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James Wolfe

James Wolfe

.]] James Wolfe (January 2, 1727–September 13, 1759) was a British general, remembered mainly for his role in establishing British rule over Canada. He was killed in the course of leading victorious British troops at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Wolfe was born in Westerham, Kent, England, himself the son of general, Edward Wolfe. From his earliest years he was destined for a military career, entering his father's regiment at the age of 14. Wolfe later transferred to the infantry where he became a junior officer in 1742 and fought at the Battle of Dettingen in the following year. He participated in the campaign to defeat the Jacobite army of Bonnie Prince Charlie, taking part in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. From Culloden, Wolfe returned to the European Continent and in July 1747 was present at the Battle of Lauffeld serving under General Sir James Mordaunt, who was to be of some importance in his life. Wolfe was wounded and for a second time received the thanks of the Duke of Cumberland for his conduct. Early the following year Wolfe paid his address to Elizabeth Lawson, a neice of General Sir James Mordaunt, who was a Maid of Honour to the Princess of Wales. Wolfe was unlucky in that neither Elizabeth Lawson nor his parents favoured the match. Wolfe's mother wanted her son to marry a certain Miss Hoskins, but Miss Hoskins was of another mind and became engaged to George Warde of Squerryes Court, Westerham, the Wardes and Wolfes being long standing family friends. By 1758 Wolfe was a colonel. His success in Cape Breton and the capture of Fortress Louisbourg on June 12, 1758 led to his being given a command in the New World. Now a brigadier general, Wolfe was assigned to command a British offensive against French Canadian holdings in Quebec. The British army placed the city under seige for three months. During that time, he issued a written document, known as Wolfe's Manifesto, to the civilians of the Canadien community, as a part of his strategy of psychological intimidation. Wolfe then led his command in an amphibious landing above Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. Wolfe's army then scaled the cliffs. On September 13, 1759, to the surprise of the French forces under Montcalm, British forces attacked on the Plains of Abraham. Both Montcalm and Wolfe himself died in the subsequent battle, the outcome of which was victory for the British. Legend has it that he lived to hear the cry "They run," and eagerly asked "Who run?" Being told it was the French, he exclaimed, "I thank God, and die contented." Wolfe's victory at Quebec enabled an assault on French holdings in Montreal the following year. William Johnson and his Mohawk warriors led this successful effort. When George II once expressed his admiration of Wolfe, someone observed that the general was mad. "Oh! He is mad, is he?" said the king with great quickness. "Then I wish he would bite some other of my generals."[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/2/5/9/12595/12595-h/12595-h.htm]. He is mentioned in Canada's former unofficial national anthem, "The Maple Leaf Forever": :In days of yore, from Britain's shore,
:Wolfe, the dauntless hero came,
:And planted firm Britannia's flag,
:On Canada's fair domain.
:Here may it wave, our boast, our pride,
:And joined in love together,
:The thistle, shamrock, rose entwined,
:The Maple Leaf forever!

The classic Anglo-American folk ballad "Brave Wolfe"[http://www.dpnews.com/midimelodies/Brave%20Wolfe.MID] (sometimes known as "Bold Wolfe") gives a romanticized version of Wolfe, Montcalm and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham: :Come all ye young men all let this delight you :Come all ye young men all let nothing fright you :Never let your courage fail when you're brought to trial :Nor let your fancy move at the first denial :This brave undaunted youth have crossed the ocean :To free America was his intention :He landed at Quebec with all his party :The city to attack being brave and hearty :Brave Wolfe drew up his men in a line so pretty :On the Plains of Abraham before the city :The French came marching down in hopes to meet them :With a double number round resolved to beat him :Montcalm and this brave youth together walked :Between two armies they like brothers talked :Till each one to his post then did retire :Twas then those numerous hosts commenced their fire :The drums did loudly beat and the colours flying :The purple dawn did stream and men lay dying :And shot from off his horse fell that brave hero :We'll long lament his loss in tears of sorrow :He lifted up his head when the guns did rattle :And to his army said, How goes the battle? :Quebec is all our own none can prevent it :Oh then, replies bold Wolfe, I die contented Wolfe lived in McCartney House in Croom's Hill, Greenwich, London. His body was buried in St Alfege's Church nearby, a statue of the general overlooks Greenwich Park from a site by the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and there is a memorial to him in Westminster Abbey (by Joseph Wilton). In 1761, as a perpetual memorial to Wolfe, George Warde instituted the Wolfe Society which to this day meets annually in Westerham for the Wolfe Dinner.

External links


- [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=35842 Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online] Wolfe, James Wolfe, James Wolfe, James Wolfe, James Wolfe, James Wolfe, James Wolfe, James

1727

Events


- June 11 - George, Prince of Wales becomes King George II of Great Britain.
- November 18 – Earthquake in Tazriz, Persia - about 77.000 dead
- Last execution for witchcraft in Scotland
- First Amish move to America
- The Royal Bank of Scotland is founded by royal charter in Edinburgh.

Births


- January 2 - James Wolfe, British general (d. 1759)
- May 10 - Anne Robert Turgot, French statesman (d. 1781)
- May 14 - Thomas Gainsborough, English artist (d. 1788)

Deaths


- February 22 - Francesco Gasparini, Italian composer (b. 1661)
- March 31 - Sir Isaac Newton, British scientist (b. 1642)
- May 17 - Empress Catherine I of Russia
- June 8 - August Hermann Francke, German protestant minister (b. 1663)
- June 11 - King George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
- July 23 - Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
- August 4 - Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (b. 1647)
- August 14 - William Croft, English composer (b. 1678)
- September 7 - Glückel of Hameln, German businesswoman and diarist (b. 1647)
- November 10 - Alphonse de Tonty, French explorer and American settler (b. 1659)
- Jakob Abbadie, Swiss protestant preacher Category:1727 ko:1727년

September 13

September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). There are 109 days remaining in the year.

