Responsible government doesn't refer to local government. It refers to the point at which the cabinet can be dismissed by the legislature by a mere majority vote. Local councils had been a thing for a century before, but they didn't have the power to choose the executive, just agree to taxes and legislation, the governor chose the executive. In this standard, Germany attained responsible government in 1918.
you might find this song interesting, Alan Mills made several albums of old folk songs this is from Canada's story in a song called Anti-Confederation Song ruclips.net/video/cyblFjxlIM4/видео.html
As a Newfoundlander, I will do my duty and silently judge this video for any minor faults. While still immediately liking and supporting it because I am a fan of the channel.
There was popular support for NL to join the US, which terrified the Canadians and Brits -was actually a big part of the unrest and independence issues. It was worth mentioning.
Same with Quebec, that's why they have many different laws than the rest of Canada. They were granted these exceptions so that they would remain a part of Canada instead of joining the US, even though the British defeated the French.
PEI didn't join confederation as the initial plan didn't offer much to solve their major issues of absentee landowners and the need for a railway. They tried to find a solution with the British colonial offices but they wanted nothing to do with it and instead prefered if PEI just joined up with Canada. PEI then looked into the possibility for the US purchasing them from Britain and them becoming a new US state. As soon as John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister, heard about that, he immediate entered into negotiations with PEI where he gave in to PEI's demands, agreeing to buy out the lands owned by nobles back in Britain, pay for a railway, guaranteed the number of representatives for PEI in parliament, and guaranteed a connection to the mainland for PEI, funded by the federal government. Fear of the US defined much of Canadian history.
Fun Fact: In the 19th century Newfoundland had such a large population of Irish people that a good chunk of the population spoke Gaelic Irish there. The Catholic Church used to send for priests from Ireland who could speak Irish to move there, and there are records of the courts needing Irish interpreters for some defendants. Newfoundland is also the only place outside of Europe which has a native name in Irish: Talamh an Éisc (The Land of the Fish).
I always thought Newfoundland would be very very Irish. And considering it’s an island there would be a strong nautical culture and connection to the sea. Maybe even sea shanties as actual songs. Would probably fit right at home there considering I’m part Irish.
You missed one of the important milestones of Newfoundland becoming Canadian; they had to change which side of the road they drove on before becoming part of the Dominion of Canada.....
It wasn't mentioned here but there was also a popular option for potential economic or political union with the United States, and it wasn't a referendum option despite said popularity. The party that tried to pursue it was the Economic Union Party. The background behind this is that Americans were invited to the island by the UK to set up military bases in 1941 to 1945. The American Bases Act became law in Newfoundland on June 11, 1941. Newfoundland girls married American personnel by the thousands. With the Cold War looming, US interests in Newfoundland were centered primarily on its strategic importance to the defense of North America. However, Truman's administration opted not to pursue annexation as they didn't want to antagonize two key allies. And in regards to domestic policy, the administration would not likely have been able to convince Congress to offer statehood to Newfoundland due to its small population and geographical isolation from the then-48 existing states, and would not likely have been able to convince Newfoundlanders to accept territorial status rather than statehood.
If anyone wants to know more about this topic, there’s a book written about it based on a lawyers experience during the years leading up to the vote and during the vote, called “Don’t tell the Newfoundlanders” The source of the book was one of the lawyers pushing this theory forward
My parents and grandparents say the same thing lol. I say it too of course >:) One of my great grandmothers despised Joey Smallwood, while a great grandfather of mine had his picture up on the wall until the day he died.
I worked with Newfies and have even been ceremoniously screeched. They were a great funny bunch who worked hard and joked a lot. Of course, I heard that in 1949 Newfoundland took Canada. To complete the fun, I also heard that if Quebec leaves, Newfoundland will finally take the rest of Canada.
As a Nova Scotian, I sometimes wonder if the Atlantic Provinces might’ve been better off joining together in a union instead of joining Canada separately. Nova Scotia straight up joined undemocratically and against the will of the people, in NB there was a lot of coercion and I think PEI and NL were right ti worry about being neglected by Ontario and Québec. People often don’t realize that Nova Scotia was Canada’s first separatist province. I think PEI only really ended up joining because NS and NB did
The Newfoundland and Labrador flag is really cool! The flag of Newfoundland and Labrador was introduced in 1980 and was designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt. It was flown for the first time on June 24th that year, commemorating Venetian navigator John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland in 1497. Blue stands for water, white for snow, red for human effort, and gold for the confidence the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have in themselves and for the future. The flag design is that of etchings on Beothuk and Innu decorative pendants worn hung from a cord around the neck. Pratt viewed these at the Provincial Museum. With the blue, red and white colors applied, the design has an intentional overall resemblance to the British flag, as a reminder of historic connections with the UK. The two red triangles represent the two areas of the province, Labrador the continental region and Newfoundland the insular region. The gold arrow points towards a brighter future, the arrow becomes a sword, honoring the sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in military service when the flag is displayed as a vertical banner. The red triangles and the gold arrow form a trident, symbolizing the province's association with the fisheries and other resources of and under the sea.
@@michaelkauffman2771497 seems to be said in other places too, he died in 1500 and seems to have an entry at the treasury. It’s not too surprising we were 30-50years into European exploration of the America’s coast by then. Of course it’d take another 50years until anyone but the iberians got the hang of settlement.
Yay! A newfoundland video! Thanks for the attention to our lil province ^^ A lot of people here feel a lot of pride towards our time as a psudo-independent state - even if most people don't fully understand the history behind it. Notably, a common myth here is the newfoundland tricolour - a lot of people think it was our flag when we were a dominion but the tricolour was a later invention that wasn't contemporary to the period of dominion. The mytholigizing is not really an issue tho, I just think It's unnecessary. I just find it interesting to be from one of the Canadian provinces with a very unique path to province-hood - no need inflating the importance of a mythologized independent republic. But, as I said - it's not really an issue. Most people *do* just take it to be a fun fact about our history that marks another little thing that seperates us from the mainland. Occasionally we get into a stir and rally against the mainland for ignoring us (which, to be fair, they do ignore us pretty often apart for keeping us afloat) but the discourse never really takes an overtly independence-slanted focus so you're definitley right about us not ever leaving Canada haha.
