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North American Place Names

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Location: North Americamap
Surnames/tags: Canadian_History US_History Canadian
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Contents

The Changing Borders of North America


Since the colonization of the North American Continent in the 16th century by various European nations, and until the 20th century with the creation of Nunavut, Canada in 1999, the borders of the North American continent have been unstable and difficult to track. This is an attempt to shed some light on the changing borders over time. While it doesn't claim to be perfect it is intended to be an easy reference for researchers trying to track those changes.

British North America, British Colonial America, Colonial North America - Why Not To Use Them

The term British North America wasn't used until it was first informally used in 1783, after the United States had declared independence. Even so, the name was rarely, if ever, used before the Report on the Affairs of British North America, (also known as the Durham Report) was published in 1839, by which time the United States of America officially existed. The terms Colonial North America and British Colonial America are terms used mainly by 'FamilySearch' and were never officially used, making them equally ambiguous.

There are three good resources that help shed light on the changing borders.

  1. Territorial Evolution of North America prior to 1763 Wikipedia interactive maps maps of the changing borders of Canada, the United States and Mexico over time prior to the Treaty of Paris, 1763.
  2. Territorial Evolution of North America since 1763 Wikipedia interactive maps maps of the changing borders of Canada, the United States and Mexico over time since the Treaty of Paris, 1763.
  3. Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Maintained by The Newberry Library Dr. William M. Scholl Center for American History and Culture "presents in maps and text complete data about the creation and all subsequent changes (dated to the day) in the size, shape, and location of every county in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia."

United States


British Red Ensign
Betsy Ross Flag
United States Flag

Evidence For The Use of United States

First Continental Congress

Between September 5 to October 26, 1774 twelve of the thirteen colonies, excluding Georgia who didn't send delegates due to turmoil in the colony, met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to address their grievances after passage, by the British Parliament, of the "Intolerable Acts" also called the "Coercive Acts" by England. These acts were passed as punishment of the colonies for the "Boston Tea Party" of December 16, 1773. Their petitions to England were subsequently ignored by the Crown.

Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress met from 1774 to 1789 and included representatives from all thirteen colonies. On September 9, 1776 the Second Continental Congress declared “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the “United States.” This then links any reference to the "United Colonies" with the "United States".

Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

"We, therefore, the representatives of the 'United States of America', in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

The US Historical Place Names Spreadsheet

This spreadsheet sports a timeline, from left to right following their historical transitions with notes and further details. These notes are represented by a small green triangle in the upper right corner of the cell. Just hover over the cell to view the information.
The linked table breaks down the locations to a name, a time period, the predecessor and successor for each. As with any research, mistakes are always possible and information can be omitted. If you find any mistakes, omissions, or suggestions please post a message. If you'd like to contribute, please contact the administrator, Barry Sweetman to request to be added to the Trusted List.

Which Place Name Should We Use?

It is not the intent of this work to dictate which terminology is correct; but only to provide information that will help you decide which name would be correct for your given situation. There's been a myriad of discussions and confusion about what to call historical North American entities, and in what time period each name should be used. Although this question will never be settled to the complete satisfaction of everyone, this space is an attempt to help alleviate some of the confusion and difficulty in selecting which North American place names you could use for a specific historical period. Research has indicated these naming conventions for the colonial period of North America as the ones that should be most accurate.



Provincial Canada


New France 1663-1763
British Canada 1763-1801
British Canada 1801-1965 '
Canada 1965-Present
What is now Canada was from 1534-1763 originally a French colony called Nouvelle-France or New France which began with the exploration by Jacques Cartier in 1534. In 1763 the French ceded it's northern colonial holdings to Spain and Great Britain. The British subsequently named their territory the Province of Quebec in 1763.
In the colonial period, the borders of what is now Canada and the United States changed hands several times. Initially the area was controlled by the native populations. But beginning in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the French and then the British fought over the control of Canada. The early governments were fairly unstable and, as the borders changed, so did the location names.

Alberta

The Native American population of the area which became Alberta, Canada arrived in the area at lest by 10,000 BC. They became a confederation of Blackfoot speaking tribes called the Siksikaitsitap (meaning "the real people"') made up of the Kainai Nation, the Piegan Blackfeet, the Piikani Nation, and the Siksika Nations.