Events


- 509 BC - The temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September.
- 122 - The building of Hadrian's Wall begins.
- 533 - Belisarius and the Roman Empire defeat Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimium near Carthage, North Africa.
- 604 - Pope Sabinianus is consecrated.
- 1440 - Gilles de Rais is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.
- 1609 - Henry Hudson reaches the river that will later be named after him - the Hudson River.
- 1743 - England, Austria and Savoy-Sardinia sign the Treaty of Worms (1743).
- 1759 - Battle of the Plains of Abraham: British defeat French near Quebec City in the Seven Years' War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War
- 1788 - The United States Constitutional Convention sets the date for the country's first presidential election, and New York City becomes the temporary capital of the U.S.
- 1791 - King Louis XVI of France accepts the new constitution
- 1813 - The British fail to capture Baltimore, Maryland. Turning point in the War of 1812.
- 1847 - Mexican-American War: Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec. American General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City in the Mexican-American War.
- 1862 - Union soldiers find Robert E. Lee's battle plans in a field outside Frederick, Maryland.
- 1898 - Hannibal Williston Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film
- 1899 - Henry Bliss is the first person in the United States to be killed in an automobile accident.
- 1900 - Filipino resistance fighters defeat a larger American column in the Battle of Pulang Lupa, during the Philippine American War.
- 1906 - First airplane flight in Europe
- 1914 - During World War I, South African troops open hostilities in German SW Afica (Namibia) with an assault on the Ramansdrift police station.
- 1922 - The temperature (in the shade) at Al 'Aziziyah, Libya reaches a world record 136.4 °F (58 °C).
- 1923 - Military coup in Spain - Miguel Primo de Rivera takes over, setting up a dictatorship.
- 1939 - Canada enters World War II.
- 1940 - German bombs damage Buckingham Palace.
- 1940 - Italy invades Egypt.
- 1943 - Chiang Kai-shek elected president of the Republic of China.
- 1948 - Margaret Chase Smith is elected senator, and becomes the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
- 1953 - Nikita Khrushchev appointed secretary-general of the Soviet Union.
- 1956 - The dyke around the Dutch polder East Flevoland is closed.
- 1965 - Baseball: Willie Mays becomes the fifth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
- 1968 - Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact.
- 1970 - First running of the New York City Marathon.
- 1971 - State police and National Guardsmen storm New York's Attica Prison to end a prison revolt. 42 people die in the assault.
- 1971 - Frank Robinson becomes the 11th member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1978 - Italy's Men's Soccer Team Captain Fabio Cannavaro is born in Napoli, Italy.
- 1978 - Jose Theodore, Goalie for the Montreal Canadiens NHL Franchise is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- 1979 - South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognized outside South Africa).
- 1985 - The Super Mario Bros. video game is released by Nintendo.
- 1987 - Goiânia accident: A radioactive object is stolen from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil, contaminating many people in the following weeks and leading some to die from radiation poisoning.
- 1988 - Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane in the Western Hemisphere (based on barometric pressure).
- 1989 - Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu.
- 1991 - A concrete beam weighing 55 tons fell in the Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada.
- 1993 - Public unveiling of the Oslo Accords, an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement initiated by Norway.
- 1993 - Norwegian parliamentary election, 1993.
- 1994 - Ulysses probe passes the Sun's south pole.
- 1996 - After surviving for six days, U.S. rapper/actor Tupac Shakur dies after being shot four times in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 1999 - Bomb explodes in Moscow, Russia. At least 119 people are killed.
- 2001 - Civilian airplane traffic in the U.S., which had been grounded following the September 11, 2001 attacks, is allowed to resume.
- 2004 - The anime InuYasha finishes its run in Japan with episode 167.
- 2005 - The Israeli's abandon the Gaza Strip.
- 2005 - Major Japanese Pop group Do As Infinity announces their disbanding.

