Things I've Learned From My Socials Novel, "Where the River Takes Me - The Hudson's Bay Company Diary of Jenna Sinclair"

• in the 19th century it took nearly a year to travel halfway across Canada!
• the most valuable fur in BC was the otter pelt
• "brigades," were groups of men who worked for the HBCo, carrying supplies to various forts across Canada for six months at a time
• in Victoria, the First Nations people grew, "camas," in Beacon Hill Park. Camas were potato-like plants that were dug up and replanted every year, and could be cooked many different ways. Only the blue ones were edible, though, the white camas were poisonous. You could only tell which was which during the spring, when their flowers were in bloom, so to ensure none of the white bulbs were ever replanted, the First Nations people would dig them up and plant them far away from the blue bulbs.
• each year after the camas harvest, the First Nations people would burn the meadows and surrounding brush, to control the plants and create better growing soil.
• the HBCo motto was roughly, "a skin for a skin"
• Dr. Helmcken arrived at Fort Victoria in December of 1850 to replace Dr. Benson, who had been transferred to Fort Vancouver
• When the HBCo post was established in Fort Victoria, the First Nations people started to trade with them. They developed a system so that every pelt brought in was compared with a, "made beaver," or perfect pelt. In exchange for the pelts the First Nations traders would receive coins, that said, "N B" on them. They were actually supposed to say, "M B," for, "made beaver," but the die-maker made a mistake and put an, "N," instead. The First Nations people could collect these tokens like money, and use them to purchase European goods, like muskets, at the HBCo trade stores.

Louis Riel, Madman Bibliography

• Brown, Chester. Louis Riel, A Comic Strip Biography. First paperback edition. Vancouver, BC, Canada: Drawn & Quarterly, 2006. Print. 
• Famous Trials, Louis Riel Trial, 1885. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec 2010. <http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/riel/riel.html>. 

William Lyon Mackenzie's Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001744845667&v=info

Welcome to the wonderful world of William Lyon Mackenzie!!

Louis Riel Essay PLAN!

Thesis statement: Louis Riel led the Metis people in a historical rebellion, but Louis Riel was a madman.

1. Nervous Breakdown Stuff

• in 1875 Riel suffered a nervous breakdown. This was shortly after being granted the amnesty he had been striving for, the only condition being that he leave, "Her Majesty's domain," for five years.
• Riel had finally submitted to insanity after permitting the murder of Thomas Scott. Riel had been holding him captive for a while, and Scott had been a troublesome prisoner, yelling racist comments to the Metis guard. Soon Riel's people wanted him to execute Scott, but Riel didn't. He knew it would give the government cause for war, but he also knew that as long as Scott lived, the enemy had a cause to ralley around. So on March 4th, 1870, Thomas Scott was killed by a firing squad. That decision haunted Riel for the rest of his life.   
• Riel was admitted to a hospital at Longue Point, Montreal as, "Louis R. David."
• There the doctors struggled with him, he constantly ripped up all his clothes, believing that the spirit of charity had told him that, "one who is good must show himself naked."
• he was later transferred to a mental asylum in Beauport as, "Louis La Rochelle."

2. Religion

• Riel became obsessed with his religion, and believed that he was the prophet of the new world. 
• He was convinced that his mission was to establish a new North American Catholicism, with Bishop Bourget of Montreal as Pope of the New World.
• decided upon the name, "David," because of King David in the Bible.
• During battles he would not fight, instead he sat upon his horse holding a crucifix above his head, praying, or walking around to his men and reading aloud from the Bible and praying for them.

3. Trial and Execution Crazies

•  Riel gave himself up, after fighting (or praying through) many battles, he decided to surrender himself to the government of Canada. He had a chance to escape to the United States, but instead chose to give himself up, sure that he would not be hanged.
• When Riel was charged with treason in 1885, his lawyers wanted to defend him on grounds of insanity. Riel denied his insanity, but upon being examined by physicians, it was decided by one that he was entirely insane. 
• At his trial Riel denied most of what his lawyers were saying in his defense, and because of this he was sentenced to be executed November 16th, 1885.
• The jury delivered the sentence, saying, "We (the jury) tried Louis Riel for treason, but he hanged for the murder of Thomas Scott." This shows that the jury knew he was insane, and understood that Scott's murder was Riel's biggest mistake, as well as his biggest weakness.

