The Royal Proclamation of 1763 ended the military regime, which meant that the army was no longer responsible for the territory’s political administration. A civilian government was put in place. King George III of Great Britain wanted his new colony, the Province of Quebec, to be administered in the same way as other British colonies.
Forced Assimilation is when a people are made to adopt the language, customs, religion and values of another culture to the detriment of their own.
Natural Assimilation is when people or minority groups adjust to new environments and come to share a common culture through contact with majority groups.
For the Province of Quebec to become a British colony, it was important for the population, primarily Canadien, to adopt the British language, religion and culture. To accomplish this, Governor James Murray was responsible for implementing the King’s instructions, whose main objective was to assimilate the Canadiens.
Despite the King’s instructions, James Murray adopted a more conciliatory attitude; he was open to compromise. Murray wanted to avoid any revolt from the Canadiens who were the numerical majority in the colony. He also thought assimilation would occur more rapidly if they developed a sense of belonging to their new country. Therefore, Murray granted several concessions to the Canadiens.
| Instructions from George III for assimilating the Canadiens | Concessions granted to the Canadiens by James Murray |
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The townships were plots of land generally divided into squares. Unlike the seigneurial system, those who occupied the land owned it. The principle of paying royalties to the seigneur was abolished.
Like the oath of allegiance, the Test Act consisted of swearing allegiance to the King of Great Britain. However, unlike the oath of allegiance, it also included renunciation of the Catholic religion and papal authority, which was inconceivable for most Canadiens. This oath was mandatory to secure administrative positions, such as Council member or judge, effectively limiting access to these jobs for the Canadiens.