Ontario Teachers' Manuals: History Part 17

_P._--Labrador.

_T._--What is the climate of Labrador?

_P._--Very cold.

_T._--Then the climate of Britain ought to be the same?

_P._--The water around it would make it not so cold.

_T._--Yes. The ocean currents from the south help to make the climate milder, too. There would be plenty of rain, besides. Now, how would a moist, mild climate affect agriculture in England?

_P._--They ought to be able to grow almost everything that we can.

(Similarly, many other points may be taken up and developed with the cla.s.s.)

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

INCIDENTAL TEACHING OF HISTORY WITH GEOGRAPHY

_Aim._--To show general connection between history and geography.

_Material Required._--A black-board sketch of that part of Canada adjacent to the St. Lawrence and a set of pictures (or picture post-cards) showing the important historical sites along the banks of the river.

_Introduction._--The teacher asks a few questions to make clear the purpose of the map and to fix the location of the princ.i.p.al towns and cities--Kingston, Brockville, Prescott, Ogdensburg, Morrisburg, Cornwall, Lachine, Montreal, Three Rivers, Levis, Quebec, Tadoussac, and Gaspe.

_Presentation._--The lesson is a.s.sumed to be a pleasure trip by boat from Port Hope to the Atlantic. The teacher will tell of the departure from Port Hope and the arrival at Kingston, the first port. While there, he will ask why the place was given the name of Kingston. (It was named in honour of George III; as Queenston, at the upper end of the lake, was in honour of Queen Charlotte.) Leaving Kingston the teacher will describe (showing pictures) the appearance of the fort on the point and, with the pupils, will recall its establishment by Frontenac in 1673, and its use as a check on the Indians, and will note its use now as a storehouse, barracks, and training camp for soldiers. (_Ontario Public School History_, pp. 51, 114.)

As the trip is continued down the river, they notice, in pa.s.sing, the beautiful Thousand Islands, and the town of Brockville--its name commemorating the hero of Queenston Heights. Immediately below Prescott is seen on the bank of the river an old wind-mill, the scene of the Patriot invasion under Von Schultz, a Polish adventurer. (See _Ontario Public School History_, p. 178, and picture in Weaver's _Canadian History for Boys and Girls_, p. 227.)

Across the river lies Ogdensburg, the scene of a raid in 1813. Colonel Macdonell, the British leader, who was drilling his small force on the ice, made a sudden attack upon the town, defeated the Americans, captured a large amount of stores and ammunition, and burned four armed vessels which lay in the harbour. (See _Ontario Public School History_, p. 155.)

From this point the boat pa.s.ses rapidly through the narrow part of the river at Iroquois (recall the Indians of that name), past the flourishing town of Morrisburg, until, on the north bank, appears a monument of gray granite, erected as a memorial of the battle of Crysler's Farm, fought in this vicinity in 1813. (See _Ontario Public School History_, p. 159.)

After pa.s.sing through the Long Sault Rapids, Cornwall, noted as the seat of the first Grammar School in Ontario, is reached. The river now widens into a lake and does not narrow until it pa.s.ses Coteau, after which it pa.s.ses through a chain of rapids and nears Lachine, the "La Chine" of La Salle, and the scene of numerous Indian fights and ma.s.sacres. (See _Ontario School Geography_, p. 116, and _Ontario Public School History of Canada_, p. 60.) Ten miles to the east is Montreal, the most populous city in Canada, with its Royal Mount, and its many memories of early settlement in Canada. (See _Ontario School Geography_, p. 121.)

Just above Quebec the river, now two miles wide, pa.s.ses the bold cliffs up which Wolfe's men climbed to the Plains of Abraham, and sweeps around the Citadel and Lower Town. On the heights may be seen the monuments erected in honour of Champlain, and Wolfe and Montcalm. In imagination, pictures may be formed of the scenes that marked the close of French Rule in Canada. The river flows on past Tadoussac, long the centre of the Canadian fur-trade, past Gaspe where Cartier landed and laid claim to the surrounding country in the name of the king of France, till its banks fade from sight and its waters mingle with those of the Atlantic.

