A. New France and British North America, 1713–1800 · New France and British North America, 1713 to 1800

Thinking Like a Historian: North America in 1713

A2 A3About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe who held power and land in northeastern North America in 1713.
I can explain the four historical thinking concepts: significance, cause and consequence, continuity and change, and historical perspective.
I can tell a primary source from a secondary source.
I can place key events from 1713 to 1800 on a timeline.

Words to know

historian
A person who studies the past using evidence.

primary source
Something made or written by people who lived at the time: a letter, diary, map, treaty, wampum belt, painting or object.

secondary source
Something made later by someone who studied primary sources: a textbook, an encyclopedia article, a documentary.

historical significance
Why an event, person or development matters: it changed many lives, lasted a long time, or helps us understand today.

cause and consequence
Why something happened (causes) and what happened because of it (consequences).

continuity and change
What stayed the same and what changed over time.

historical perspective
Seeing the past through the eyes of the people who lived it, with their beliefs and values.

treaty
A formal agreement between nations or peoples.

Remember from Grade 5

In Grade 5 you studied how First Nations and Europeans interacted up to 1713: the fur trade, alliances and wars, missions, the Great Peace of Montreal (1701), the beginnings of the Métis, and finally the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). This unit starts right where Grade 5 stopped. You also practised the inquiry process: asking questions, gathering sources, and drawing conclusions.

In Grade 3 you also met some people from the late 1700s, like the Loyalists and Black Loyalists. This year you go deeper: why things happened, who was affected, and how different people saw the same events.

Let's start with a puzzle

In 1713, kings in Europe signed a treaty. With a few lines of writing, land that Mi'kmaq families had lived on for thousands of years was "handed over" from France to Britain. No Mi'kmaq leader signed it.

Who really owned that land? Who decided? And how would you find out what the Mi'kmaq thought about it?

Questions like these are what historians ask. In this unit, you will be the historian.

Objects from the 1700s fur-trade era displayed on a museum table: a brass compass, an iron axe head, a white clay pipe, blue and white glass beads and a copper kettle. — Historians learn from objects as well as writing. Trade goods like these tell us who traded with whom, what people valued and how daily life was changing. AI-generated image

North America in 1713

Let's look again at the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), with a historian's eye. It ended a long war between France and Britain. In North America:

Britain gained Acadia (mainland Nova Scotia), Newfoundland, and the lands around Hudson Bay.
France kept the colony along the St. Lawrence River (called Canada), Île Royale (Cape Breton) and Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island). France also had Louisiana to the south.
First Nations were not part of the treaty. Many, like the Mi'kmaq, did not accept that France could give away land that was theirs. Most of the continent was still First Nations land, controlled by First Nations.
Inuit lived across the Arctic and along the Labrador coast, far from the European colonies.
Métis families were beginning to form in the fur trade around the Great Lakes.
Black people were already living in New France. Most of them were enslaved. You will learn more in Lesson 4.

Group	Where (around 1713)	What they wanted
First Nations (e.g. Mi'kmaq, Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe)	Most of the continent	To protect their lands, ways of life and freedom; to trade and make alliances on their own terms
French colonists (Canadiens, Acadians)	St. Lawrence valley, Acadia, Île Royale	Farms, the fur trade, and to keep their language and Catholic faith
British colonists	Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic coast; Newfoundland; Hudson Bay posts	More land, trade, and safety from France
Enslaved Black and Indigenous people	In New France and the British colonies	Freedom, family, dignity: things that were taken from them

Different groups had very different goals. That is why historians look at many perspectives.

The four historical thinking concepts

Historians use four big ideas to make sense of the past. You will use them in every lesson.

Historical significance: Why does this matter? Did it affect many people? For a long time? Does it help explain today?
Cause and consequence: Why did it happen? What happened because of it? Most events have several causes and many consequences, some planned and some not.
Continuity and change: What changed? What stayed the same?
Historical perspective: How did people at the time see it? Different groups saw the same event very differently. We try not to judge them only by today's values, but we can still say when something, like slavery, was wrong.

The four historical thinking concepts, each with the question it asks. You will use all four in every lesson of this unit.

Evidence: primary and secondary sources

Historians need evidence.

A primary source comes from the time: a letter, a diary, a treaty, a map, a list of names, a painting, a tool, a wampum belt, or an oral history passed down by Elders.
A secondary source was made later by someone studying the past: a textbook, an encyclopedia, a museum website, a documentary.

Every source has an author with a point of view. Ask: Who made this? When? Why? Whose voice is missing? In the 1700s, most written records were made by officials, priests and wealthy men. The voices of women, First Nations, and enslaved people are harder to find, so historians look carefully in court records, petitions, oral histories and objects.

A few key events in this unit, from 1710 to 1800. Each tick marks the year of an event.

Worked example

Let's sort some sources

Is each source primary or secondary?

A 1784 letter written by a Loyalist woman.
A 2019 online encyclopedia article about the Loyalists.
A wampum belt exchanged at a treaty council in 1764.
Your history textbook.
The Book of Negroes, a list of names written in 1783.

Ask for each one: was it made at the time of the events, or later by someone studying them?
The 1784 letter, the 1764 wampum belt and the 1783 list were all made at the time. They are primary.
The 2019 article and the textbook were made much later by people studying the past. They are secondary.
Notice: a wampum belt is a primary source even though it is not writing. Many First Nations recorded agreements in wampum.

Primary: 1, 3, 5. Secondary: 2, 4.

Worked example

Let's test significance

Was the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) historically significant?

Did it affect many people? Yes: Acadians, the Mi'kmaq, French and British colonists.
Did the effects last? Yes: Acadia became British Nova Scotia, which led to the Acadian Expulsion 40 years later (Lesson 5).
Does it help explain today? Yes: it is part of why Nova Scotia has that name and why Acadians live where they do.
Perspective check: for the Mi'kmaq, the treaty was made without them, about their land.

Yes. It affected many people, had long-lasting results, and helps explain later events. But it meant different things to different groups.

Just for fun

Riddle: What kind of fruit do historians love most?

Dates! (And this unit has plenty of them.)

Ask good questions

A good inquiry question has no one-word answer. Compare:

When was the Treaty of Utrecht? (one fact)
How did the Treaty of Utrecht affect the Acadians and the Mi'kmaq differently? (needs evidence and thinking)

The second one is an inquiry question.

Hands-on activity

Make a giant unit timeline

You need: a long strip of paper (tape sheets together, or use the back of old wrapping paper), a ruler, a pencil and markers.

Draw a line across the strip. Mark 1710 at one end and 1800 at the other.
Make equal spaces for each 10 years (1710, 1720, 1730 ... 1800). If your strip is 90 cm long, 1 cm = 1 year.
Add the five events from the timeline above.
Keep the timeline on a wall. After each lesson, add new events with a small drawing.

Tip: use one colour for events about First Nations, Métis and Inuit, another for French, another for British, and another for Black communities. You will see how their stories overlap.

Your turn

What treaty in 1713 ended a war between France and Britain?

Name two places Britain gained in 1713.

What is a primary source? Give an example.

Which historical thinking concept asks "What stayed the same?"

Why are the voices of enslaved people hard to find in written records of the 1700s?

Is this a good inquiry question? "Who was the king of France in 1713?"

More practice: warm-up

What colony did France keep along the St. Lawrence River?

What is a historian?

Is a textbook a primary or secondary source?

What did the French call Cape Breton Island?

Which concept asks "Why does this matter?"

More practice: on your own

A diary written by Elizabeth Simcoe in 1793 is used in a 2015 book about Upper Canada. Which is primary and which is secondary?

Give one cause and one consequence of the Treaty of Utrecht.

Why might a Mi'kmaq Elder's oral history about 1713 tell a different story from a French official's letter?

Why is "Most of the continent was still First Nations land in 1713" an important fact to remember?

Turn this fact question into an inquiry question: "When did the Loyalists arrive?"

Challenge

A website says, "In 1713 Britain won Nova Scotia." Using historical perspective, explain what this sentence leaves out.

Why do historians use many different kinds of sources, not just government letters?

Rank these by historical significance and give a reason for your top choice: (a) a new road in one village, (b) a treaty that changed who ruled a colony, (c) a good harvest one year.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What did the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) do in North America?

Which is a primary source?

"What changed and what stayed the same?" is the question for which concept?

Which group was not part of the Treaty of Utrecht, even though it was about their land?

Which is the best inquiry question?

Why should historians ask "Whose voice is missing?"

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This opening lesson sets up the unit (1713 to 1800): the situation after the Treaty of Utrecht, the four historical thinking concepts used in the Ontario curriculum, and primary versus secondary sources. It supports the inquiry expectation (A2) and the understanding expectation (A3).

About the expectations: Ontario introduced a 2026 edition of the Grades 7 and 8 History curriculum, which adds learning about the contributions of Black individuals and communities and the barriers they faced. This unit uses the overall expectations A1 (application), A2 (inquiry) and A3 (understanding historical context).

How to help at home:

Keep the giant timeline on a wall and add to it after each lesson.
When you see a historical claim (a plaque, a museum sign, a video), ask together: Who made this? When? Whose voice is missing?
Encourage "why" and "how" questions rather than "when" questions.

Common difficulties:

Thinking primary means "most important": primary means from the time.
Thinking a map of French and British colonies shows who controlled the land: in 1713, most of the continent was First Nations land.
Judging people of the past only by today's values: historical perspective means understanding their world. It does not mean pretending injustices like slavery were acceptable.