The first European to arrive in the area was a Frenchman, probably Pierre La Vérendrye or a son. The area was claimed by the Hudson Bay Company in 1670 "as part of its monopoly territory, Rupert's Land" (See the History of Alberta below). However the first recorded occupants of Alberta were English settlers one of whom was Alexander MacKenzie who founded a settlement named Fort Chipewyan.

British Columbia

These areas were primarily not governed directly by Canada until the late 19th century when gold was found in the Yukon. That discovery was the catalyst for the Klondike Gold Rush generating an influx of mostly US citizens to the area, causing the Canadian government to attempt control over the number of prospectors entering Canada. Prior to this, the Canadian government was content to allow the First Nations population to self-govern the land.

Île-du-Prince-Édouard, (Prince Edward Island)

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a maritime province consisting of Prince Edward Island and several much smaller islands located off the east cost of mainland Canada. The island's indigenous inhabitants were the Mi'kmaq First Nations people who called the island Epekwitk meaning "cradled on the waves". In 1534 Frenchman Jacques Cartier was the first European to discover the area. The French officially claim the discovery in 1604 naming it Île Saint-Jean. In 1763 it became a British colony which they called St. John's Island. However, in 1798 the United Kingdom granted permission to rename it Prince Edward Island so as to distinguish it from other places in the area such as the city of St Johns. In 1873 PEI became a province of Canada.

Manitoba

Manitoba was first inhabited by the First Nations people not long after the last Ice Age when the glaciers began to retreat northward. Those first nations included the Ojibwa, Cree, Dene, Sioux, Mandan, and Assiniboine peoples.
Sir Thomas Button, a member of the "Company of the Merchants Discoverers of the North-West Passage" was the first European explorer of the area which is now modern-day Manitoba in 1612 while trying to find a trade route to China. It's speculated that the name "Manitoba" may come from the Cree, Ojibwe peoples and means "Strait of the Manitou". Another possibility is that it might be from the Assiniboine people and translates to "Lake of the Prairie".

New Brunswick

New Brunswick became a province when Nova Scotia was divided into the Province of Nova Scotia and the Province of New Brunswick. In 1785 the city of St John became the first incorporated city in Canada

Newfoundland

Nova Scotia

Ontario

In 1792 the area of Canada we now call "Ontario" was established and has gone through several name changes. In 1791 the Constitutional Act divided Canada with the area we now call Ontario becoming Upper Canada, The Act of Union in 1841 renamed the area Canada West. The Constitution Act of 1867 combined Ontario and Quebec into the Province of Canada.

Québec

The French began visiting the area of Québec as early as 1509 when a Frenchman named Thomas Auber, possibly a fisherman, brought back to France a few Amerindians. On June 24, 1534, Jacques Cartier claimed the area in the name of King François I of France. after placing a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula. In 1608 Samuel de Champlain, who planted the fleur-de-lis (the flag of the French Monarchy) on the rock of Stadacona (Québec city). and chose Québec city as the capital. Québec has also gone through several name changes. In 1791 the Constitutional Act divided Canada with the area we now call Québec becoming Lower Canada. The Act of Union in 1841 renamed the area Canada East. The Constitution Act of 1867 combined Ontario and Québec into the Province of Canada.

Saskatchewan

Northwest Territories

The Canadian Provincial Place Names Spreadsheet

The linked table breaks down the locations to a name, a time period, the predecessor and successor for each. As with any research, mistakes are always possible and information can be omitted. If you find any mistakes, omissions, or suggestions please post a message. If you'd like to contribute, please contact the administrator, Barry Sweetman to request to be added to the Trusted List.

Which Place Name Should We Use?

It is not the intent to dictate which terminology is correct; but only to provide information that will help you decide which name would be correct for your given situation. There's been a myriad of discussions and confusion about what to call historical North American entities, and in what time period each name should be used. Although this question will never be settled to the complete satisfaction of everyone, this space is an attempt to help alleviate some of the confusion and difficulty in selecting which North American place names you could use for a specific historical period. Research has indicated these naming conventions for the colonial period of North America as the ones that should be most accurate.