It is kind of odd to think that in the 1920s Newfoundland was another of the semi-I dependent Dominions just like Australia or South Africa or Canada. Until it wasn’t.
Such a small thing, but thank you for making the effort to try and pronounce it differently from how it's spelled. I'm in the Maritimes and have always called it by "Newfenland", so whenever I hear brits or americans in videos call it by "New Found Land" it's a little strange. Fun relevent historical fact: a political union of the three Maritime Provinces, known as the Maritime Union, has been proposed various times. Sometimes it is an Atlantic Union, including Newfoundland and Labrador. Last time it was proposed was 2012.
To be very nit-picky; the British Monarch isn't the head of state of Canada. The Canadian Monarch is the head of state of Canada. It's just that that person is British, lives in England, and is *also* the Monarch of the United Kingdom.
I was going to say the same thing. Canada doesn't need to be a republic to be "fully independent." Our monarch just likes to vacation in a foreign country a lot and has a second job.
@@elfarlaur and a third job, and a fourth job, and a fifth job, and a sixth job up to a 15th job. They only recently got canned from their 16th job in Barbados though. I always thought it would be funny if we didn't get rid of the monarchy, just repatriated it. Give a crown to someone like William Shatner.
also i know you said that Newfoundland will probably not breakaway from Canada anytime soon and while i do agree most Newfoundlanders that i talk to (including me) dont consider themselves Canadian infact a lot have a stronger connection with Ireland or Britain.
Same here. In my opinion we should have returned to Dominion status in 1949. Confederation was more or less a conspiracy between the British and Canadian governments to keep us from getting too close to the US; and as a personal vanity project of Joey Smallwood who DEMANDED he be knighted for dragging us into Confederation (he obviously never heard of the Nickle resolution until it was too late lol).
The British Monarch is not Canada's Head of State. The Canadian Monarch is. Canada has its own independent Monarchy. It just happens to be the same person who is monarch of the UK and 14 other independent Realms.
@@sexygeek8996 What Empire are you referring too? England never had an Empire. The King of England used to have claims to the French throne. Is that what you mean? Or do you mean the British Empire? How exactly do you imagine the UK would get it back?
@@lukeeclair7736 I don't think they will get it back, but at least in theory a future dictatorial monarch could try. It may sound ridiculous, but so did the idea of an absolute dictatorship in Germany until after the 1932 election.
Hey Newfoundland isn’t obscure! Did you know the first wireless transatlantic message was sent from Cornwall to Newfoundland. It was the letter S in Morse code.
Great video! As a Canadian, I feel embarrassed that I didn't know much about this aspect of our history, not only the history of Newfoundland, but the history of the details of our independence from England. I knew we became a dominion in 1867, but you filled in a lot of gaps here :)
I know my fellow newfies will probably disagree with me on this (my family was in Newfoundland until 4 decades ago) but Newfoundland could’ve had a real possibility at becoming it’s own country if ww1 didn’t happen. Almost An entire generation of Newfies were slaughtered by the Germans in the battle of the Somme. Because of this stuff, an entire generation of future Newfie bureaucrats, future politicians, economists, and other important figures were killed, and there was no way to replace them since most of these men didn’t have children. Newfoundland also became bankrupted, which was one of the reasons why they were (mostly) willing to join Canada in 1949, because they were still in a terrible shape, not helped by another world war ☹️
Sad to think Newfoundland sacrificed its future fighting a pointless war for the British king, especially knowing the fact that a lot of them were Irish
@@Hsalf904 Interesting you say that as I visited Ireland in the summer and was taken aback by the continued depth of animosity towards Britain. Would you be Irish?
@@jeffho1727 Haha no but I’m Gaelic Nova Scotian (descended from Scottish Highlanders and we still speak Gaelic to an extent) and a communist so I have no love for the British crown you could say. If you know Irish history it would be clear why similar attitudes are common over there. Hope you had a lovely visit!
@@Hsalf904 Oh , I know the history, grew up Irish Catholic in NL but was still taken aback, reminded me of my tour in Bosnia. And I know lots of your fellow Capers from my Army time. Very pretty spot especially loved the Bra d'or.
Maybe not so much nowadays, but the public was very divided on the issue during voting. Also as a Newfoundlander it's in my blood to bring up mispronunciation, but great video!
Newfoundland was essentially rather forced into confederation . Though it’s greatest triumph came when it stood up to Ottawa in determining who was to benefit from its off shore petroleum reserves when the primer at the time took all Canadian flags down and threatened a referendum (which could have been popular) to separate… Ottawa backed down and allowed the resources to be claimed by Newfoundland and overnight Newfoundland went from one if not the poorest province to one of the wealthiest… I’ve always envied that they had to courage to stand their ground while my home province of NS caved and is still a poor province.
Does any of this explain the time zone? I used to listen to Canadian radio and I couldn't help but notice that Newfoundland got a free plug whenever they announced the time, "It's 20 min past the hour, 50 in Newfoundland."
Yeah, they had their own legislation when the time zones were established and decided they'd rather make their time zone be locally relevant - the island is smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic time zone, so they're literally 3 hours and 30 minutes away from Greenwich. So they just put that into law, rather than hem backwards to Atlantic. Since they were separate from the rest of Canada and the Maritimes, they didn't have a compelling enough reason, I guess, to stick with Atlantic time?
They tried, apparently, back in the 60s to switch to Atlantic but the Newfies woulda had nuttin' wit it, bay. So they haven't tried again since. It's probably a point of pride to them - I know television shows will advertise as a "World Premiere" because they're 30 minutes ahead of the next nearest, and things like new releases will open first in Newfoundland than any other place on the continent.