In teaching such lessons as this, the oral narrative and question method is used. It is a review lesson, and reproduction may follow in a written exercise.

THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND FROM 1066 TO 1603

The purpose of this a.n.a.lysis is to explain by what show of right the kings of England interfered so much in Scottish affairs. The a.n.a.lysis also aims to show how correct and definite views on certain topics may be had only by following out those topics through history, neglecting all facts but those bearing on the topic studied.

1. In the tenth century, Malcolm I obtained Strathclyde (see map, _Ontario Public School History of England_, p. 27) as a fief from Edmund of England. His grandson, Malcolm II, was invested with Lothian, before this a part of the English earldom of Northumbria. These fiefs are the basis of all claims afterwards made by English kings as overlords of Scotland.

2. Malcolm III (1057-1093) married Margaret, sister of Edgar Atheling.

The Norman conquest drove many Saxons north, and the Saxon element in Scotland was strengthened by this.

3. William the Conqueror compelled Malcolm's submission, 1072. This kept alive the English claims.

4. Henry I married Matilda of Scotland. Many Normans went to Scotland in the reign of David (1124-1153). The Feudal System was introduced and firmly established under Norman influence. Ecclesiastical foundation begun. Friendly relations strengthened.

5. As the price of his liberty, William the Lyon agreed, by the Convention of Falaise, 1174, to hold Scotland as a fief of England.

6. To raise money for his Crusade, Richard I of England renounced, in 1189, his feudal rights over Scotland for 10,000 marks, and for the first time acknowledged her independence.

7. The border line was fixed for the first time in 1222.

8. The death of Margaret, daughter of Alexander III, 1286, left the crown a bone of contention; Balliol finally secured it by favour of Edward I of England, the overlord of Scotland. Then followed the War of Independence under Wallace and Bruce and the Battle of Bannockburn, 1314. This long and destructive war caused the Scots to have a deadly hatred of the English, and drove Scotland into alliance with France, the great enemy of England, and consolidated the different races in Scotland.

9. Scotland thus became involved in the many wars between England and France and attacked England whenever she and France were at war.

10. In 1327, the independence of Scotland was acknowledged.

11. Friendship with France and distrust of England continued well into the Reformation period, and in the main determined Scotland's foreign policy.

12. With the change of religion in Scotland at the Reformation, French influence came to an end. Religious sympathy overcame the political hatred of England.

13. The trouble in connection with Mary Queen of Scots and her imprisonment made for peace between the two countries, as Scotland did not want to have Mary released for fear of further civil war.

14. The accession of James VI, a Scottish king, to the throne of England, ended almost entirely the differences between the two countries, and led finally to the Legislative Union a century later (1707).

a.n.a.lYSIS OF SECTIONS 160-170, ONTARIO PUBLIC SCHOOL HISTORY OF ENGLAND

The Parliament had already established its sole right to levy taxation.

(See Green's _Short History of the English People_, p. 478.) Under Charles I the struggle was mainly about the manner in which the taxes should be spent; in other words, the Parliament was trying to secure control of the executive, the other important element in Responsible Government.

Charles I held very strongly the belief in the "divine right" of kings and, naturally, this belief did not harmonize with the aim of Parliament. Disputes were constant:

1. Differences concerning Charles' marriage.

2. First Parliament, 1626, would grant "tonnage and poundage" for only one year.

3. Second Parliament, 1626, refused money unless the conduct of the Spanish war by Buckingham was inquired into by Parliament.

4. Third Parliament, 1628-9. Charles raised some money by "forced loans," but far too little, for a new war with France was begun.

Parliament refused to grant money till the king signed the Pet.i.tion of Right, which embodied all the points in dispute between them.

5. Charles did not long observe the Pet.i.tion of Right which he had signed; Laud, Bishop of London, was making changes in the church ceremonies that seemed to bring back the old religion. Parliament solemnly protested against both these things, then quietly adjourned.

Some members were arrested--Sir John Eliot died in the Tower--others were kept in prison for eleven years.

6. No Parliament for eleven years. Charles aimed during this period to raise money without Parliament, and to establish the English Church in the whole country.

His methods of raising money were: