where did the first settlers in canada come from
History of Canada French interest in the New World began with Francis I of France, who in 1524 sponsored Giovanni da Verrazzano to navigate the region between Florida and Newfoundland in hopes of finding a route to the Pacific Ocean.[44] Although the English had laid claims to it 1497 when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on the North American coast (likely either modern-day Newfoundland or Nova Scotia) and had claimed the land for England on behalf of King Henry VII,[45] these claims were not exercised and England did not make any attempts at permanent colonization. For the French however, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1534 and claimed the land in the name of Francis I establishing a region called Canada the following summer.[46] Permanent settlement attempts by Cartier at Charlesbourg-Royal in 1541, at Sable Island in 1598 by Marquis de La Roche-Mesgouez, and at Tadoussac, Quebec in 1600 by François Gravé Du Pont had all eventually failed.[47] Despite these initial failures, French fishing fleets sailed the Atlantic coast and into the St. Lawrence River, trading and making alliances with First Nations,[48] as well as establishing fishing settlements such as in Percé in 1603.[49] As a result of France's claim and activities in the colony of Canada, the name "Canada" was present on international maps denoting this colony within the St-Lawrence river region.[50]
Canada under British rule Canada was under British rule beginning with the Treaty of Paris (1763) which ceded New France, of which Canada was a part, to the British Empire. Gradually, other territories, colonies, and provinces that were part of British North America would be added to Canada. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 enlarged the colony of Canada under the name of the Province of Quebec, which with the Constitutional Act 1791 became known as The Canadas. With the Act of Union 1840 Upper and Lower Canada were joined to become the United Province of Canada. Later, with Confederation in 1867, the British maritime colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were joined with the British colony of Canada to form the Dominion of Canada, which was subsequently divided into four provinces, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. A number of other British colonies, such as Newfoundland and British Columbia, and large territories such as Rupert's Land initially remained outside the newly formed federation. Over time, the remaining colonies and territories within British North America came under the control of Canada until the current geographic extent of the country was reached when Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949.[1][2] Although confederation in 1867 led to an enlarged Dominion with increased autonomy over domestic affairs, Canada still remained a colony within the British Empire and was thus subordinate to the British Parliament until the enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931. This statute recognized Canada as an independent peer coequal with the United Kingdom, and thus provided the Parliament of Canada with legislative sovereignty over all federal matters except the power to change the constitutional laws of Canada which remained under the purview of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada's final vestige of legal dependence on the United Kingdom was terminated in 1982 with the enactment of the Canada Act, subsequently providing Canada with full legal sovereignty completely independent of the United Kingdom.