Is the Canadian Kettle calling the American Melting Pot Black?


Canadians are easily annoyed at Outlanders, and especially Americans, who seem to know nothing about Canada. I myself have written articles belittling our southern cousins on their ignorance of our country. Well, I stand chastened! I found out, when tested by my Grandson, that I, the quintessential Canadian patriot, was sorely lacking in Canadian geographical knowledge. I have since been able to remedy my ignorance through a visit to a Geographical Names web site . I have quoted below some of the interesting information that I found. After all, any outlander should expect every Canadian over twelve years of age to know these simple facts as a citizenship minimum. If a Canadian doesn't know Canada, why should a Yank? Or put another way, "People that live in stone houses shouldn't throw glasses!"

Origin of the name "Canada"
According to Cartier's account and historians' interpretations, Canada was a province whose (hypothetical) boundaries extended from île aux Coudres and île aux Grues in the east to somewhere in the Portneuf area in the west. It consisted of a number of Indian villages, but covered only a small area. The name was later associated with New France, and finally replaced British North America to describe a Canada that extended "from sea to sea".

Origin of Newfoundland & Labrador.
Although Newfoundland is one of the oldest place names on the eastern seaboard, its evolution may be easily followed. It was the "new founde isle" of John Cabot who sailed westward from Bristol in 1497; although Norsemen, Basques, and Bretons (among others) had undoubtedly preceded him. By 1502 "New found launde" was being used in official English documents with the French version "Terre Neuve" appearing as early as 1510 - a clear indication of the acceptance of the designation. Giovanni da Verrazano used the term "Terra Nova" on his map of 1529. Newfoundland entered Confederation as the tenth province of Canada on March 31, 1949. There remains an element of uncertainty, but most authorities credit the origin of the name Labrador to João Fernades a Portuguese explorer and lavrador, or "landholder", in the Azores. It was probably first applied to a section of the coast of modern Greenland and later transferred by cartographers to the northeastern coast of the continent. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Volume 1, quotes an inscription (near Greenland) on the Weimar map of 1530: "...And as the one who first gave notice of it was a labrador of the Azores (João Fernandes), they gave it the name."

Capital:
ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR


Derived from the supposed date of discovery - on the Feast of St. John the Baptist, 1497. The name has survived through a series of translations from the Portuguese (S. Joham) to the French (b. de Saincte Jean) to St. John's

Nova Scotia
Although applied first on September 29, 1621, when Sir William Alexander (1567?-1640) received a grant of "the lands lying between New England and Newfoundland ... to be known as Nova Scotia, or New Scotland", the name did not become fixed on the map until after the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Prior to this, the name Acadia was generally used by the French to denote the Maritime provinces along with adjacent portions of New England and Quebec. The origin of the word Acadia is in dispute. It is generally accepted to be from Archadia (Acadia), assigned by Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524 and suggested by the classical name for a land of rustic peace. The claim that it is of Micmac origin is probably coincidental. The Micmac word Quoddy or Cady was rendered by the French as cadie and meant a piece of land or territory.

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
Founded June 21, 1749, and named for George Montagu Dunk, Earl of Halifax (1716-71), then President of the Board of Trade. Became the capital of Nova Scotia on July 14, 1749.

New Brunswick
Originally the territory included in modern New Brunswick was part of Nova Scotia. The American Revolution from 1775 to 1783 resulted in a large influx of Loyalist settlers, and agitation arose for the creation of a new province. On September 10, 1784, the partition took place and the "name was chosen as a compliment to King George III (1760-1820) who was descended from the House of Brunswick." Earlier proposals for naming the new province were: New Ireland (suggested by William Knox, Under Secretary of State, but rejected "because Ireland was out of royal favour"), and Pittsylvania, for William Pitt, then British prime minister.

FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK
Assigned by order-in-council, February 22, 1785 - "a town at St. Anne's Point, on the River Saint John, to be called Fredericktown after His Royal Highness Prince Frederick, Bishop of Osnaburg". The "k" and "w" were dropped shortly thereafter. Source

Prince Edward Island
The island appears under the name Île de Saint Jean in Champlain's narrative (1604) and on his map (1632); however, according to Ganong, the name is of earlier origin. After its acquisition by the British in 1759 the island was known as St. John's Island until the name was changed in 1798 to honour Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (1767-1820), father of Queen Victoria, then in command of the British forces at Halifax. Separated from Nova Scotia in 1769, Prince Edward Island entered Confederation on July 1, 1873.

CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Listed as Charlotte Town on the Holland Survey map of 1765, the city was named for Queen Charlotte, (1744-1818), the consort of King George III. Incorporated as a town in 1855 and as a city in 1875

Quebec
The name was applied first to the region of the modern city and the word is of undoubted Algonquin origin. Early spellings: Quebecq (Levasseur, 1601); Kébec (Lescarbot, 1609); Quebec (Champlain, 1613). Champlain wrote of the location in 1632: "It ... is a strait of the river, so called by the Indians" - a reference to the Algonquin word for "narrow passage" or "strait" to indicate the narrowing of the river at Cape Diamond. The term is common to the Algonquin, Cree, and Micmac languages and signifies the same in each dialect.

QUÉBEC, QUEBEC
Derived from the Amerindian word kebek, indicating a strait or channel that narrows. The name was applied first to the region of the modern city and the word is of undoubted Algonquin origin. Early spellings: Quebecq (Levasseur, 1601); Kébec (Lescarbot, 1609); Quebec (Champlain, 1613). Champlain wrote of the location in 1632: "It...is a strait of the river, so called by the Indians" - a reference to the Algonquin word for "narrow passage" or "strait" to indicate the narrowing of the river at Cape Diamond. The term is common to the Algonquin, Cree, and Micmac languages and signifies the same in each dialect.

Ontario
The name was first applied to the lake (1641) and is traceable to Amerindian sources. It may be a corruption of Onitariio, meaning "beautiful lake", or Kanadario, variously translated as "sparkling" or "beautiful" water. Later European settlers gave the name to the land along the lakeshore and then to an ever extending area. "Old Ontario" was a term sometimes loosely applied to the southern portion of the province. Entered Confederation as the province of Ontario, 1867

TORONTO, ONTARIO
Details surrounding exact origin are uncertain. For many years it was thought to stem from a Huron word translated as "a place of meeting"; however, recent scholarship indicates that it may be of Mohawk origin. The Mohawk descriptive phrase tkaronto was used to indicate the fishing weirs located at The Narrows near present day Orillia. Literally translated as "where there are trees standing in the water", the name was noted by Champlain in 1615. Over time it was to move 125 kilometres southward to the site of the city of Toronto (Rayburn, 1994). Listed as Tarantou (Sanson, 1656); in 1793 Governor John Graves Simcoe moved the capital from Newark (Niagara) to Toronto Bay and renamed it York. In 1834 the city was incorporated as Toronto. Contemporary Metropolitan Toronto comprises the cities of Toronto, North York, Scarborough, York, Etobicoke and the borough of East York.

Manitoba
Created as a province in 1870, the name was probably first applied to Lake Manitoba. There are two theories as to the origin of the name. (1) It is of Assiniboine origin: Mini and tobow meaning "Lake of the Prairie", or in French "Lac des Prairies", the name used by La Vérendrye. (2) The more probable source is the Cree maniotwapow, "the strait of the spirit or manitobau ". This refers to the roaring sound produced by pebbles on a beach on Manitoba Island in Lake Manitoba. The noise "gave rise to the superstition among the Indians that a manito or spirit beats a drum".

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA
Capital city of Manitoba, lake, and river. This name is from the Cree Winnipi and may be freely translated as "dirty water" or "murky water". The lake was designated as Sea Lake by Thompson in 1816. Metropolitan Winnipeg, an amalgamation of neighbouring municipalities, was created November 1, 1960, and reorganized as the city of Winnipeg, January 1, 1972

Saskatchewan
The name is derived from that which was first applied to the Saskatchewan River. In the Cree language it was known as Kisiskatchewani Sipi, or "swift-flowing river". The explorer Anthony Henday's spelling was Keiskatchewan, with the modern rendering, Saskatchewan, being officially adopted in 1882 when a portion of the present-day province was designated a provisional district of the North West Territories. Achieved provincial status in 1905.

REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN
Assigned August 23, 1882, by the Governor General, the Marquess of Lorne (1845-1914), in honour of his wife's mother, Queen Victoria. Originally called Pile O'Bones.

Alberta
The district of Alberta was created in 1882, and enlarged to become a province of Canada on September 1, 1905. The name was suggested by the Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883, in honour of his wife, H.R.H. Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria.

EDMONTON, ALBERTA
Name taken from Fort Edmonton, built in 1795 farther down the North Saskatchewan River than the present city. The fort was destroyed in 1807, but was relocated within the site of the present city limits by the Hudson's Bay Company some time before 1819. The fort is reputed to have been named by William Tomison for Edmonton, now part of metropolitan London, England, in honour of the birthplace of John Peter Pruden, a clerk of the Hudson's Bay Company.

British Columbia
Much of the mainland region was originally known as New Caledonia; however, this name (duplicated in South Pacific) was discarded in favour of British Columbia. The designation appears to have originated with Queen Victoria and was officially proclaimed in 1858. Columbia (after the Columbia River which was named by the American Captain Robert Gray for his ship Columbia ) had previously been loosely applied to the southern portion of the colony

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA
First known as Fort Victoria, the city, like the numerous other locations of the same name, commemorates Queen Victoria (1819-1900). The name was chosen by the Council of the Northern Department (Hudson's Bay Company) at Fort Garry, June 10, 1843.

