CANADA HISTORY - BRITISH AMERICA

With the end of the American Revolution, British attention in North America moved decisively north with expansion and exploration becoming to order of the day. Assimilation of the French Canadians, exploration of the Northwest, consolidation of the Maritimes and Ontario were all pursued vigorously by England. It was an age of great explorers such as Mackenzie, Thompson Fraser and the legend James Cook. It was also an era of commercial competition between the two great fur trading companies, the Hudson Bay Company and The Norwest Company. This growth and consolidation were challenged by the newly formed United States during the war of 1812 with the fragile Canadian interests holding together against the various American invasions.