Québécois Economic Policy- Provincial or Pathetic?
Québécois Economic Policy- Provincial or Pathetic?
By Abe McClenny
H History 3rd
6/11/12
WC: 2023
A. Plan of the Investigation To what extent did economics in Quebec lead to Québécois nationalism in the late 20th century? To assess the degree to which economics led to the unification of the French-Canadians, this investigation focuses on the events leading up to the 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty. The differences between the French and English Canadians, and the connections between their contrasting economies and the Québécois’s demand for reform are explored. The political aspects of Quebec nationalism, as well as events after the 1995 referendum are not assessed in this investigation.
B. Summary of Evidence
“The history of the French in North America is the story of ceaseless struggle of a minority group to maintain its culture in the face of...pressures to conform to the dominant civilization of other ethnic groups and cultures.” For hundreds of years, Canada’s geography and religion had been divided. Most of Quebec’s inhabitants were French speaking Catholics, while other parts of the nation were Protestant English speakers. In the same way, the economic lives of French-Canadians and English-Canadians were divided. However, though Quebec was originally a French colony, its economy was soon overrun by English speakers from the United States and England. When Quebec was taken over by England in 1763, it was “North America’s most stable and archaic rural society.” To the Québécois, “foreigner and exploiter were synonymous,” and they wished to “stand up to the outsiders and thus bring about ‘[their] economic liberation’” from the dominant economic force. In fact, in her first Québécois novel in 1937, Maria Chapdelaine wrote of the English speakers, “Around us have come strangers we scorn as foreigners. They have taken nearly all the power; they have taken all the money”. Eventually, to change the direction of the
By Abe McClenny
H History 3rd
6/11/12
WC: 2023
A. Plan of the Investigation To what extent did economics in Quebec lead to Québécois nationalism in the late 20th century? To assess the degree to which economics led to the unification of the French-Canadians, this investigation focuses on the events leading up to the 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty. The differences between the French and English Canadians, and the connections between their contrasting economies and the Québécois’s demand for reform are explored. The political aspects of Quebec nationalism, as well as events after the 1995 referendum are not assessed in this investigation.
B. Summary of Evidence
“The history of the French in North America is the story of ceaseless struggle of a minority group to maintain its culture in the face of...pressures to conform to the dominant civilization of other ethnic groups and cultures.” For hundreds of years, Canada’s geography and religion had been divided. Most of Quebec’s inhabitants were French speaking Catholics, while other parts of the nation were Protestant English speakers. In the same way, the economic lives of French-Canadians and English-Canadians were divided. However, though Quebec was originally a French colony, its economy was soon overrun by English speakers from the United States and England. When Quebec was taken over by England in 1763, it was “North America’s most stable and archaic rural society.” To the Québécois, “foreigner and exploiter were synonymous,” and they wished to “stand up to the outsiders and thus bring about ‘[their] economic liberation’” from the dominant economic force. In fact, in her first Québécois novel in 1937, Maria Chapdelaine wrote of the English speakers, “Around us have come strangers we scorn as foreigners. They have taken nearly all the power; they have taken all the money”. Eventually, to change the direction of the
Cited: Hughes, Everett C. French Canada in Transition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1943. Print.** Jacobs, Jane. The Question of Separatism: Quebec and the Struggle Over Sovereignty. New York: Vintage, 1981 Little, J. I. (1993) "The Development of the Quebecois Identity: Literary and the Historical Images," Colby Quarterly, Volume 29, no.2, June 1993, p.126-135 Monière, Denis. Ideologies in Quebec: The Historical Development. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1981 Van Der Vyver, Johan D. “Self-Determination of the People of Quebec Under International Law.” Journal of Transnational Law & Policy 10.1 (2000): 1-28 See, Scott W. The History of Canada. Amenia, NY: Grey House Pub., 2010. Print. [ 4 ]. Monière, Denis. Ideologies in Quebec: The Historical Development. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1981 [ 1 ]. Little, J. I. (1993) "The Development of the Quebecois Identity: Literary and the Historical Images," Colby Quarterly, Volume 29, no.2, June 1993, p.126-135 [ 3 ]. Hughes, Everett C. French Canada in Transition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1943. Print. (1) [ 21 ] Journal of Transnational Law & Policy 10.1 (2000): 1-28. Print. (5)