The Role of the British in the Achievement of Confederation 1864–1867

Abstract

Historians have generally regarded the role of the British in the achievement of Confederation between 1864 and 1867 as important, although precisely how the imperial deus ex machina managed to overcome opposition in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in 1865–6 is not fully explained. A collage of phrases captures the prevailing impression created by most studies of the subject: ‘Britain overrides resistance’ was Brebner’s sub-heading, followed by the statement that it took ‘two years and the full weight of Britain’s resources to get a federation established’. ‘The time had now come to invoke the overriding authority of the British government,’ wrote McInnis. According to Francis, Jones and Smith, ‘Britain now intervened directly to bring about a colonial federation’, while McNaught concluded that ‘London … acted decisively’. Finlay and Sprague referred to ‘British intervention to break the resistance of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick’. Morton narrowed the allusion to the cabinet, which ‘it was clear beyond doubt… had decided to use all necessary means to carry out the confederation of Canada’. Eldridge concentrated the focus still more, specifying that the colonial secretary, Edward Cardwell, ‘was quite prepared to push the Maritime Provinces into joining the confederation’.KeywordsNorth AmericaNova ScotiaBritish GovernmentLoan GuaranteeMaritime ProvinceThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.