Births


- 1087 - John II Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1143)
- 1502 - John Leland, English antiquarian (d. 1552)
- 1520 - William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English statesman (d. 1598)
- 1604 - William Brereton, English soldier and politician (d. 1661)
- 1739 - Grigori Potemkin, Russian statesman (d. 1791)
- 1775 - Laura Secord, Canadian heroine of the War of 1812 (d. 1868)
- 1802 - Arnold Ruge, German philosopher and political writer (d. 1880)
- 1813 - John Sedgwick, American Civil War general (d. 1864)
- 1819 - Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (d. 1896)
- 1830 - Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer (d. 1916)
- 1842 - John H. Bankhead, U.S. Senator (d. 1920)
- 1851 - Walter Reed, American physician and biologist (d. 1902)
- 1857 - Milton S. Hershey, American chocolate entrepreneur (d. 1945)
- 1857 - Michał Drzymała, Polish peasant rebel (d. 1937)
- 1860 - John J. Pershing, American general (d. 1948)
- 1863 - Arthur Henderson, British politician and union leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1935)
- 1873 - Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (d. 1950)
- 1874 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian-born composer (d. 1951)
- 1876 - Sherwood Anderson, American writer (d. 1941)
- 1877 - Wilhelm Filchner, German explorer (d. 1957)
- 1885 - Wilhelm Blaschke, Austrian geometer
- 1886 - Sir Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1887 - Lavoslav Ruzicka, Croatian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
- 1893 - Larry Shields, American musician (d. 1953)
- 1894 - J.B. Priestley, English playwright and novelist (d. 1984)
- 1894 - Julian Tuwim, Polish poet (d. 1953)
- 1895 - Morris Kirksey, American athlete and rugby player (d. 1981)
- 1903 - Claudette Colbert, French-born actress (d. 1996)
- 1911 - Bill Monroe, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1916 - Roald Dahl, Welsh writer (d. 1990)
- 1918 - Dick Haymes, Argentine vocalist (d. 1980)
- 1917 - Robert Ward, American composer (d. 1994)
- 1922 - Charles Brown, American singer and pianist (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Edouard Boubat, French photographer
- 1924 - Maurice Jarre, French composer
- 1925 - Mel Torme, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1929 - Nicolai Ghiaurov, Bulgarian opera singer (d. 2004)
- 1932 - Barbara Bain, American actress
- 1936 - Stefano Delle Chiaie, Italian neo-Nazi
- 1937 - Don Bluth, American animator
- 1938 - Judith Martin, American etiquette writer
- 1939 - Richard Kiel, American actor
- 1940 - Óscar Arias, Costa Rican politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1941 - Tadao Ando, Japanese archictect
- 1941 - David Clayton-Thomas, singer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
- 1944 - Jacqueline Bisset, actress
- 1944 - Peter Cetera, American singer and bass guitarist (Chicago)
- 1945 - Noël Godin, Belgian humorist
- 1948 - Nell Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2003)
- 1950 - Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Polish politician
- 1952 - Randy Jones, American musician (The Village People)
- 1952 - Raymond O'Connor, American actor
- 1952 - Don Was, American singer and composer
- 1961 - Dave Mustaine, American musician (Megadeth)
- 1965 - Zak Starkey, British musician
- 1966 - Maria Furtwängler, German physician and television actress
- 1967 - Michael Johnson, American athlete
- 1968 - Emma Sjöberg, Swedish model and actress
- 1969 - Shane Warne, Australian cricketer
- 1971 - Goran Ivanisevic, Croatian tennis player
- 1971 - Stella McCartney, British fashion designer
- 1973 - Christine Arron, French runner
- 1976 - Craig McMillan, New Zealand cricketer
- 1977 - Fiona Apple, American singer
- 1978 - Jose Theodore, Canadian NHL player.
- 1978 - Fabio Cannavaro, Italian Soccer Player, current Men's Team captain.
- 1979 - Ivan Miljković, Serbian volleyball player, considered as the best attacker in the world, Olympic gold medalist in 2000 (with the team of Jugoslavia)
- 1980 - Viren Rasquinha, Indian hockey player
- 1980 - Ben Savage, American actor (Boy Meets World)
- 1982 - Nenê, Brazilian basketball player
- 1983 - James Bourne, Busted, Son Of Dork

Deaths


- 81 - Roman Emperor Titus (b. 39)
- 1321 - Dante Alighieri, Italian poet (b. 1265)
- 1438 - King Duarte of Portugal (b. 1391)
- 1506 - Andrea Mantegna, Italian painter
- 1557 - John Cheke, English classical scholar and statesman (b. 1514)
- 1592 - Michel de Montaigne, French writer (b. 1533)
- 1598 - King Philip II of Spain (b. 1526)
- 1632 - Archduke Leopold V of Austria, regent of the Tyrol (b. 1586)
- 1759 - James Wolfe, British general (b. 1727)
- 1766 - Benjamin Heath, English classical scholar (b. 1704)
- 1806 - Charles James Fox, English politician (b. 1749)
- 1808 - Saverio Bettinelli, Italian writer (b. 1718)
- 1847 - Nicolas Oudinot, French marshal (b. 1767)
- 1872 - Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach, German philosopher (b. 1804)
- 1881 - Ambrose Burnside, American Civil War general and politician (b. 1824)
- 1885 - Friedrich Kiel, Austrian composer (b. 1821)
- 1894 - Emmanuel Chabrier, French composer (b. 1841)
- 1912 - Maresuke Nogi, Japanese general (b. 1849)
- 1915 - Andrew L. Harris, American Civil War hero and Governor of Ohio (b. 1835)
- 1928 - Italo Svevo, Italian author (b. 1861)
- 1949 - August Krogh, Danish zoophysiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
- 1973 - Betty Field, American actress (b. 1913)
- 1977 - Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882)
- 1987 - Mervyn LeRoy, American film director (b. 1900)
- 1996 - Tupac Shakur, American rapper and actor (b. 1971)
- 1998 - George Wallace, American politician (b. 1919)
- 1999 - Benjamin Bloom, American educational theorist (b. 1913)
- 2001 - Dorothy McGuire, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Frank O'Bannon, Governor of Indiana (b. 1930)
- 2005 - Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian politician (b. 1916)
- 2005 - Toni Fritsch, Austrian soccer and American football player (b. 1945)

Holidays and observances


- Roman festivals - epulum Iovis: banquet of Jupiter, on the ides during the Ludi Romani
- RC Saints - St John Chrysostom Also see September 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Fiction


- During the 1970s science fiction TV series Space: 1999, September 13, 1999, was the day when the Moon broke away its orbit around the Earth and began its voyage across the Universe, taking the inhabitants of Moon Base Alpha with it.
- In the television series Sliders, the Mallory character invented sliding (travel between alternative realities) on September 13.
- "Second Impact", a critical event in the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, was said to have occurred on September 13, 2000.