Not mentioned in the video was the economic devastation wrought by the two world wars. As I have read, the depression was particularly hard on Newfoundland because so many working age men had been killed in Europe, and weren’t available to sustain the fishing economy. After the second war, it was the British who could no longer sustain their colonies; most of them were granted or pushed to independence over the next few years.
Your joke about Texas independence ignores that fact that there really was a Texas Republic in the 1830s and 1840s. That was because Texas (and most of Western US) was originally part of Mexico. Many Americans from slave states had settled in Texas during Mexican rule with their slaves. Because Mexico abolished slavery these American settlers declared independence from Mexico. Texas was an independent country until it was annexed to the United States under President Polk.
Note: it is pronounced "NEW-FIN-LAND" rather than "NEW-FIN-LIND". I know most mainlanders pronounce it the latter way but it sounds super odd to locals, like pronouncing Georgia as "GEORGE-E-AH"
7:51 The British monarch is *not* the head of Canada. The head of Canada is the monarch of Canada, a legally separate and distinct title from the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The same person holds the who titles in personal union, but those are different titles.
you dont have a monarch my culture isnt yours you're a refugee in north america the second canada changed its flag it was over enjoy your spanish lessons
@@JoshTalks11I dont know. True, we were and continue to be a poor province but there are a lot of whatifs. For example, the 1990s fishery collapse was due in no small part by fishing rights traded in negotiations by Canada. Would an independent NFLD have managed it differently? Or a USA Newfoundland?
@@jeffho1727America annexing Newfoundland would be an interesting idea. Although given it’s distance and low population it wasn’t considered at the time. Also personally I just hate border gore. It’s bad enough Alaska is a state, we shouldn’t add Newfoundland to the northern border gore.
Upper Canada and Lower Csnada did not form the Dominion. They stopped existing 25 years earlier and had become the United Province of Canads. And that is the dntity which joined with NB and NS to form a nation in 1867.
As a kid I was a coin collector with a special interest in foreign and especially Canadian coins. Occasionally you'd see the Newfoundland coins from the 1940s. Looked very much like Canadian coins of the same era with George VI on the obverse and denomination in cents. I never thought about it too much but couldn't imagine it was its own little fiefdom with its own prime minister.
A correction, "responsible government" is not having a local legislature. Having a responsible government meant that the royally appointed governor would defer to the elected legislature. Elected legislatures long predate responsible government (the Canadas had legislatures since 1791 and Newfoundland's was established in 1832). It was also not established by law or anything, it was simply the governor announcing a policy. The Province of Canada's responsible government came into existence when the Governor General Lord Elgin decided he had to sign the Rebellion Losses Bill even though he was personally opposed to it.
Though I am a native Chicagoan, my paternal grandmother, Annie O'Shea (nee Connors) was born in Newfoundland in 1877. In fact, the Connors Family has deep roots in Newfoundland; some of them go back at least to 1804.
Interesting fact that as a Dominion Newfoundland controlled its own military affairs during WWI and unlike pretty much the rest of the World chose not to draft its citizens to go fight until they got a new Prime Minister in 1918 who introduced it but by then it was a bit late
The "name change" to Newfoundland & Labrador was Federal. Provincially the Province name included Labrador for, at the lease, my lifetime (born in 1975). I remember thinking it strange that the name "was being changed" to the name we had used my entire life!
Reminds me of NZ and Australia, when Australia was federating NZ was offered a place, but there wasn't much support so it never happened. Though there is still a section in the constitution that allows NZ to join.
From what I’ve read in several different sources, Newfoundlanders became very fond of Americans as Americans were stationed there during World War II Quite a few of the women of Newfoundland married American soldiers and relocated to the US. I know several of them and their children here in the United States. Going back to the 1930s Newfoundland Devolved its independent governance back to the UK as they lacked the finances, the govern themselves and The colony and then after World War II in the late 1940s there was discussion whether or not they would get independence or self-governance join Canada or join the United States The United Kingdom was dead set against Newfoundland, joining the US, so they guided Newfoundland to join as a province of Canada This is my perspective, but I look at the map of Labrador and scratch my head as to why it’s of any advantage for it to be part of the province of Newfoundland geographically, but history is what it is
Canada doesn't have the British monarch, it sounds pedantic but is important to note the difference between British monarch and personal union. Canada had the British monarch up to ~1949 after WW2 along with the other British dominions. One of the post ww2 imperial conference resulted in the change from an empire to the personal union we have today, for the self governing colonies, the crown colonies slowly began the decolonisation period. Canada then adopted the Canadian monarch and although it still had constitutional links to the UK, it was no longer officially in the empire but now in commonwealth realm upto today.
Newfoundlander here, this was a neat surprise! This province's history is so cool and I'm proud of getting to live here. (Honestly, with the housing crisis being rampant in the mainland, sometimes it feels like NL is to Canada as Canada is to The US lmao)
That’s interesting - might explain why I could never find out to what extent Federal Canada law applies in Newfoundland-Labrador (please tell if anyone knows). I was checking in terms of Federal Heritage Conservation laws.
There is the real reason Newfoundland failed economically, British imperialism. In 1914 Newfoundland entered the war and borrowed large sums from British banks. They also had very large casualties so the government had huge window and orphans pensions. The combination of these costs wiped out the government budget and the British took over to save their banks. Leave it to the brits give the colony independence and impoverish it.
I have Canadian friends who really like their position....yes the King is head of State, he's on the money, but in reality, the King is totally symbolic...they think it's better than the US....they get to enjoy having royalty, without that royalty bothering them too much....a visit by a member of the Royal Family is fun (except if you need to get somewhere & they block up traffic) and most of my friends want things to stay pretty much the same right now
@@thezipcreatorIf the UK got rid of their monarchy and the royal family had to come live in Canada, I honestly don’t know whether that would make me more anti-monarchy or more pro-monarchy. The idea of Canada inheriting the British Empire is pretty hilarious.
This describes my position perfectly. The King is the symbolic Commander in Chief and leader of the country. Someone people can adore. I would not want that type of symbolism and adoration invested into an elected representative.
