what the title says, why didn't canada revolt with america against the british the 1700

As far as I know, many of Canadians were British loyalists and the rest who weren't just were not willing to fight against Britain.

On a side-note, I've heard that after the Americans gotten their independence, many loyalist Americans migrated to Canada as well...

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They did. At the beginning of the American Revolution there were actually not that many supporters on the rebel side. Roughly 1/3 of the population supported the revolutionary forces, another 1/3 actively supported the British, and the rest didn't care who won.

One thing that has always puzzled me is why the British sent a small expeditionary force to keep the peace? The American colonies provided a lot of revenue and resources of the British; you’d think they would have made a more concentrated effort to keep them.

Well for One most of "Canada at that time was Quebec which was French and did well under English rule many had no desire to change.

I've read that the martime colonies Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were pretty close to joining the American Insurrection but never did. After the war many United Empire Loyalits emigrated here. Something like 75 000 people left the US for Canada.

And the Americans made some attempts to capture Quebec and get Canada to join but these failed.

the comment about one third of the colonists being rebels, one third being loyalists and the rest being in between is very true... and french canada (Quebec and Acadia) had rather recently fought a war against Britain and lost...
im no expert on the subject, but ive always had the impression the british consigned themselves to losing the 13 colonies... they could have invested much more in the war but they didn't, and im not sure why... it must have been because they were sufficiently occupied in other theatres...
I believe that if you want to examine the relationship between canada and the US at this point you also should consider the war of 1812...

As Constantine mentions above "Canada" in 1775-1783 was overwhelmingly French in population, covered by a thin veneer of British rulers, troops and recent settlers. It had been added to the British realm in 1763 (i.e., 12 years before the American Revolution started), and most importantly the British had very sanely devolved a great amount of autonomy to the French in 1774 (The Quebec Act) that gave the French of Canada little reason to revolt or leave. Had the Americans revolted in 1773 or earlier, the French may well have joined in great numbers.

After the American Revolution nearly a quarter of the population of the original 13 colonies picked up and left in a mass loyalist migration; some to Britain itself, some to British Carribbean possessions but most to "Upper Canada" (Ontario). This created a great tension in Canadian society as these loyalist ex-Americans, while still very loyal to the King and motherland, were no less concerned about self-government and sovereignty issues than their rebel cousins to the south. In the decade leading up to the American Revolution there was almost 100% agreement in the American colonies in their opposition to London's policies towards them; the great schism that created "Patriots" and "Loyalists" (leading to a virtual civil war during the Revolution) was over methods of opposition (i.e., violence vs. passive resistance) and ultimately over whether independence was necessary. These early American loyalists who formed the core of the English-speaking Canadian population still held the ideals of self-government and sovereignty but just didn't want separation from Britain. This conflict, between the British elite ruling the Canadian colonies and the new Loyalist immigrant population, would come to a head in the 1837 rebellion in Canada. Though defeated in the rebellion, their cause was ultimately triumphant when Lord Durham issued his famous report condemning the Canadian rulers of the day and advising reforms (including unification of the British Canadian colonies) essentially along the lines of what the rebels had demanded.

As far as I know, many of Canadians were British loyalists and the rest who weren't just were not willing to fight against Britain.

As were many Americans.

The best way to describe the War of Independence (UK) or Revolutionary war (US) is simply 'Civil War'.

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They did. At the beginning of the American Revolution there were actually not that many supporters on the rebel side. Roughly 1/3 of the population supported the revolutionary forces, another 1/3 actively supported the British, and the rest didn't care who won.

One thing that has always puzzled me is why the British sent a small expeditionary force to keep the peace? The American colonies provided a lot of revenue and resources of the British; you’d think they would have made a more concentrated effort to keep them.

I know that near the end the spanish dutch and french were all at war with england and some of the heaviest fighting was in the caribean

One thing that has always puzzled me is why the British sent a small expeditionary force to keep the peace? The American colonies provided a lot of revenue and resources of the British; you’d think they would have made a more concentrated effort to keep them.

The old enemy France is the reason why we only sent a small expeditionary force, France was seen as a much bigger problem then a few rebels with pitchforks :p

The old enemy France is the reason why we only sent a small expeditionary force, France was seen as a much bigger problem then a few rebels with pitchforks :p

well they thought we had pitchforks, and thats why they lost

The old enemy France is the reason why we only sent a small expeditionary force, France was seen as a much bigger problem then a few rebels with pitchforks :p


It's for that very reason that America exists today! In the War of 1812, Britain had you on the ropes. The'd just sacked and burned DC and were pushing further south through the poorly organized American defences. But then Napoleon rose to power. The British felt those forces would be better used against the new French Emporer than the Americas, who had clearly learned the moral of that story: "Don't mess with the Empire!" And so, they pulled out of the states, and left you to your own devices. :mischief:

Napoleon didn't rise to power in 1812. Actually it was the 1790s.

Napoleon didn't rise to power in 1812. Actually it was the 1790s.
1799 to be exact. In 1812 he was invading Russia.

On Topic: For one thing, besides the Montreal-Quebec area, I don't think too much of Canada was controlled by Britain, at least not enough to really rebel. Even if there was, the colonial Canadians didn't mind being under British control, as mentioned earlier in this thread, and didn't have much of a reason to revolt.

Indeed, though the point is still kind of valid, in 1812-14 we had much more important issues than the fighting in North America, Napoleon being chief amongst these.

Although after the 1814 peace, Britan sent about 20 000 of Wellington's men to North America and the Americans (damn them) defeated these at New Oreleans and Plattsburg.

Not exactly difficult when you consider who was sent to command them :lol:

It's for that very reason that America exists today! In the War of 1812, Britain had you on the ropes. The'd just sacked and burned DC and were pushing further south through the poorly organized American defences. But then Napoleon rose to power. The British felt those forces would be better used against the new French Emporer than the Americas, who had clearly learned the moral of that story: "Don't mess with the Empire!" And so, they pulled out of the states, and left you to your own devices. :mischief:

How dare ye?
I'm english through and through apart from the odd bit of dutch :yeah:
Pesky rebels!

'ow dare I what govna? I just be paraphasin' 'history.

You called me an American, not that theres anything wrong with that but im proud of my Englishness

When I said "you" I was referring to Amerrica, not you as a person.

The Empire did'nt really care too much about the American mainland as at that time most west of the Alpachanas (or however its spelt) was unsettled, the tax revenue from the American colonies was much less than the lucrative Carrabean (oh dear my spelling..) islands of Jamaica and Barbados. The empire was also fighting the French all over the shop and was spread a little thin on the ground in terms of troops. Although the actual question is very interesting, I have read it was mainly because Canada was doing very well out of the empire, furs etc. and was concerned at the growing french influences, as were the British.

From what I remember being told WEstern and estern Canada as well as the maratime provinces did'nt revolt for several reasons.

1. The US colonies were older and more addapted.
2. the US colonies were more populated - hay its warmer down there.
3. "Canada" was still dependent on the UK economicly
4. thier were a fair amount of UK troops in the area watching the French.
5. those who wanted independence headed south and the loyalists came north. (to this day thier are people in Southern Ontario who are proud that thier town was settled by loyalits)