SMF101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: United Empire Loyalist, Child Discipline, Egalitarianism
15 Jun 2018
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Chapter 2 – historical perspectives on Canadian families
Historical, cross cultural perspective
Indigenous peoples and settlers: contact and conflict
- First contacts b/w indigenous people and foreigners were male explorers, then fur
traders, missionaries and lastly women.
- Early settlers in Canada developed strong relationships of mutual aid with indigenous
neighbours.
- Settlement of new France(Quebec) and upper Canada(Ontario) brought together
families of indigenous groups and colonists.
- Children born to UNMARRIED settler were adopted by indigenous families.
- Due to mix of Eurpoean men and indigenous women, to sanction relationships, there
was a sense of IN LOCO PARENTIS – where family life was controlled by others who
regulated and governed the indigenous children as needing discipline and order.
- Other issue – b/w Europeans and indigenous people had to do with kinship ties.
Indigenous - kinship was the basis of assigning rights and duties, decisions about justice
and compensation.
- Another difference was gender roles. In aboriginal societies, women appear to have
been able to exercise MORE power than European counterparts.
- They had different views on relationship to family and property. Europeans believed
property was private and to be traded in a market economy, belonged to individuals and
nuclear families. Indigenous – extended kinship groups often determined who would be
eligible for benefits of a hunt.
- Rituals exchanged among indigenous family groups such as potlaches of people of the
west coast was seen as dangerous by the colonists.
English and French settlers
- Conflicts b/w colonists and indigenous people over family and kinship relations
PARALLEL the conflict b/w British and French settlers.
- English – marriage, family, inheritance, rights, authority for male head of the household.
For oe, arriage eat suspesio of idepedet iheritae
- For long time, married women could not own property, sign a contract or sue.
- Contract, Quebec rules and governing by custom of Paris. Much more egalitarian than
English. Property seen as shared b/w husbands and wives even if controlled by
husbands, children could share inheritance.
- After battle of the plains of Abraham (conquest), English tried to impose their version of
family law and practice which failed. Quebec still has their own laws and approaches.
- Differences – Quebecois are more likely to live in common law unions than other
Canadians, does not take husad’s ae i arriage.
- After conquest, more men and less women. In response, women were imported from
new France from streets of Paris known as LES FILLES DU ROI who were expected to find
marriage partners quickly.
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Transition to industrialism
- Before Canada, industrialized and urbanized, families were primary unit of production.
- Most rural and in the same place, work was agricultural (men and women separate),
strong bonds of neighbours/generations – led to GEMEINSCHAFT – community where
everyone knows each other and shares common values.
- Men – domestic responsibilities – farm, child discipline, representing fam in public,
provisioning.
- Women – child care, take care of farm animals, manufactured household items, social
services in community, private domain, home based businesses if men had to leave.
- When industrialization occurred, it drove many families from country side to city,
smaller nuclear families, everyone in the family had a role, children started working in
factories to help family survive, children were more independent, parents had fewer
children, began to work with strangers.
- Beginning of 20th century – household technology – vacuums, , refrigerators which
raised standards of living.
- Woe ould aado houseork ith ehaizatio of houseork.
History of immigration in relation to the family
- Early immigrants – arrived in search for opportunities to work, land, ownership and new
life, many see economic advancement as a means to ensure family welfare.
- 18th century, American revolution brought to Canada united empire loyalists, African
Americans. Many black families did not fit the expected family model which resulted
from discrimination. African culture tradition is also more economically and sexually
independent of men and families.
- 20th century, African American families settled as homesteaders in central alberta.
Homesteaders banded together in families and communities to make a new happy life,
build community facilities.
- Europeans in Canada – began with colonialism and expansion, immigrants from poverty-
stricken counties.
- Today – south Asian families are large portion of new immigrants in Canada. South Asian
women had problems related to gender roles. Faced a lot of stress from social support,
health problems, downward social mobility, fear of disgracing their families.
History of immigration policies
- Canadian laws In the past and are still not immigrate focused
- Labourers were admitted into Canada to build Canadian pacific railway, then later to
meet demands for labour in resource sectors. Groups that were not needed were
turned away.
- Asia and middle east is most significant source of immigrants into Canada.
- Immigration policy of a home country can affect migration – males might be seen as
independent and women dependent on family. 2nd, the dependent and independnant
status can automatically place women within a family role and men within a market
role. There is power imbalance.
Wars
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Document Summary
Chapter 2 historical perspectives on canadian families. First contacts b/w indigenous people and foreigners were male explorers, then fur traders, missionaries and lastly women. Early settlers in canada developed strong relationships of mutual aid with indigenous neighbours. Settlement of new france(quebec) and upper canada(ontario) brought together families of indigenous groups and colonists. Children born to unmarried settler were adopted by indigenous families. Other issue b/w europeans and indigenous people had to do with kinship ties. Indigenous - kinship was the basis of assigning rights and duties, decisions about justice and compensation. In aboriginal societies, women appear to have been able to exercise more power than european counterparts. They had different views on relationship to family and property. Europeans believed property was private and to be traded in a market economy, belonged to individuals and nuclear families. Indigenous extended kinship groups often determined who would be eligible for benefits of a hunt.
