Secondary III • 2yr.
Hello,
Could you give me some consequences of the Quebec Act please?
Thank you ! :)
Hello,
Could you give me some consequences of the Quebec Act please?
Thank you ! :)
Explanation from Alloprof
This Explanation was submitted by a member of the Alloprof team.
Good morning ShyButterfly6490!
In 1774, Governor Guy Carleton convinced King George III to adopt a new constitution: the Quebec Act. This constitution was intended to be more conciliatory towards francophones in order to preserve peace.
At the level of the executive power, the Test Oath is then replaced by the Oath of Allegiance. Regarding the legislative power, the Council could then be composed of Francophones. In addition, freedom of religion was then formalized. These were great gains for the Francophones of the colony and that is why the Quebec Act was well received by most of them. Furthermore, many elements of Franco-Canadian culture were now authorized : tithing, French civil laws, etc.
However, English merchants were, for the most part, not happy at all with these changes. The House of Assembly that had been promised to them was not created. In addition, the reestablishment of French civil laws resulted in the loss of English civil laws, which made British merchants unhappy.
However, other English merchants were rejoiced at the territorial expansion caused by the Quebec Act, as they had more territory for the fur trade.
Finally, the Thirteen Colonies were dissatisfied with the new territorial limits of the Quebec Act. They coveted the Ohio Valley for a long time, but this territory was then granted to the Province of Quebec. The Quebec Act was, moreover, one of the causes of the American Revolution.
For more details, I invite you to consult our fact sheet and our video treating of the Quebec Act.
Let us know if we can help you with anything else!
- Marilee