an Island natural resource has contributed to the Island economy and what impact (if any) it has had on the natural resource(s).

Unit 2: People and Culture

 Please be aware that you are responsible for understanding all notes/handouts

ü  Understand how elements of material and non-material culture contribute to a culture over time.

ü  Demonstrate an understanding of how various cultures have contributed to the Island cultural mosaic (Mi’kmaq, Scottish, Irish, Chinese, Lebanese).

ü  People and Culture Intro slideshow notes (study and understand all notes)

o   Be able to define “culture”

o   Be able to elaborate on whether or not immigrants should assimilate to fit the Canadian/Island norm.

ü  Material Culture and History slideshow notes

o   Be able to define material culture (use examples)

o   Benefits of studying material culture

o   What can material culture tell us about a group of people? (list)

o   Understand how material culture can reflect physical environment

o   You must be able to look at an example of material culture and explain what we can learn about a particular culture (I will give you a picture and a brief explanation).

ü  Mi’kmaq slideshow notes

o   Know all notes and understand how their material culture reflects their semi-nomadic lifestyle.

o   European Pioneers slideshow notes (you are responsible for all notes)

o   Reasons for Scottish and Irish immigration

o   "Waves" of immigration

ü  New Islanders and the Retention of Unique Culture (slideshow notes -- handout)

o   Reasons for Lebanese immigration (challenges)

o   Chinese settlers (discrimination)

o   Recent immigration

Your exam will consist of multiple choice, fill in the blanks, matching, short answer and an essay questions (potentially a sight reading and critical response).

Essay question: Please prepare in advance. You will be asked to discuss how various cultures have contributed to our cultural mosaic. You will need to be able to explain the reasons these groups of people came to the Island and discuss any challenges they may have encountered during their journey and/or upon arrival. You will be required to hand in an outline with your essay (5 paragraph essay). I will give you an outline in advance;  you will not be permitted to take this outline into the exam.