Resources

United States


Canada





Collaboration


Comments: 20

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Any chance that your spreadsheets could take precedence over the FamilySearch place names that are currently in the drop down place names? There are a number of discrepancies and your spreadsheets are much more accurate.
posted by Ian Jones
The Canadian Provincial Place Names Spreadsheet has Prince Edward Island as a province from July 1, 1867 to present; however, Prince Edward Island did not join Canada's confederation until July 1, 1873. Should it not be Colony of Prince Edward Island from November 29, 1798 to July 1, 1873?
posted by Ian Jones
Corrections have still not been done to this page, gives incorrect data on Canadian historical locations, particularly New France to Province of Québec to Lower Canada to Québec, Canada. See Category names for Québec over time which gives exact dates of changes, with nomenclature for each era. There is also Canada-Est Versus Bas-Canada space page which gives the evidence about the so-called Canada-Est, which had NO legal status.
posted by Danielle Liard
Danielle, I'm willing to give you permissions to the spreadsheet if you're willing to make the changes. Let me know and I'll set it up. Thanks.
posted by Barry Sweetman
Thank you for the extensive collection of resources and all the work that went into creating it.
posted by Mary Gossage
hi, there are some corrections needed re Canada East / Canada West, the 1841 act of British parliament renamed the territory United Province of Canada, Canada East and Canada West have no legal status. see https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Category_names_for_Qu%C3%A9bec_over_time which covers all the nomenclature as well as categories, giving dates etc. There is another page linked in there that gives further data on the 1841 changes.
posted by Danielle Liard
In reference to: 1.1 British North America, British Colonial America, Colonial North America - Why Not To Use Them

All true. However, the shorter but similar term "British America" was in use in the 18th century. Witness Thomas Jefferson's 1774 pamphlet, "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," which was read aloud at the First Continental Congress and contains five instances of the use of the term "British America." It is unlikely Jefferson made the term up just for the occasion.

Not to say that this was a defined legal or official term like "Province of the Massachusetts Bay," but it did exist as a contemporary cultural-political-geographic descriptor.

posted by Garry Blood
edited by Garry Blood
To print or get a copy of the sheet, go to FILE and chose DOWNLOAD AS. Then download the XLXS version for excel or the XLXS or ODS version for OPEN OFFICE which is a free to use alternative to Microsoft Office. Once you have it downloaded, the software you open it with allows you to print it.
posted by Steven Tibbetts
How do we print the spreadsheets? With only one screen the switching back and forth is extremely hard on my old eyes. A printed version sure would be nice. See it better, hopefully.
posted by Rebecca Snider
Thanks for updating Maryland Barry!
posted by William Foster Jr
All the documents I have seen from Maryland prior to 1776 refer to Maryland as "Province of Maryland" and that is the usage which is strongly preferred by the Maryland Project which I coordinate.

Please change the spreadsheet to indicate "Province of Maryland" as the preferred usage. I'm not aware of "Maryland Colony" being used in any official documents of the period. Thanks!

posted by Jack Day
I wish to thank William Foster, the Virginia Project Coordinator, for his advice and direction provided to me about this new spreadsheet on North American Place Names/ US Historical Place Names. Being new to Wiki and MUCH to learn, naming locations appropriately for ancestors' migrations through the colonies over time can be confusing and time consuming in order to provide accuracy. This new spreadsheet is a WONDERFUL tool and so easy to utilize as we develop WikiTree profiles. It is now one of my bookmarks! THANK YOU William!
posted by Juliet (Adams) Wills
http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/

This site might be helpful.

posted by M Hilliard
Please separate Prince Edward Island from the heading "British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon". The comment is not relevant to Prince Edward Island, which is geographically distant from the rest and has its own naming complications.
Navarro,

Thanks for an excellent question.

Historians refer to the government of Vermont from 1777 to 1791 as the Vermont Republic, however the Continental Congress didn't recognize it as an independent government.

The Colonial American Place Names spreadsheet is undergoing the same redesign as the Canadian spreadsheet has just undergone and will be completed shortly. That redesign will be able to more effectively account for these types of gaps, and will make it more accurate and simpler to use. It will also cover the entire land now occupied by the United States.

posted by Barry Sweetman
Natalie,

Thanks so much for finding those misspellings. I'll correct them immediately. I really appreciate it when mistakes are pointed out, keeps me honest. These spreadsheets must be accurate to be considered a successful resource.

posted by Barry Sweetman
Spelling ? Nunavut and Yukon, unless there's something I don't know. This is your headline, under Colonial Era Canada:

"British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunevant, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Youkon"

posted by Natalie Gardner