Newfoundland accounting department: " Minus 5000 Pound plus Minus 5000 Pound is 10 000 Pound" Some royal auditor: "You mean Minus 10 000 Pound?" Newfoundlander confused: "Minus Plus Minus equals a Positiv." Auditor: "No, that applies to multiplication, adding up two negatives remains a negative." Newfoundlander: "Ah yes, for sure, I misspoke." profoundly begins to sweat, scribbles down on random papers, breaks down in tears and declares bankruptcy
I think it’s inevitable Canada will break up one day. It’s basically just held together by Ottowa paying everyone else to stay but that won’t last forever. Eventually Quebec will leave, the Parries will federate, the three Atlantic provinces will federate, New Foundland may join them but probably will go it alone again, BC will be independent and then the territories will unite or possibly join BC or the prairies.
It doesn't actually have to seperate for any of that to effectively happen. Quebec is almost defacto its own country as far as it internally operates minus interprovincual payments. Other provinces are all gradually taking on more responsibilities. There is no serious appetite to balkanize, yes even in quebec, because Canada has always existed principally as a voluntary participation bulwark against american influence/domination, which is has succeeded in better than if it were several countries IMO if Canada splits up it will only ever happen if USA splits up first And yes, it is inevitable that all nations crumble as they all do. But if thats in 100 or 1000 years, no one knows for sure
@@soybasedjeremy3653 I mean the "framework" that you're referring to is just "you can't leave". Which I hope Canada doesn't do as that goes against right to self determination. 😂😂
Responsible government generally came after the establishment of a local legislative body. It means that the government of the day must maintain the confidence of the lower chamber of that body and, if it fails to do so, must resign. This first took place in 1848 in Nova Scotia and has been followed by Westminster democracies ever since.
Responsible government meant that the colony had internal self government with only foreign policy and defence being determined by Westminster. Australia had full control of its Constitution from 1901, the Constitution could be amended by a vote of the Australian people.
The opinion on independence is bigger than most would assume, there’s just no organized political movement because there are more important issues to focus on (debt relief fir example)
The other thing is that abolishing the monarchy would require the unanimous consent of all Provincial Parliaments and the federal. And could we settle on a way to elect a president? If it is to be a figurehead president, why?
Independence in this context means self-government. Essentially, the stuff laid out by the Statute of Westminster. The UK doesn't tax Newfoundland residents, laws passed in one country do not (and can not) affect the other. Sovereignty, on the other hand, means absolute independence. Canada did not have this until 1982.
Thank you, Canada is so large and diverse. Would you say Newfoundland's status before joining Canada was like Greenland to Denmark and Puerto Rico and the smaller territories iare to the US? My understanding is that, in the early oughts was Quebec's last chance to succeed. The imigrant population keeps increasing, most of them want to stay in.the union.
Here’s the once a year-ish Canadian history video!
Wish I could visit Canada.
That’s so much for talking about my home province’s history.
Responsible government doesn't refer to local government. It refers to the point at which the cabinet can be dismissed by the legislature by a mere majority vote. Local councils had been a thing for a century before, but they didn't have the power to choose the executive, just agree to taxes and legislation, the governor chose the executive. In this standard, Germany attained responsible government in 1918.
more Canadian content plz dont make me make sad Canadian noises
you might find this song interesting, Alan Mills made several albums of old folk songs
this is from Canada's story in a song called Anti-Confederation Song
ruclips.net/video/cyblFjxlIM4/видео.html
As a Newfoundlander, I will do my duty and silently judge this video for any minor faults. While still immediately liking and supporting it because I am a fan of the channel.
Honestly, it is a pretty good breakdown and I really enjoyed it. Way better than most other videos by people talking about Newfoundland.
@@jacobhogan3208Before I watch the video I need to know did he pronounce Newfoundland correctly?
@@AppleHistoryGuy He pronounced "Newfound" correctly, "Land" isn't 100% though.
@@jacobhogan3208, what do you think of History Matters' video on Newfoundland?
@@jacobhogan3208 better then NewFINland
There was popular support for NL to join the US, which terrified the Canadians and Brits -was actually a big part of the unrest and independence issues. It was worth mentioning.
Yeah we didn't end up joining because of the US just not being interested at all
Same with Quebec, that's why they have many different laws than the rest of Canada. They were granted these exceptions so that they would remain a part of Canada instead of joining the US, even though the British defeated the French.
It was all economic interests, that figured the US would be able to stabilize their economies better than the UK
PEI didn't join confederation as the initial plan didn't offer much to solve their major issues of absentee landowners and the need for a railway. They tried to find a solution with the British colonial offices but they wanted nothing to do with it and instead prefered if PEI just joined up with Canada. PEI then looked into the possibility for the US purchasing them from Britain and them becoming a new US state. As soon as John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister, heard about that, he immediate entered into negotiations with PEI where he gave in to PEI's demands, agreeing to buy out the lands owned by nobles back in Britain, pay for a railway, guaranteed the number of representatives for PEI in parliament, and guaranteed a connection to the mainland for PEI, funded by the federal government. Fear of the US defined much of Canadian history.
@@Michaelonyoutub Thanks for this, very interesting!
Fun Fact: In the 19th century Newfoundland had such a large population of Irish people that a good chunk of the population spoke Gaelic Irish there. The Catholic Church used to send for priests from Ireland who could speak Irish to move there, and there are records of the courts needing Irish interpreters for some defendants. Newfoundland is also the only place outside of Europe which has a native name in Irish: Talamh an Éisc (The Land of the Fish).
I've heard that the reason for the strange syntax used in the Newfie dialect is that it's a carry-over from the Irish language, as well.
I always thought Newfoundland would be very very Irish. And considering it’s an island there would be a strong nautical culture and connection to the sea. Maybe even sea shanties as actual songs. Would probably fit right at home there considering I’m part Irish.
I took a course with a professor from Newfoundland once; it struck me how Irish her accent sounded.
I'd so love Tigerstar to do a piece on things like that last part.
