ECON 321 Canadian Economic History

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ECON 321 Canadian Economic History

• Class notes Introduction

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ECON 321 Class NotesBackground the Early
Staples

• Note these notes are outlines of material
  presented in class. They are neither a
  substitute for the readings nor for attending the
  lectures

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ECON 321 Class Notes Background the Early
Staples

• Section objectives
• Sense of general conditions in Europe, why now
  for exploration/colonisation
• Overall picture of BNA/Canadian development in
  terms of timing and geography
• Overview of early development in British North
  America (the Staples economy)

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ECON 321 Class Notes Background the Early
Staples

• European conditions
• Demand rising middle classes with greatly
  increased demand for luxury goods
• Supply improved (or imported) technologylateen
  sails, carvel hulls, dead reckoning

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ECON 321 Class Notes Background the Early
Staples

• Significant time lag between discovery,
  colonisation and extensive settlement
• In part determined by the nature of resources
  being extracted
• Early British North American/Canadian economic
  history focuses on the series of commodities
  known as staples that shaped both the pattern of
  settlement economic development

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ECON 321 Class Notes Background the Early
Staples

• Key thesis is the Staples Thesis, initially
  developed by McIntosh and expanded by Innis in
  the interwar period.
• General idea is colonies must have something to
  trade or, in the absence of overwhelming
  strategic importance, they will not flourish
• Strategic example Gibraltarmilitary
  Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, London for trade
  routes

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ECON 321 Class Notes Background the Early
Staples

• Commodity must be plentiful, easy to extract or,
  in the case of fur, easy to have someone else
  extract for you
• Should have high and steady demand in old world
• Should not require extensive manufacture prior to
  export

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ECON 321 Class Notes Background the Early
Staples

• In terms of timing and progress
• Until late 18th/early 19th Century, North
  American boundary changes are outputs of European
  conflicts
• Boundaries are determined by height of land and
  geographical features, which explains their
  shapes
• Settlement by Europeans occurred from east to
  west