Nunavut
This new territory was created in 1993, to come into being on 1 April 1999. It consists of the administrative regions of Keewatin, Baffin and Kitikmeot, which together comprise all the former district of Keewatin, the northeastern part of the district of Franklin, except Banks and Prince Patrick islands, and parts of Victoria and Melville islands, and some smaller islands. In Inuktitut Nunavut means "our land".

YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The community was established following the discovery of gold in 1934. The name is derived from the Athapaskan band of Amerindians, who possessed tools made from yellow copper. It is now capital of the Northwest Territories, and was incorporated as a city on January 1, 1970.

North West Territories
Historically, the term was loosely applied to the vast lands north and west of Lake Superior; later it signified the administrative district which pre-dated Saskatchewan and Alberta; and from January 1, 1920, it has meant "that part of Northern Canada between the Yukon Territory and Hudson Bay, including Baffin Island, the islands in James Bay, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and the Arctic Archipelago".

YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The community was established following the discovery of gold in 1934. The name is derived from the Athapaskan band of Amerindians, who possessed tools made from yellow copper. It is now capital of the Northwest Territories, and was incorporated as a city on January 1, 1970.

Yukon
The territory was established on June 13, 1898, although the name, of Amerindian origin, was first applied to the river and is from Yu- kun-ah, meaning "great river". It was first noted in 1846 by John Bell (1799-1868) an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, "who called it by what he understood to be its Indian [name]". Country and Province Source names: Hamilton, William B. (1978): The Macmillan book of Canadian place names, Macmillan of Canada, Toronto

WHITEHORSE, YUKON TERRITORY
The capital of Yukon since 1953. Named for the Whitehorse Rapids which are said to resemble the mane of a white horse.

Here are some names few Canadians know have been changed in the last little while.
Any outlander who knows a few of these names has put the Canuck in his/her Trivial Pursuit place.

To My readers in the USA
The little Canadian town written up below stems from the American Revolution. Had your American ancestors been on the right side, as many were, you could have been Empire Loyalist and come to Canada with Joseph Brant and settled around Brantford. You're too late now!

Origin of Canadian town/city names.

Brantford,
Theyebdabegea, called Joseph Brant by the whites, was a Mohawk leader who sided with the British during the Revolutionary War. Joseph Brant took his first scalp at thirteen. He was educated in white schools. He was a protege of Sir William Johnson, and learned Latin and Greek. He translated the new Testament into his native language. Sir William Johnson, the Indian commissioner, married Joseph's sister Molly. Joseph visited England in 1776, and was received at the Kings court. His grandfather was one of the Mohawk Chiefs sent to England by the British to meet Queen Anne.The Indians found themselves in the middle of the tensions mounted between the Americans and the British. The six nations of the Hodenosuanee Confederacy, including the Delawares and Shawnees in the west, wanted no part of the fight. Chief Cornstalk of the Shawnee, carried a message of peace to the Americans in 1775. President Washington authorized Indians in the American Army, a breach of the promise given the Hodensousanee tribes at Pittsburgh. The Iroquois tribe was neutral.Joseph or Theyendanegea, the Mohawk chief, returned from England to travel amoung the six Indian nations with his message not to stay neutral. He thought the colonies would overrun the Indians and their only hope was to side with the British before the colonists dominated the continent. He told the Iroquois their only hope was to fight with England. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras wanted to ally with the Americans. They later helped George Washington at valley forge. The other Iroquois and the Senacas met the British in 1777 to decide if they should join their forces. Joseph Brant argued for the British. The Shawnee leader Cornstalk tried to prevent his people from joining the fighting by going to Fort Pleasant. The colonists captured him and his son and later shot them and murdered the other Shawnee who were with them. This resulted in the Shawnee joining the British.Joseph Brant led the Iroquois warriers who fought with the British troops against the Oneida and the American militiamen in August 6, 1777. The Onondagas, the one Iroquois nation still neutral, was attacked by Washington's troops and their women captured. Many of their warriers then joined the British. Washington sent Major General John Sullivan against the pro British Iroquois to destroy their homes. In retaliation Joseph destroyed the Oneidas and Tuscaroras villages. When winter arrived many Indians on both sides starved for lack of crops that were destroyed. In 1783 the British recognized the new United States and as Chief Cornstalk had warned the Indians gained nothing from their fighting. Joseph Brant, his Mohawk followers, and other pro British Iroquois, were forced from their lands after being deserted by the British and moved to Canada.

Jack C. Downey CD
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