Factors That Drew BNA
Colonies Together
LEARNING GOAL: IDENTIFY THE EXTERNAL AND
INTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING BNA
SUCCESS CRITERIA
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*I CAN DESCRIBE HOW THE FENIAN RAIDS AND
MANIFEST DESTINY ENCOURAGED BNA TO CONSIDER
JOINING, TO BECOME ONE COUNTRY
Defence Issues:
 Britain stationed its troops all over the world to
make its colonies secure
 This was expensive and Britain wanted a cheaper
alternative!
THE RESULT:
*there was little defence in the colonies anymore
*troops were shipped from Britain, only when
needed!
Crimean War:
 Britain VS. Russia (1854-1856)
 Britain’s strategy: line soldiers in 3 ranks and not
firing a shot until enemy troops advanced
Crimean War…
 The strategy Britain used (lining the troops), was
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called the “Thin Red Line”
Because of the war, troops
from drained from BNA to
help Britain fight Russia
Therefore, BNA was left with little protection
BNA did not feel secure as there were so many
single separate colonies in BNA, and no single
defence strategy
Question…
 Would joining the colonies into a single country
allow them to better defend themselves?
The Fenians:
 Who were the Fenians?
-an Irish organization that used armed rebellion
What did they want?
-to be independent from Britain
Approx 2 million Irish came to North America
(especially U.S.A.) because they felt Ireland treated
them badly
The Fenians
 BNA worried that the Fenians would invade colonies,
but few invasions occurred
 At Pigeon Hill, Quebec several hundred Fenians
invaded Canada East from Vermont. They advanced
10km but found no soldiers to fight!
 When they heard troops were on their way to
intercept, the Fenians retreated!
The Fenians…
 During other attacks, the Fenians did use violence
 Thomas D’Arcy McGee was shot and killed in
Ottawa
 McGee was a politician who opposed the Fenians
 Politicians in colonies began to wonder…Would a
UNITED country better defend themselves from
threats like the Fenians?
Manifest Destiny:
 In 1861 Civil War (North U.S.A. against South
U.S.A.)
 What were they fighting about?
*whether slavery should be legal or not
The North: against slavery
The South: wanted to keep slavery to produce
agricultural goods at low prices
Manifest Destiny:
 The civil war increased tensions between North
U.S.A. and BNA
 The North (called “the Union”), was more powerful
than the South
 Some politicians supported Manifest Destiny, the
belief that U.S.A. had the duty to take over all
of North America
 BNA was afraid they would be invaded by the U.S.A.
IDEA…
 The civil war in the U.S.A. encouraged BNA to
consider joining all colonies into a single country
Learning Goal…
How did YOU do today?