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/13 BBC: On This Day] ---- September 12 · September 14 · August 13 · October 13 · more historical anniversaries ko:9월 13일 ja:9月13日 simple:September 13 th:13 กันยายน

1759

1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 11 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first American life insurance company is incorporated.
- January 13 - The Távora family is executed following the accusation of attempted regicide on Joseph I of Portugal
- January 15 - The British Museum opens
- April 13 - a French army defeats Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick at Brunswick
- June 27 - British Troops under Jeffrey Amherst take Fort Ticonderoga
- July 25 - Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): In Canada, British forces capture Fort Niagara from French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.
- August 1 - Battle of Minden - Anglo-Hanoverian forces under Ferdinand of Brunswick defeat the French army of the Duc de Broglie, but due to the disobedience of the English cavalry commander Lord George Sackville, the French are able to withdraw unmolested.
- August 10 - Ferdinand VI of Spain dies and is succeeded by his half-brother Charles III. Charles resigns the thrones of Naples and Sicily to his third son, Ferdinand IV.
- August 12 - Battle of Kunersdorf - Frederick the Great is rebuffed in bloody assaults on the combined Austro-Russian army of Peter Soltikov and Gideon von Loudon. This is one of Frederick's greatest defeats.
- August 18 - Battle of Lagos - The British fleet of Edward Boscawen defeats a French force under Commodore de la Clue off the Portuguese coast.
- September 10 - Naval Battle of Pondicherry - An inconclusive naval battle is fought off the coast of India between the French Admiral d'Aché and the British under George Pocock. The French forces are badly damaged and returned home, never to return.
- September 13 - Seven Years' War (French and Indian War): Quebec falls to British forces following General Wolfe's victory in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham just outside the city. Both the French Commander (the Marquis de Montcalm) and the British General James Wolfe are fatally wounded.
- November 20 - Battle of Quiberon Bay - The English fleet of Sir Edward Hawke defeats a French fleet under Hubert de Conflans near the coast of Brittany. This is the decisive naval engagement of the Seven Years' War - after this, the French are no longer able to field a significant fleet.
- November 21 - Battle of Maxen - the Austrian army of Marshal von Daun cuts off and foces the surrender of a Prussian force under Friedrich von Finck.
- December 6 - The Germantown Union School (now called "Germantown Academy"), America's oldest nonsectarian day school, is founded.
- George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis
- Adam Smith publishes Theory of Moral Sentiments, embodying some of his Glasgow lectures
- Publication of Voltaire's Candide
- The town of Egedesminde (modern Aasiaat) is founded in Greenland.

Ongoing events


- French and Indian War (1754-1763)
- Seven Years' War (1756-1763)

Births


- January 25 - Robert Burns, Scottish poet (d. 1796)
- February 15 - Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and archaeologist (d. 1824)
- May 20 - William Thornton, American architect (d. 1828)
- May 28 - William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
- June 21 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman and financier (d. 1817)
- September 19 - William Kirby, English entomologist (d. 1850)
- October 25 - Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg, empress of Paul I of Russia (d. November 5, 1828)
- October 26 - Georges Danton, French Revolutionary leader (d. 1794)
- November 10 - Friedrich Schiller, German writer (d. 1805)

Deaths


- March 11 - John Forbes, British general (b. 1710)
- April 14 - George Friderich Handel, German composer (b. 1685)
- May 12 - Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (b. 1700)
- July 27 - Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician (b. 1698)
- August 6 - Eugene Aram, English philologist (b. 1704)
- August 8 - Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer
- August 10 - King Ferdinand VI of Spain (b. 1713)
- August 24 - Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet (b. 1715)
- September 10 - Ferdinand Konščak, Croatian explorer (b. 1703)
- September 13 - James Wolfe, British general (b. 1727)
- September 14 - Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (b. 1712)
- October 10 - Granville Elliott, British military officer (b. 1713)
- October 13 - John Henley, English minister (b. 1692)
- November 29 - Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1687) Category:1759 ko:1759년

General

General is a high military rank, used by nearly every country in the world. General may be a rank on its own, or can be used as a generic term for "general officers". In most nations, the various grades of General are at the top of the rank structure; but some countries have even higher ranks such as Field Marshal or Marshal. General Officer, often referred to less formally and imprecisely as "General", refers to a military officer who holds any rank grade of General. The exact rank of a general may be determined by combining a prefix (e.g. Major General) or suffix (e.g. General of the Army) with the word general. A General, without prefix or suffix (and sometimes referred to informally as a "full general"), is usually the most senior general officer rank, above Lieutenant General. In some armies, however, the rank of Captain General, General of the Army, Army General or Colonel General occupied or occupies this position. These ranks may be considered to be equivalent to a full General or to a Field Marshal, depending on the army in question. While historically an army rank, General is also used in most air forces, although those based on the British Royal Air Force use Air Marshal instead, with Air Officer being the generic title. In most navies of the world, the equivalent rank is Admiral and the generic term is Flag Officer; however a noteworthy historical exception was the Cromwellian naval rank General at sea. The rank of General began appearing around the time of the organization of professional armies in the 17th century. At first, it was added as an adjective to existing names of ranks, yielding Colonel General, Captain General, Lieutenant General and Sergeant Major General. These titles were used to distinguish the ruler's most important officers and usually involved a certain amount of negotiation over precedence.

General ranks by seniority

The following are the commoner modern grades of General, listed by seniority. Not all countries use all these ranks, although the lowest four are common to many. The highest rank is only used in the US. Grades of general are also not necessarily equal in all countries (for instance, in some countries Major General is the lowest general officer rank and may well be closer to Brigadier General in countries that have them). In some European and Commonwealth nations, the equivalent to Brigadier General is Brigadier, which is not considered to be a general officer rank, although it is generally considered to be equivalent to the rank of Brigadier General. During World War I and World War II, the German Navy maintained a rank known as General Admiral, but this was a naval position unconnected to the regular land forces rank of General. The rank of General may also be found commonly in fiction sources especially war dramas or science fiction settings.

General ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of General as it is employed in the militaries of various countries.
- Aluf (Israel)
- Général (France)
- General (Germany)
- General (Switzerland)
- General (United Kingdom)
- General (United States)
- Daejang (North Korea)
- Taejang (South Korea)

See also


- Generalissimo
- Shogun
- Comparative military ranks
- U.S. Army officer rank insignia
- British Army officer rank insignia
- Polish Armed Forces rank insignia

External links


- [http://www.generals.dk/ Generals of World War II]
- [http://schema-root.org/region/americas/north_america/usa/government/executive/departments/defense/personnel/generals/ Schema-root.org: US Generals] News feeds for US Generals in the news Category:Military ranks
- ja:将軍

Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean with claims extending to the North Pole. The northern-most country on the mainland of North America, Canada has land borders only with the United States. Governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, Canada is a federation of ten provinces with three territories. Initially constituted in 1867, the country's constitution was patriated in 1982 from the United Kingdom. Canada's head of state is its monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by the Governor General, presently Michaëlle Jean. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Paul Martin; his minority government recently lost a vote of non-confidence in the Canadian House of Commons and asked for the dissolution of the Parliament by the Governor General, who then issued a Royal proclamation authorising the issue of election writs, and stating a federal election will take place on 2006 January 23. Canada's official languages are English and French. As of 2005, its official population estimate is approximately 32.4 million [http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm].

Overview

The capital city is Ottawa, Ontario, the seat of Canada's Parliament. The Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Loyal Opposition, and the Speaker of the House of Commons have official residences in the National Capital Region.National Capital Region, Ontario.]] Originally a union of British colonies with significant French influence and entitled as a "dominion", Canada is a founding member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and La Francophonie. Canada defines itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English is the official (and majority) language in most provinces of Canada.
- French is the official language of Quebec, an official language of New Brunswick, and is spoken in various areas throughout the country.
- Several Aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories; Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut and has official status there. Canada is a technologically advanced and industrialized nation. It is a net exporter of energy because of its large fossil fuel deposits, nuclear energy generation, and hydroelectric power capacity. Its diversified economy relies heavily on an abundance of natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States, with which it has had a long and complex relationship. Canada has ten provinces and three territories: Canada's major cities that are not capital cities include Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta.

Canada's name

The name Canada is believed to come from the Huron-Iroquois word kanata, which means "village" or "settlement". In 1535, locals used the word to tell Jacques Cartier the way to Stadacona, site of present-day Quebec City. Cartier used Canada to refer not only to Stadacona, but also to the entire area subject to Donnacona, Chief at Stadacona; by 1547, maps began referring to this and the surrounding area as Canada.

History

Aboriginal tradition holds that the First Peoples have inhabited parts of what is now called Canada since the dawn of time. Archaeological records show that these lands have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. Several Viking expeditions occurred circa AD 1000, with evidence of settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. British claims to North America date from 1497, when John Cabot reached what he called Newfoundland, though it is unclear whether Cabot landed in current Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or Maine. French claims date from explorations by Jacques Cartier (from 1534) and Samuel de Champlain (from 1603). Neither Cabot's nor Cartier's explorations left any permanent settlers behind. On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1604, French settlers were the first Europeans to settle permanently in what is now Canada. After an unsuccessful winter in St. Croix Island (today in Maine), they settled Port-Royal in what is now the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, but moved to found Quebec City in 1608. The current Acadians are descendants of settlers who came later in the same century and re-founded Port-Royal. New France was generally the name given to the French colonies of Canada and Acadia (and later Louisiana).Louisiana, depicts British General Wolfe's final moments during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.]] British settlements were established along the Atlantic seaboard and around Hudson Bay. As these colonies expanded, a struggle for control of North America took place between 1689 and 1763 (see French and Indian Wars), exacerbated by wars in Europe between France and Great Britain. France progressively lost territory to Great Britain, surrendering peninsular Nova Scotia in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the remainder of New France including what was left of Acadia in the Treaty of Paris (1763). During and after the American Revolution approximately 70,000 [http://www.uelac.org/whatis.html] Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies. Of these, roughly 50,000 United Empire Loyalists [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0850061.html] settled in the British North American colonies which then consisted of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Province of Quebec, and Prince Edward Island (created 1769). To accommodate the Loyalists, Britain created the colony of New Brunswick in 1784 from part of Nova Scotia, and divided Quebec into Lower Canada and Upper Canada under the Constitutional Act of 1791. The War of 1812 began when the U.S. attacked British forces in Canada in an attempt to end British influence in North America (and particularly, the British seizures of American merchant ships in the Atlantic). In April 1813, U.S. forces burned York (now Toronto). The British/Canadians retaliated with the burning of Washington (DC) in a surprise attack in August 1814, but were subsequently turned back at Plattsburgh, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814. It was only after the French and Napoleonic wars ended in Europe that large-scale immigration to Canada resumed. The Canadas were merged into a single colony, the United Province of Canada, with the Act of Union (1840) in an attempt to assimilate the French Canadians. Once the U.S. agreed to the 49th parallel north as its border with western British North America, the British government created the colonies of British Columbia in 1848 and Vancouver Island in 1849. By the late 1850s, politicians in the Province of Canada had launched a series of western exploratory expeditions with the intention of assuming control of Rupert's Land (administered by the Hudson's Bay Company) and the Arctic. In 1864 and 1866, British North American politicians, in what became known as the Great Coalition, held three conferences to create a federal union. Spearheaded by John A. Macdonald, on July 1, 1867, three colonies—Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were granted a constitution, the British North America Act, by the United Kingdom, creating the Dominion of Canada. The term "Canadian Confederation" refers to this 1867 unification of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (formerly Canada East or Lower Canada), and Ontario (formerly Canada West or Upper Canada). The remaining British colonies and territories soon joined Confederation. By 1880 Canada included all of its present area except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined in 1949. (It should be noted that, although part of Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan did not gain Provincial status until 1905.) Newfoundland and Labrador In 1919, Canada became a member of the League of Nations and, in the Imperial Conference of 1926, Canada assumed full control of its own through the Balfour Declaration. In 1927, Canada appointed its first ambassador to a foreign country, the United States. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster gave the Balfour Declaration constitutional force, confirming that no act of the UK's parliament would thereafter extend to Canada without its consent. Canadian citizenship was first distinguished from British in 1947; judicial appeals to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ended in 1949. The power to amend Canada's constitution remained with the British parliament, although subject to the Statute of Westminster, until it was finally "patriated" to Canadian control by the Canada Act 1982. The Quebec sovereignty movement has led to two referendums held in 1980 and 1995, with votes of 59.6% and 50.6% respectively against its proposals for sovereignty-association. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unilateral secession by a province to be unconstitutional.