You missed one of the important milestones of Newfoundland becoming Canadian; they had to change which side of the road they drove on before becoming part of the Dominion of Canada.....
It wasn't mentioned here but there was also a popular option for potential economic or political union with the United States, and it wasn't a referendum option despite said popularity. The party that tried to pursue it was the Economic Union Party. The background behind this is that Americans were invited to the island by the UK to set up military bases in 1941 to 1945. The American Bases Act became law in Newfoundland on June 11, 1941. Newfoundland girls married American personnel by the thousands. With the Cold War looming, US interests in Newfoundland were centered primarily on its strategic importance to the defense of North America.
However, Truman's administration opted not to pursue annexation as they didn't want to antagonize two key allies. And in regards to domestic policy, the administration would not likely have been able to convince Congress to offer statehood to Newfoundland due to its small population and geographical isolation from the then-48 existing states, and would not likely have been able to convince Newfoundlanders to accept territorial status rather than statehood.
If anyone wants to know more about this topic, there’s a book written about it based on a lawyers experience during the years leading up to the vote and during the vote, called “Don’t tell the Newfoundlanders”
The source of the book was one of the lawyers pushing this theory forward
HEY THAT'S MY PROVINCE !!
Real well researched video by the way, this was what I learned myself
Same.
My grandpa was born in Newfoundland pre-confederation and he refers to it as the day Canada joined Newfoundland
My parents and grandparents say the same thing lol. I say it too of course >:) One of my great grandmothers despised Joey Smallwood, while a great grandfather of mine had his picture up on the wall until the day he died.
I worked with Newfies and have even been ceremoniously screeched. They were a great funny bunch who worked hard and joked a lot. Of course, I heard that in 1949 Newfoundland took Canada. To complete the fun, I also heard that if Quebec leaves, Newfoundland will finally take the rest of Canada.
As a Nova Scotian, I sometimes wonder if the Atlantic Provinces might’ve been better off joining together in a union instead of joining Canada separately. Nova Scotia straight up joined undemocratically and against the will of the people, in NB there was a lot of coercion and I think PEI and NL were right ti worry about being neglected by Ontario and Québec. People often don’t realize that Nova Scotia was Canada’s first separatist province. I think PEI only really ended up joining because NS and NB did
The Newfoundland and Labrador flag is really cool! The flag of Newfoundland and Labrador was introduced in 1980 and was designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt. It was flown for the first time on June 24th that year, commemorating Venetian navigator John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland in 1497. Blue stands for water, white for snow, red for human effort, and gold for the confidence the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have in themselves and for the future. The flag design is that of etchings on Beothuk and Innu decorative pendants worn hung from a cord around the neck. Pratt viewed these at the Provincial Museum.
With the blue, red and white colors applied, the design has an intentional overall resemblance to the British flag, as a reminder of historic connections with the UK. The two red triangles represent the two areas of the province, Labrador the continental region and Newfoundland the insular region. The gold arrow points towards a brighter future, the arrow becomes a sword, honoring the sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in military service when the flag is displayed as a vertical banner. The red triangles and the gold arrow form a trident, symbolizing the province's association with the fisheries and other resources of and under the sea.
Looked it up and I can't disagree more
1497 I don’t think so
@@michaelkauffman2771497 seems to be said in other places too, he died in 1500 and seems to have an entry at the treasury. It’s not too surprising we were 30-50years into European exploration of the America’s coast by then. Of course it’d take another 50years until anyone but the iberians got the hang of settlement.
@@michaelkauffman277 ?? That is indeed when Cabot reached Newfoundland?
Chris Pratt? Like the Mario Bros guy?
I only learned that Newfoundland was once separate from Canada when I visited the Somme, finding the Newfoundland Memorial.😢
You have answered a lot of my questions. Thank you.
I've had more than one Newfoundlander tell me it was Canada that joined them!
Yay! A newfoundland video! Thanks for the attention to our lil province ^^
A lot of people here feel a lot of pride towards our time as a psudo-independent state - even if most people don't fully understand the history behind it. Notably, a common myth here is the newfoundland tricolour - a lot of people think it was our flag when we were a dominion but the tricolour was a later invention that wasn't contemporary to the period of dominion. The mytholigizing is not really an issue tho, I just think It's unnecessary. I just find it interesting to be from one of the Canadian provinces with a very unique path to province-hood - no need inflating the importance of a mythologized independent republic.
But, as I said - it's not really an issue. Most people *do* just take it to be a fun fact about our history that marks another little thing that seperates us from the mainland. Occasionally we get into a stir and rally against the mainland for ignoring us (which, to be fair, they do ignore us pretty often apart for keeping us afloat) but the discourse never really takes an overtly independence-slanted focus so you're definitley right about us not ever leaving Canada haha.
It is kind of odd to think that in the 1920s Newfoundland was another of the semi-I dependent Dominions just like Australia or South Africa or Canada. Until it wasn’t.
Such a small thing, but thank you for making the effort to try and pronounce it differently from how it's spelled. I'm in the Maritimes and have always called it by "Newfenland", so whenever I hear brits or americans in videos call it by "New Found Land" it's a little strange.
Fun relevent historical fact: a political union of the three Maritime Provinces, known as the Maritime Union, has been proposed various times. Sometimes it is an Atlantic Union, including Newfoundland and Labrador. Last time it was proposed was 2012.
It was proposed way back in 1864 and it probably would have happened, except some Canadians crashed the party.
To be very nit-picky; the British Monarch isn't the head of state of Canada. The Canadian Monarch is the head of state of Canada. It's just that that person is British, lives in England, and is *also* the Monarch of the United Kingdom.
I was going to say the same thing. Canada doesn't need to be a republic to be "fully independent." Our monarch just likes to vacation in a foreign country a lot and has a second job.
@@elfarlaur and a third job, and a fourth job, and a fifth job, and a sixth job up to a 15th job. They only recently got canned from their 16th job in Barbados though. I always thought it would be funny if we didn't get rid of the monarchy, just repatriated it. Give a crown to someone like William Shatner.