The Rebellions of Upper and Lower Canada

Upper and Lower Canada both had problems with their governments, and the people of both parts felt neglected by their leaders, but for different reasons. In Upper Canada, the settlers weren't satisfied with how the land was being divided up; the crown and clergy both owned reserves surrounded by walls which blocked many routes, and prevented road construction. The Family Compact was also buying up all of the good land, then selling it for a profit, so not only could the settlers not obtain their own land, but they also couldn't afford to buy at the speculators' high prices. In Lower Canada there weren't really problems with land so much as with assimilation. Lower Canada's population was made up mostly of French settlers, but was ruled by a lot of English nobility. The French became very concerned that the English were trying to wipe out their culture because the oligarchy, the Chateau Clique, was made up of English-speaking men. These men were slowly changing the way of life for the French. They changed their seigneurial system to a more free land-owning system, and in 1847 the French became convinced that the English were trying to kill them, because that was when the Irish, many of whom were sick with cholera, arrived in Quebec.
So although the two separate parts of Canada were unsatisfied for different reasons, they both took action the same way, because they thought the English wouldn't have the forces to defeat both sides. In Upper Canada, Willilam Lyon Mackenzie bought a newspaper called The Colonial Advocate, in which he wrote and published articles criticizing everything about the Family Compact and government of Upper Canada. The people chose Mackenzie to lead them in the rebellion, and in 1828 he was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly. The people in Lower Canada had a leader, too. His name was Louis-Joseph Papineau, and he was a very talented public speaker. He wrote up a paper called, "The Ninety-Two Resolutions,"and submitted it to the governor, but they refused everything he asked.
Eventually the rebels of Upper Canada and the rebels of Lower Canada began to contact each other, and they planned an attack. Unfortunately, it was very poorly planned, and both sides were easily defeated. The leaders of both, Mackenzie and Papineau, escaped to the United-States, Papineau dressed as a woman. Although both sides ended up losing, the rebellions they left lasting effects on Canada, and will always be remembered.

Vocabulary Words

1. Representative government – A representative government is one in which representatives are elected by people to make laws on their behalf.
2. responsible government – responsible government can be voted out if elected representative fail to please a majority of the people who elected them.
3. oligarchy – power is placed in the hands of a small group of rich and influential men
4. democracy – these governments are representative and responsible
5. Constitutional Act – A law that separated Upper Canada from Lower Canada and established an elected law-making assembly, a governor and two appointed councils  (1791)
6. veto – To stop something with authority i.e. to veto a law is to cancel the law without having to confer with anyone
7. Family Compact – Small group of rich business people in Upper Canada – the Council was made up of members of the Family Compact.
8. Chateau Clique – Same as the Family Compact but in Lower Canada.
9. Legislative Assembly – An elected law-making body of men
10. governor – The head of the government in the Canadian colonies appointed by the British Crown.
11. appointed – Selected by a higher authority.
12. elected – Voted in by the majority of the voting public.

Making A Difference PLAN!

My plan for this week is going to revolve primarily around recycling, because it is something that I can do all week long and that I think is very important. However, I am also interested in the slave-free chocolate idea, as well as writing to the editor of an article on environmental issues. So, starting on Monday, October 25th, and going until Sunday, October 31st, I am going to recycle as much as I possibly can, and work hard to make sure my family and friends do so too. I think that asking a store if they carry slave-free chocolate or coffee is a great idea, I think it would show them that customers are interested in where products come from, not just that they're there to buy. It also sounds like fun, so I will probably do it on Saturday, October 30th, with a friend if possible. Because it is so close to Halloween, many stores will be carrying chocolate, so it will be a good day to ask. I also plan on purchasing a bar of slave-free chocolate next Sunday, October 31st, at church, where they sell slave-free coffee and chocolate after the service. Writing a letter to the editor of an environmental article would also be fun, so I would probably try to find a good article on Tuesday, October 26th, after school, and write to the editor about some of the issues they are addressing by Thursday, October 28th. There are also two things that I am proud to have done already: in 2007 my family planted a tree, and several weeks ago I volunteered at a soup kitchen, so I'm happy to have done that and would love to do so again sometime. I hope all goes according to plan this week, and I am able to contribute as much as possible to the health of our environment.