Geography

unconstitutionalCanada occupies the northern portion (precisely 41%) of North America. It is bordered to the south by the contiguous United States and to the northwest by Alaska. The length of these borders are 6,416 km (3,987 mi) and 2,477 km (1,539 mi), respectively. Off the southern coast of Newfoundland lies Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas community of France. The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west (hence the country's motto). To the north lies the Arctic Ocean; Greenland is to the northeast. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141° W longitude ([http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1927/1]); this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island – latitude 82.5° N – just 834 kilometres (518 mi) from the North Pole. Also, the magnetic North Pole lies within Canadian boundaries (although is moving towards Siberia). Canada is the world's second-largest country in total area, after Russia. Much of Canada lies in Arctic regions, however, and thus Canada has only the fourth-most arable land area behind Russia, China, and the U.S. The population density of 3.5 people per square kilometre (9.0/mi²) is among the lowest in the world: Canada has more land area than the U.S., but only one-ninth of its population. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Axis in the east. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and dotted with lakes and rivers—over 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada. The Canadian Shield encircles the immense Hudson Bay, extending from Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories at its westernmost point, to the Atlantic coast in Labrador in the east. Newfoundland, North America's easternmost island if Greenland is excluded, is at the mouth of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. The Canadian Maritimes protrude eastward from the southern coasts of Quebec. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, which experiences the world's largest tidal variations. Prince Edward Island is Canada's smallest province. Prince Edward Island; at 5 959 m (19,551 ft), Canada's highest point and second highest in North America.]]West of Ontario, the broad, flat Canadian Prairies spread toward the Rocky Mountains, which separate them from British Columbia. Northern Canadian vegetation tapers from coniferous forests to tundra and finally to Arctic barrens in the far north. The northern Canadian mainland is ringed with a vast archipelago containing some of the world's largest islands. Some specific geographical features of note include the world's largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island, which divides Georgian Bay and Lake Huron and the world's longest freshwater beach, Wasaga Beach, on the Georgian Bay shoreline. Thanks to past glacial activity in the Canadian Shield, Canada boasts a considerable reserve of fresh water and more lakes than any other nation, roughly two million in all, the overwhelming majority of which are relatively small.

Climate

Canada has a reputation for cold temperatures in the winter months. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the Prairie Provinces. Temperatures can reach lows of -50°C (-58°F) in the far North however, such low temperatures are not the norm; the record coldest temperature in North America was -63°C (-81°F), at Snag, Yukon, in 1947. Coastal British Columbia is an exception: it enjoys a temperate climate with much milder winters than the rest of the country however, rainy winters are common. Summers in Canada range from mild (low 20s Celsius [70°F]) on the east and west coasts, to hot (mid 20s to low 30s Celsius [75-90°F]) in Central Canada, the Prairies and the intermontane regions of British Columbia. The highest recorded temperature in Canada was 45°C (113°F) at both Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937. For a more complete description of weather norms around Canada, go to www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html

