WBeginning with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, New France, of which the colony of Canada was a part, formally became a part of the British Empire. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 enlarged the colony of Canada under the name of the Province of Quebec, which with the Constitutional Act 1791 became known as the Canadas. With the Act of Union 1840, Upper and Lower Canada were joined to become the United Province of Canada.
WThe colony of Canada was a French colony within the larger territory of New France, first claimed in the name of the king of France in 1535 during the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, later to become largely part of the modern country of Canada. The word "Canada" at this point referred to the territory along the Saint Lawrence River, then known as the Canada river, from Grosse Island in the east to a point between Quebec and Trois-Rivières, although this territory had greatly expanded by 1600. French explorations continued "unto the Countreys of Canada, Hochelaga, and Saguenay" before any permanent settlements were established. Even though a permanent trading post and habitation was established at Tadoussac in 1600, at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers, it was under a trade monopoly and thus not constituted as an official French colonial settlement.
WCanadian Confederation was the process by which the three colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one federation called the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. Upon confederation, what had formerly been called the Province of Canada was divided into the two provinces of Ontario and Quebec and thus, along with the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the new Dominion initially consisted of four provinces. Over the years since Confederation, Canada has seen numerous territorial changes and expansions, resulting in the current number of ten provinces and three territories.
WThe Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, the Quebec Conference of 1864, and the London Conference of 1866, preceding Canadian Confederation. Only ten people attended all three conferences.
WThe Ministry of the Navy was a section of the French government - apart from the Ministry of War - that was in charge of the French navy and colonies.
WNew France, also sometimes known as the French North American Empire or Royal New France, was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris (1763).
WThe Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain and Prussia's victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War.