Canadian Confederation Was Not Inevitable.
Confederation Was Not Inevitable
I strongly believe the Canadian Confederation was not bound to happen because if certain issues from the past were dealt differently, the outcome would surely differ from today. First of all if the British hadn't changed their attitude towards the colonies, or in other words they still believed the colonies could incessantly bring wealth to their homes in Great Britain, they would unquestionably oppose the idea of Confederation. Who would want wealth to cease? Since the colonies held their fidelity towards Britain, no further action would be done. Canada would continue to remain as a colony of the vast British Empire. Secondly, the colonies could have decided not to build a railway at all due to the heavy expenses involved. Subsequently, the colonies wouldn't need to merge as a country to share the expenses to prevent bankruptcy. In addition, troops and provisions could not be conveyed between British Columbia and Eastern Canada efficiently without a railway. This in turn will leave the colonies exposed to invasions and attacks from the United States. Manifest Destiny, or in other words the belief that the United States would sooner or later take control of the entire continent might take place. Confederation then, will not be very possible. Finally if no difficulties in trade were encountered, it was extremely unlikely that the British North American colonies would unite. For instance, suppose Britain did not initiate a free trade system in 1846. This would mean that the colonies would always have a guaranteed trading partner, providing them with a stable economy. Taking this into consideration, establishing a free trade amongst themselves would be unnecessary. Therefore, the whole concept of Confederation would be quite pointless, since one of the reasons of Confederation was that the colonies thought forming one country would help expedite their free trade system. The same scheme would apply if the United States didn't terminate
I strongly believe the Canadian Confederation was not bound to happen because if certain issues from the past were dealt differently, the outcome would surely differ from today. First of all if the British hadn't changed their attitude towards the colonies, or in other words they still believed the colonies could incessantly bring wealth to their homes in Great Britain, they would unquestionably oppose the idea of Confederation. Who would want wealth to cease? Since the colonies held their fidelity towards Britain, no further action would be done. Canada would continue to remain as a colony of the vast British Empire. Secondly, the colonies could have decided not to build a railway at all due to the heavy expenses involved. Subsequently, the colonies wouldn't need to merge as a country to share the expenses to prevent bankruptcy. In addition, troops and provisions could not be conveyed between British Columbia and Eastern Canada efficiently without a railway. This in turn will leave the colonies exposed to invasions and attacks from the United States. Manifest Destiny, or in other words the belief that the United States would sooner or later take control of the entire continent might take place. Confederation then, will not be very possible. Finally if no difficulties in trade were encountered, it was extremely unlikely that the British North American colonies would unite. For instance, suppose Britain did not initiate a free trade system in 1846. This would mean that the colonies would always have a guaranteed trading partner, providing them with a stable economy. Taking this into consideration, establishing a free trade amongst themselves would be unnecessary. Therefore, the whole concept of Confederation would be quite pointless, since one of the reasons of Confederation was that the colonies thought forming one country would help expedite their free trade system. The same scheme would apply if the United States didn't terminate