Politics

1937] Canada's head of state is the monarch, currently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and commonly referred to as the Queen of Canada. However, the day-to-day duties of head of state are exercised by the Governor General, who is generally a retired politician, military leader, or other notable Canadian; the current Governor General is Michaëlle Jean. All government authority is derived from the monarch, and executive power is wielded by the Prime Minister of Canada and the cabinet. The Governor General is formally appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and is a non-partisan figure who fulfils many ceremonial and symbolic roles including providing Royal Assent to bills, reading the Speech from the Throne, officially welcoming dignitaries of foreign countries, presenting honours such as the Order of Canada, signing state documents, formally opening and ending sessions of Parliament, and dissolving Parliament for an election. The Governor General is also the titular Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. The position of Governor General also beholds considerable reserve powers, but these have been rarely used. The last to do so was Jeanne Sauvé, who ignored the National Capital Commission and closed the grounds of Rideau Hall in the late 1980s; the most famous use of the Governor General's extraordinary powers was during the King-Byng Affair in 1926. Canada's constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists of [http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/const/index.html written text] and unwritten traditions and conventions (see Westminster system). The federal government and the governments of nine provinces agreed to the patriation of the constitution, with procedures for amending it, at a meeting of First Ministers in November 1981. The Quebec government did not agree to the changes, and Quebec nationalists refer to that night as the Night of the Long Knives. The patriation of the Constitution included the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms for Canadians that, generally, cannot be overridden by legislation of any level of government in Canada. It contains, however, a "notwithstanding clause", which allows the federal parliament and the provincial legislatures the power to override other sections of the Charter temporarily, for a period of five years. notwithstanding clause]]The position of Prime Minister, Canada's head of government, in practice belongs to the leader of the political party who can command a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are formally appointed by the Governor General; however, the Prime Minister effectively chooses the cabinet and the Governor General, by convention, has to appoint the Prime Minister's desired choices. The Cabinet is drawn, by convention, from members of the prime minister's party in both legislative houses, though mostly from the Commons. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of Canada and become ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister exercises a great deal of individual political power, especially in terms of the appointment of other officials within the government and civil service. The legislative branch of government has two houses: the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate. Each member in the Commons is elected by simple plurality in one electoral district or "riding"; general elections are called by the Governor General when the prime minister so advises, and must occur every five years or less. Members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, are chosen by the prime minister and formally appointed by the Governor General, and serve until age 75. electoral district]]Canada has four main political parties today. The traditionally centrist / left-of-centre Liberal Party of Canada formed the government in Canada for most of the 20th century, and is the party of the current Prime Minister Paul Martin. The only other party to have formed a government is the now-defunct, right-of-centre Progressive Conservative (PC) Party and its predecessor, the Conservative Party, which was the dominant political party in the 19th century. The PC Party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form a new rightist Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. The New Democratic Party (NDP) is the major party furthest to the political left. The Bloc Québécois promotes Quebec independence from Canada and currently holds a majority of Quebec's seats in the Commons. There are many smaller parties and, while none have current representation in Parliament, the list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial. Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter; its nine members are directly appointed by Cabinet. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are selected and appointed by the federal government, after consultation with non-governmental legal bodies. The federal cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels. Judicial posts at the lower provincial and territorial levels are filled by their respective governments (see Court system of Canada for more detail). Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in most provinces policing is contracted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The RCMP is one of few police forces in the world to perform three different levels of enforcement: municipal, provincial, and federal.

Foreign relations

Canada has a close relationship with the United States, sharing the world's longest undefended border, co-operating on some military campaigns and exercises, and being each other's largest trading partners. Canada also shares a history and long relationship with the United Kingdom as its "mother country". United Kingdom.]] In the last century, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to reach out to the rest of the world and promoting itself as a "middle power" able to work with large and small nations alike. This was clearly demonstrated during the Suez Crisis when Lester B. Pearson mollified the tension by introducing the idea of peacekeeping and the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. In 1957, Pearson was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In that spirit, Canada developed and has tried to maintain a leading role in UN peacekeeping efforts. Canada has cumulatively contributed more troops to peacekeeping operations worldwide than all other nations combined and currently serves in over 40 different peacekeeping missions, most recently in Afghanistan. Canada has contributed in some way to all UN peacekeeping missions. Canada is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Organization of American States (OAS), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization, the G8, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Military

Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationA founding member of the NATO alliance, Canada currently employs about 62,000 regular and 26,000 reserve military personnel.[http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/about/family_e.asp] The unified Canadian Forces (CF) are comprised of army, navy, and air force branches. Major CF equipment deployed includes 2,400 armoured fighting vehicles, 34 combat vessels, and 140 combat aircraft. Defence is an exclusive federal jurisdiction: defence spending in fiscal year 2004-5 was approximately $14 billion.[http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/dgsp/pubs/rep-pub/ddm/rpp/rpp05-06/sec3c_e.asp] However, in the 2005 federal budget, the Liberal government allocated an additional $12.8 billion over five years to the armed forces, and committed to increasing troop levels by an additional 8,000 regular and reserve personnel over the same period.[http://www.fin.gc.ca/budget05/speech/speeche.htm] Canadian forces have served in various wars including World War I, World War II, the Korean War and recently, in Afghanistan. Since Lester B. Pearson proposed the first UN peacekeeping force in 1956, the Canadian Forces have served in 42 peacekeeping missions — more than any other country. Canada was also the prime destination of American draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. These factors – along with its comparatively low level of military spending, other positions such as nuclear non-proliferation, and an international treaty banning personnel land mine usage – have led to Canada sometimes being referred to as a pacifist country. Battles significantly contributing to Canada's development and self-identity include the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Second Battle of Ypres, the Third Battle of Ypres, and Juno Beach. Currently, CF personnel are involved in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Smaller missions are also taking place in Haiti and Kosovo. Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has participated in two relief operations in the last year. The two-hundred member relief crew helped in Southeast Asia after the December 2004 tsunami, and DART was also deployed in response to the devastating earthquake that struck the Kashmir region in South Asia in October 2005. Moreover, CF (and RCMP) personnel recently assisted in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Provinces and territories of Canada

Canada is composed of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. The federal government can initiate national policies that the provinces can opt out of, but this rarely happens in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. All provinces have unicameral, elected legislatures headed by a Premier selected in the same way as the Prime Minister of Canada. Each province also has a Lieutenant-Governor representing the Queen, analogous to the Governor General of Canada, appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, though with increasing levels of consultation with provincial governments in recent years. Lieutenant-Governor.]] Most provinces have provincial counterparts to the three national federal parties. However, some provincial parties are not formally linked to the federal parties that share the same name. Some provinces have regional political parties, such as the Saskatchewan Party. The provincial political climate of Quebec is quite different: the main split is between separatism, represented by the Parti Québécois, and federalism, represented by the Parti Libéral du Québec. The three territories have fewer political powers than provinces, having been created by acts of the national Parliament rather than having their status enshrined in the Constitution. There is no lieutenant-governor to represent and fulfil the functions of the Queen, but each has a politically neutral Commissioner appointed by the federal government to act as its senior representative. Only Yukon's legislature follows the same political system as the provincial legislatures. The other two territories use a consensus government system in which each member runs as an independent and the premier is elected by and from the members. There is also interest within Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas UK territory in the Caribbean, for the latter to enter into Confederation.