@@relazaror create a separate Canadian monarchy
As a long time sub, and a Newfoundlander...thank you sir
Same here.
also i know you said that Newfoundland will probably not breakaway from Canada anytime soon and while i do agree most Newfoundlanders that i talk to (including me) dont consider themselves Canadian infact a lot have a stronger connection with Ireland or Britain.
Same here. In my opinion we should have returned to Dominion status in 1949. Confederation was more or less a conspiracy between the British and Canadian governments to keep us from getting too close to the US; and as a personal vanity project of Joey Smallwood who DEMANDED he be knighted for dragging us into Confederation (he obviously never heard of the Nickle resolution until it was too late lol).
The British Monarch is not Canada's Head of State.
The Canadian Monarch is.
Canada has its own independent Monarchy. It just happens to be the same person who is monarch of the UK and 14 other independent Realms.
Semantics.
@@thelakeman2538 Not really. Saying the British Monarch rules Canada implies a level of colonial control that doesn't exist.
It might say that on paper, but if England every decided to get its empire back there is no question which side the monarch will take.
@@sexygeek8996
What Empire are you referring too? England never had an Empire. The King of England used to have claims to the French throne. Is that what you mean?
Or do you mean the British Empire? How exactly do you imagine the UK would get it back?
@@lukeeclair7736 I don't think they will get it back, but at least in theory a future dictatorial monarch could try. It may sound ridiculous, but so did the idea of an absolute dictatorship in Germany until after the 1932 election.
Great video. Love to see obscure newfoundland history hit mainstream audiences
Hey Newfoundland isn’t obscure! Did you know the first wireless transatlantic message was sent from Cornwall to Newfoundland. It was the letter S in Morse code.
@@therealspeedwagon1451 born and raised on the island. It just doesn't make headlines often since then lol
@@notcomedytv8854 hey at least it’s not New Zealand. Some maps completely omit that island. It’s so obscure there are more sheep than actual people.
Great video! As a Canadian, I feel embarrassed that I didn't know much about this aspect of our history, not only the history of Newfoundland, but the history of the details of our independence from England. I knew we became a dominion in 1867, but you filled in a lot of gaps here :)
Interesting to learn a little bit more about our Canadian neighbors.
As a Newfoundlander. I am currently convincing Newfoundland parliament for us to join Albania
My Mom is from Labrador. I remember older people saying, a trip to Canada for a trip to Toronto or Montreal.
I know my fellow newfies will probably disagree with me on this (my family was in Newfoundland until 4 decades ago) but Newfoundland could’ve had a real possibility at becoming it’s own country if ww1 didn’t happen. Almost An entire generation of Newfies were slaughtered by the Germans in the battle of the Somme. Because of this stuff, an entire generation of future Newfie bureaucrats, future politicians, economists, and other important figures were killed, and there was no way to replace them since most of these men didn’t have children.
Newfoundland also became bankrupted, which was one of the reasons why they were (mostly) willing to join Canada in 1949, because they were still in a terrible shape, not helped by another world war ☹️
I would agree with that, things were desperate in NFLD in the 30s and a lot of money was promised in 1949.
Sad to think Newfoundland sacrificed its future fighting a pointless war for the British king, especially knowing the fact that a lot of them were Irish
@@Hsalf904 Interesting you say that as I visited Ireland in the summer and was taken aback by the continued depth of animosity towards Britain. Would you be Irish?
@@jeffho1727 Haha no but I’m Gaelic Nova Scotian (descended from Scottish Highlanders and we still speak Gaelic to an extent) and a communist so I have no love for the British crown you could say. If you know Irish history it would be clear why similar attitudes are common over there. Hope you had a lovely visit!
@@Hsalf904 Oh , I know the history, grew up Irish Catholic in NL but was still taken aback, reminded me of my tour in Bosnia. And I know lots of your fellow Capers from my Army time. Very pretty spot especially loved the Bra d'or.
Maybe not so much nowadays, but the public was very divided on the issue during voting. Also as a Newfoundlander it's in my blood to bring up mispronunciation, but great video!
Never thought id see tigerstar talk about my home province 😀
Newfoundland was essentially rather forced into confederation . Though it’s greatest triumph came when it stood up to Ottawa in determining who was to benefit from its off shore petroleum reserves when the primer at the time took all Canadian flags down and threatened a referendum (which could have been popular) to separate… Ottawa backed down and allowed the resources to be claimed by Newfoundland and overnight Newfoundland went from one if not the poorest province to one of the wealthiest… I’ve always envied that they had to courage to stand their ground while my home province of NS caved and is still a poor province.
Does any of this explain the time zone? I used to listen to Canadian radio and I couldn't help but notice that Newfoundland got a free plug whenever they announced the time, "It's 20 min past the hour, 50 in Newfoundland."
Yeah, they had their own legislation when the time zones were established and decided they'd rather make their time zone be locally relevant - the island is smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic time zone, so they're literally 3 hours and 30 minutes away from Greenwich. So they just put that into law, rather than hem backwards to Atlantic. Since they were separate from the rest of Canada and the Maritimes, they didn't have a compelling enough reason, I guess, to stick with Atlantic time?
They tried, apparently, back in the 60s to switch to Atlantic but the Newfies woulda had nuttin' wit it, bay. So they haven't tried again since. It's probably a point of pride to them - I know television shows will advertise as a "World Premiere" because they're 30 minutes ahead of the next nearest, and things like new releases will open first in Newfoundland than any other place on the continent.
Not mentioned in the video was the economic devastation wrought by the two world wars. As I have read, the depression was particularly hard on Newfoundland because so many working age men had been killed in Europe, and weren’t available to sustain the fishing economy.
After the second war, it was the British who could no longer sustain their colonies; most of them were granted or pushed to independence over the next few years.
Look up the Battle of Beaumont Hamel
NEWFOUNDLAND MENTIONED LETS GO
always appreciate the Canadian history content
My mother immigrated to Canada from NFLD…
Your joke about Texas independence ignores that fact that there really was a Texas Republic in the 1830s and 1840s. That was because Texas (and most of Western US) was originally part of Mexico. Many Americans from slave states had settled in Texas during Mexican rule with their slaves. Because Mexico abolished slavery these American settlers declared independence from Mexico. Texas was an independent country until it was annexed to the United States under President Polk.
Note: it is pronounced "NEW-FIN-LAND" rather than "NEW-FIN-LIND". I know most mainlanders pronounce it the latter way but it sounds super odd to locals, like pronouncing Georgia as "GEORGE-E-AH"
That annoys me so much when people pronounce it wrong.
Frankly having a place called 'Newfoundland' be pronounced like it's 'New Finland' is a lot odder to me.
@@Reiver-93 It’s an accent.
You would hate to find that I prounance it New Faundland as foreigner xd
@@andrzejnadgirl2029 I’d understand that, I’m just used to my own accent.
7:51 The British monarch is *not* the head of Canada. The head of Canada is the monarch of Canada, a legally separate and distinct title from the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The same person holds the who titles in personal union, but those are different titles.
you dont have a monarch
my culture isnt yours you're a refugee in north america the second canada changed its flag it was over
enjoy your spanish lessons
I wonder what Newfoundland would look like today had it not joined Canada.
To be honest, probably mostly the same lol
@@JoshTalks11I dont know. True, we were and continue to be a poor province but there are a lot of whatifs. For example, the 1990s fishery collapse was due in no small part by fishing rights traded in negotiations by Canada. Would an independent NFLD have managed it differently? Or a USA Newfoundland?
I like to think that if Iceland has made it on it’s own Newfoundland could have also
@@jeffho1727America annexing Newfoundland would be an interesting idea. Although given it’s distance and low population it wasn’t considered at the time. Also personally I just hate border gore. It’s bad enough Alaska is a state, we shouldn’t add Newfoundland to the northern border gore.
Upper Canada and Lower Csnada did not form the Dominion. They stopped existing 25 years earlier and had become the United Province of Canads. And that is the dntity which joined with NB and NS to form a nation in 1867.
I was always told by my friends from Newfoundland and Labrador that it was the other way around - Newfoundland inviting Canada to join up.
As a kid I was a coin collector with a special interest in foreign and especially Canadian coins. Occasionally you'd see the Newfoundland coins from the 1940s. Looked very much like Canadian coins of the same era with George VI on the obverse and denomination in cents. I never thought about it too much but couldn't imagine it was its own little fiefdom with its own prime minister.
I have Newfoundland coins from the 1910s
thanks for this video
By obtaining from English Canada a huge part of Québec land, new found land indeed! What a steal!
A correction, "responsible government" is not having a local legislature. Having a responsible government meant that the royally appointed governor would defer to the elected legislature.
Elected legislatures long predate responsible government (the Canadas had legislatures since 1791 and Newfoundland's was established in 1832). It was also not established by law or anything, it was simply the governor announcing a policy.
The Province of Canada's responsible government came into existence when the Governor General Lord Elgin decided he had to sign the Rebellion Losses Bill even though he was personally opposed to it.
Though I am a native Chicagoan, my paternal grandmother, Annie O'Shea (nee Connors) was born in Newfoundland in 1877. In fact, the Connors Family has deep roots in Newfoundland; some of them go back at least to 1804.
I watched a video on this topic quite a while ago which I thought was very good. Yours is better though.
As a Canadian, this is the most I've ever known about Newfoundland.
Interesting fact that as a Dominion Newfoundland controlled its own military affairs during WWI and unlike pretty much the rest of the World chose not to draft its citizens to go fight until they got a new Prime Minister in 1918 who introduced it but by then it was a bit late
I have to explain this whenever I am asked why War Memorials refer to NF as well as CANZSA.
The comment section be like: People who don't understand the concept of a personal union
I mean, not personal union but you've got the right idea.
The "name change" to Newfoundland & Labrador was Federal. Provincially the Province name included Labrador for, at the lease, my lifetime (born in 1975). I remember thinking it strange that the name "was being changed" to the name we had used my entire life!
I am crying at the pronunciation this entire video 😓
Why does your map have Greenland in Inuit but not Iceland in Icelandic?
Reminds me of NZ and Australia, when Australia was federating NZ was offered a place, but there wasn't much support so it never happened. Though there is still a section in the constitution that allows NZ to join.
So New Zealand and Australia are kind of the opposite of what happened to NL.
From what I’ve read in several different sources, Newfoundlanders became very fond of Americans as Americans were stationed there during World War II
Quite a few of the women of Newfoundland married American soldiers and relocated to the US. I know several of them and their children here in the United States.
Going back to the 1930s Newfoundland Devolved its independent governance back to the UK as they lacked the finances, the govern themselves and The colony and then after World War II in the late 1940s there was discussion whether or not they would get independence or self-governance join Canada or join the United States
The United Kingdom was dead set against Newfoundland, joining the US, so they guided Newfoundland to join as a province of Canada
This is my perspective, but I look at the map of Labrador and scratch my head as to why it’s of any advantage for it to be part of the province of Newfoundland geographically, but history is what it is
What about St Pierre & Miquelon? The back door of France noone ever talks about?
Auto-captions render "Newfoundland" as "New Finland".
Some Newfoundlanders hate Canada and want independence and I am one of them
WE BE LIKE THAT 🔥
Based. Same here but for Cape Breton
Will your country be based on anger?
Canada doesn't have the British monarch, it sounds pedantic but is important to note the difference between British monarch and personal union.
Canada had the British monarch up to ~1949 after WW2 along with the other British dominions.
One of the post ww2 imperial conference resulted in the change from an empire to the personal union we have today, for the self governing colonies, the crown colonies slowly began the decolonisation period.
Canada then adopted the Canadian monarch and although it still had constitutional links to the UK, it was no longer officially in the empire but now in commonwealth realm upto today.
