Why is Canada so big?

The development of Canada's early history was greatly influenced by the geographical environment. Canada is located at the northern end of the American continent, bordering the United States in the south and the Arctic Ocean in the north, with a vast territory, complex landforms and diverse climatic conditions. The Pacific coastal areas are surrounded by mountains and seas, benefiting from the west wind of the Pacific Ocean, with mild and humid climate and rich vegetation. Further east is the long and narrow Cordillera region. Four mountains extend from south to north and enter the Yukon, many of which are the highest peaks in North America. There are many rivers and streams in the mountains, which can accommodate boats. Across the Rocky Mountains to the east, it is a vast plain. Although the winter is long and the frost-free period is short, the land is fertile and the rainfall is moderate, which is suitable for crop growth. Due to the geographical barrier, this area was unknown for a long time after the arrival of Europeans, and it was a mysterious and attractive place for those explorers. The St. Lawrence River Valley and the Great Lakes region are the southernmost regions in Canada, with warm climate and abundant rainfall, which are suitable for developing agriculture. Especially the St. Lawrence River basin, played an important role in the early development of Canada. The St. Lawrence River connects the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes in the Atlantic Ocean. It was originally the main channel for Europeans to enter the Canadian mainland. Its basin area is fertile, and the earliest French immigrant settlement in North America was established here. The area along the Atlantic Ocean connected with New England is called Acadia, which belongs to the northward extension of the coastal plain of America and is also suitable for farming. The Appalachian Mountains separate it from the inland, with a tortuous coastline, numerous harbors and rich marine resources. Newfoundland in the north is a natural fishing ground, where abundant fish was once one of the main factors that attracted Europeans to North America. Half of Canada's territory is a shield, belonging to the remains of ancient glaciers. It surrounds Hudson Bay in a huge U-shape, with its northern end extending to the North Pole and its lower end covering most of Quebec and Ontario today. The hills in the shield area are criss-crossed, densely covered with lakes and rugged rocks. Although there are lush forests and rich mineral deposits here, few people settled in the pre-industrial era because crops could not grow.

There have been human activities in Canada for a long time, but because there is no written history, the long time before the arrival of Europeans can only be called the prehistoric period of Canada. Canada, like other parts of America, has not found the remains of apes and ancient humans, and its early inhabitants also belong to the descendants of Asians who migrated through the Bering Strait about1-25,000 years ago (there are many views on the origin of the earliest humans in America, so let's take one of them today). These earliest immigrants in America lived and multiplied in this land of Canada, and gradually formed a survival mode adapted to the environment here, becoming pioneers in the development of North America.

Canadian aborigines generally refer to Indians, Inuit living in the Arctic and later mixed-race aborigines and Europeans. Indians account for the vast majority, and when Europeans first arrived, there were about 220,000 people (1), mainly distributed along the Atlantic coast, the St. Lawrence River basin, the Great Lakes region, the Great Plains and the Pacific coast. Indians have no written language, and there are many dialects, most of which belong to Algonquin and Assapascal languages. The main tribes are Iroquois League tribes, Hurons and Ottawa people living in the border area between Canada and the United States. Michael Mai and Ma Le Seth of Acadia; Monta Gnad in the St. Lawrence Valley; Chipawa people in the Great Lakes region (also known as ojibwa) and Kerry people in the western region; Salehi people, Haida people and Ruttka people along the Pacific coast.

When Europeans arrived, Indians were still in the Stone Age. Its economic life is based on hunting, gathering and fishing. Only Iroquois and Huron people have relatively extensive agriculture, which is produced with stones and wooden tools. They first set fire to the trees and weeds on the land, and then planted crops such as corn, beans, pumpkins and sunflowers. Because of the rough tools, simple production methods and low crop yield, agricultural tribes must be supplemented by fishing and hunting in order to obtain sufficient food sources. Tribes rarely domesticate animals, especially large animals such as horses, cows and pigs. The only common domestic animals are dogs. The natives didn't invent the wheel either. Wheels and pottery wheels are unfamiliar to them. In a word, the exploitation of resources by Indians is still in a rather crude stage, and their living environment is undoubtedly very hard and harsh.

The social structure of Indians is based on clans, and several clans form tribes. However, a tribe is often not a closely organized and closely related entity, and only the clan linked by blood is the basic social unit. Every clan elects brave warriors and hunters as its leaders. Sometimes, due to the needs of large-scale activities such as war, several clans often unite and their leaders form a meeting of leaders or counselors to lead. There is little communication between tribes, and because of different languages and customs, they compete for survival and are often in a hostile state. However, there are exceptions. For example, the Iroquois tribe has quite developed social organizations. /kloc-in the 6th century, a relatively stable alliance of five tribes was established, and its membership increased to six tribes in 1722. Alliance affairs are managed by an alliance meeting composed of 50 leaders, which is responsible for coordinating disputes among its member tribes, holding negotiations and deciding foreign wars and peace. Each tribe can handle its own internal affairs, but it must take the alliance as a whole when dealing with external affairs. This relatively stable alliance has made the Iroquois a strong indigenous group.

Due to the contact with Europeans and the infiltration of white culture, the social life of Indians has undergone major changes. Among them, the most prominent is the various consequences caused by the introduction of iron, muskets and wine. Iron has enhanced the Indians' earning ability; Advanced firearms have changed the way of hunting and war; The habit of drinking harms the health and fighting capacity of tribal warriors. More seriously, these cultural relics and technologies do not belong to Indians, but must be obtained from whites, which makes them strongly dependent on whites and their culture and endangers the independence and survival of tribes.

On the other hand, the cultural achievements of Indians also had a great influence on the process of Canadian colonization and development. Their canoe skills in sailing on swift rivers, their ability to get shelter and clothes on the spot, their methods of growing corn, their snowshoes for walking in thick snow, their hunting and fishing skills and so on. It has provided great help to Europeans who came to Canada in the early days, enabling them to gain a foothold in the wilderness and gain the ability to survive in this new land. Especially after the fur trade rose and became the pillar of colonial economy, the role of Indians became more important, because they were the main suppliers of fur.