Economy

Caribbean, depicting (from top to bottom) Wilfred Laurier, John A. Macdonald, Queen Elizabeth II, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Robert Borden.]]As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. In the last century, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Canada has vast deposits of natural gas on the east coast and in the west, and a plethora of other natural resources contributing to self-sufficiency in energy. The 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the U.S. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8. Two long-term concerns loom. One is the continuing political differences over the Constitution between Quebec and the rest of Canada, periodically raising the possibility of Quebec independence. As the economy becomes stronger, notably in Quebec, fears of separation have generally waned. Another concern is the "Brain Drain", the emigration of professionals to the U.S. in search of higher pay, lower taxes, and high-tech opportunities. (However, a [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1124920225033&call_pageid=971358637177&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes recent Toronto Star article] claims that the "Brain Drain" of doctors has abated, as more are returning to Canada due to high insurance rates in the U.S. and a more efficient medicare system in Canada.) Simultaneously, a larger, under-recognised "Brain Gain" is occurring, as educated immigrants (particularly from developing countries, a controversy in and of itself) continue to enter Canada [http://www.statcan.ca/english/indepth/81-003/feature/eqhi2000006003s1a01.htm].

Demographics

The 2001 national census recorded 30,007,094 people, and as of October 2005 the population has been estimated by Statistics Canada as 32.3 million people[http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm], an increase of some 2.3 million people by both immigration and natural growth. About three-quarters of Canada's population live within 150 km of the U.S. border, and a similar proportion live in urban areas. In the 2001 census, 39.42% of respondents reported their ethnic origins as "Canadian", most of whom are believed to be of British, Irish, and French heritage of earlier immigrants. In addition, 20.17% identified their origin as English, 15.75% as French, 14.03% as Scottish, and 12.90% as Irish. Numerous other groups were also reported. Ethnic origins reported by more than 1 million people included: German (9.25%), Italian (4.29%), Chinese (3.69%), Ukrainian (3.61%) and North American Indian (3.38%). Close to four million people reported they were members of a visible minority, amounting to 13.44% of the total population. (Note that Aboriginal peoples are not considered visible minorities). Also, the 2001 census reported that Canada had 5,448,480 immigrants. [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Immigration/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=0&View=1&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=Counts] According to the last census[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm], 72% of Canadians identified as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group – 43% of Canadians. One-sixth of Canadians declared no religious affiliation, and the remaining 12% were affiliated with religions other than Christianity.

Language

Catholics]] Canada's two official languages are English and French. On July 7, 1969, under the Official Languages Act, French was made commensurate to English throughout the federal government. This started a process that led to Canada redefining itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions.
- Any defendant in a criminal case has the right to a trial in either English or French.
- The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French.
- Official language minority groups in most provinces and territories have the right to be educated in their language, in their own schools, with their own elected school boards, where they exist in sufficient numbers.
- While multiculturalism is official policy, to become a citizen one must be able to speak either English or French.
- More than 98% of Canadians speak English or French or both. While the nation remains officially bilingual, the majority of Canadians are fluent only in English. The official language of Quebec is French, as defined by the province's Charter of the French Language, which was introduced by the Parti Quebecois in 1976. However, the charter also provides certain rights for speakers of English and aboriginal languages. Quebec provides most government services in both French and English. French is mostly spoken in Quebec with pockets in New Brunswick, eastern and northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, and southern Manitoba. In the 2001 census, 6,864,615 people listed French as a first language, of whom 85% lived in Quebec. 17,694,835 people listed English as a first language. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, a status specifically guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some provincial governments, notably Manitoba and Ontario, offer many services to their French minority populations. Aboriginal languages are co-official in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Non-official languages are also important in Canada, with 5,470,820 people listing a non-official language as a first language. (The above three statistics include those who listed more than one first language.) Among the most important non-official first language groups are Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), Italian (469,485), German (438,080), and Punjabi (271,220).

Aboriginal peoples

The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes three groups of aboriginal peoples in Canada: the Indians (now often called First Nations), Inuit, and Métis. The aboriginal population is growing almost twice as fast as the rest of the population in Canada. According to the Canada 2001 Census, people identified themselves as aboriginal numbered 976,305 people (or 3.3% of Canada's population) of whom about 62% are First Nations, 30% are Métis, and 5% are Inuit. Also, ethnic origin figures from the Census show that 1.3 million Canadians stated that they were partially of fully of aboriginal ancestry, including about one million people claiming full or partial First Nation ancestry, 307,000 Métis ancestry and 56,000 Inuit ancestry.

Culture

Canada 2001 Census originated from Canada when residents began playing hurley on ice.]] Due to its colonial past, Canadian culture has historically been heavily influenced by British and French cultures and traditions. In more modern times, Canadian culture is now greatly influenced by American culture, due to the proximity and the migration of people, ideas, and capital. Amidst this, Canadian culture has developed unique characteristics. In many respects, a more robust and distinct Canadian culture has developed in recent years, partially because of the civic nationalism that pervaded Canada in the years prior to and following the Canadian Centennial in 1967, and also due to a focus by the federal government on programs to support culture and the arts. There were and are many distinct First Nations across Canada, each with its own c