Newfoundlander here, this was a neat surprise! This province's history is so cool and I'm proud of getting to live here. (Honestly, with the housing crisis being rampant in the mainland, sometimes it feels like NL is to Canada as Canada is to The US lmao)
Nothing bad ever happens on the Labrador peninsula
Honestly I feel we should have gone down the path of the Imperial Federation for the Commonwealth Realms.
Make it like an EU/NATO of Britain and her dominions.
Yes. We could have been a third pillar of Western power. A vast maritime federation.
@@clangerbasher, 3rd pillar? What's the 2nd pillar, if I may ask?
@@occam7382 Europe
Can you do a video about Guerrilha do Araguaia? (Brazil)
Also i am a big fan
That’s interesting - might explain why I could never find out to what extent Federal Canada law applies in Newfoundland-Labrador (please tell if anyone knows). I was checking in terms of Federal Heritage Conservation laws.
There is the real reason Newfoundland failed economically, British imperialism. In 1914 Newfoundland entered the war and borrowed large sums from British banks. They also had very large casualties so the government had huge window and orphans pensions. The combination of these costs wiped out the government budget and the British took over to save their banks. Leave it to the brits give the colony independence and impoverish it.
canada found new found land
they found a new land that they called new found land because they just found this new land
I like how you say history is surprising.
Do an episode on the Republic of vermont lol lasted a whipping 14 years
I have Canadian friends who really like their position....yes the King is head of State, he's on the money, but in reality, the King is totally symbolic...they think it's better than the US....they get to enjoy having royalty, without that royalty bothering them too much....a visit by a member of the Royal Family is fun (except if you need to get somewhere & they block up traffic) and most of my friends want things to stay pretty much the same right now
@@akira_kei_ I feel like the UK would get rid of the monarchy before canada cos they actually have to pay for their bullshit
@@thezipcreatorIf the UK got rid of their monarchy and the royal family had to come live in Canada, I honestly don’t know whether that would make me more anti-monarchy or more pro-monarchy. The idea of Canada inheriting the British Empire is pretty hilarious.
@@Adsper2000 Ottawa doesn't exactly scream "royal residence", does it?
@@thomasrinschler6783 I think they’d prefer British Columbia.
This describes my position perfectly. The King is the symbolic Commander in Chief and leader of the country. Someone people can adore.
I would not want that type of symbolism and adoration invested into an elected representative.
Newfoundland accounting department: " Minus 5000 Pound plus Minus 5000 Pound is 10 000 Pound"
Some royal auditor: "You mean Minus 10 000 Pound?"
Newfoundlander confused: "Minus Plus Minus equals a Positiv."
Auditor: "No, that applies to multiplication, adding up two negatives remains a negative."
Newfoundlander: "Ah yes, for sure, I misspoke." profoundly begins to sweat, scribbles down on random papers, breaks down in tears and declares bankruptcy
I think it’s inevitable Canada will break up one day. It’s basically just held together by Ottowa paying everyone else to stay but that won’t last forever.
Eventually Quebec will leave, the Parries will federate, the three Atlantic provinces will federate, New Foundland may join them but probably will go it alone again, BC will be independent and then the territories will unite or possibly join BC or the prairies.
It doesn't actually have to seperate for any of that to effectively happen. Quebec is almost defacto its own country as far as it internally operates minus interprovincual payments. Other provinces are all gradually taking on more responsibilities.
There is no serious appetite to balkanize, yes even in quebec, because Canada has always existed principally as a voluntary participation bulwark against american influence/domination, which is has succeeded in better than if it were several countries
IMO if Canada splits up it will only ever happen if USA splits up first
And yes, it is inevitable that all nations crumble as they all do. But if thats in 100 or 1000 years, no one knows for sure
@@davidlapointe4710But the problem is the U.S. is still got a tighter framework, than the Canadian government.
@@soybasedjeremy3653 just because its strong doesnt means its not brittle
@@davidlapointe4710 There's cracks, but Canada, you can tell there's cracks causing rifts and etc.
@@soybasedjeremy3653 I mean the "framework" that you're referring to is just "you can't leave". Which I hope Canada doesn't do as that goes against right to self determination. 😂😂
How tf did the newly found land become new finland?
Our mix of English and Irish (and a tiny bit of French) dialects, plus isolation will do that to a language.
Good pronunciation on Newfoundland.
Better than most.
At this point they are probably reconsidering.
5:10, parents having a gun pointed to your head doesnt seem nice tho
its "Land" not "Lund"
I have no enemies: Newfoundland after being settled by the Vikings.
Labrador always been in Canada. NEwfoundland stole it from Québec when joining Canada.
You weird newfound people and your half hour time difference! I'm over in alberta but I would love to visit newfoundland/Labrador one day :3
Responsible government generally came after the establishment of a local legislative body. It means that the government of the day must maintain the confidence of the lower chamber of that body and, if it fails to do so, must resign. This first took place in 1848 in Nova Scotia and has been followed by Westminster democracies ever since.
Responsible government meant that the colony had internal self government with only foreign policy and defence being determined by Westminster. Australia had full control of its Constitution from 1901, the Constitution could be amended by a vote of the Australian people.
Could you please one day map Zimbabwe's Bush War, the war was very interesting and went for awhile
At that point it was well, kind of pointless to keep Newfoundland separate in my opinion.
PRAISE BE TO THE EMPEROR LORD OF OUR GREAT NATION
The opinion on independence is bigger than most would assume, there’s just no organized political movement because there are more important issues to focus on (debt relief fir example)
The other thing is that abolishing the monarchy would require the unanimous consent of all Provincial Parliaments and the federal. And could we settle on a way to elect a president? If it is to be a figurehead president, why?
Alright bys, get yer pronunciation comments ready.
Lobster wine. We all drank a little too much lobster wine and the next day Newfoundland was part of the Dominion.
Why does he say Westminster gives Newfoundland Dominion status. I don't see Newdoundland listed with New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and Canada.
5:39 really wondering how a country/state can be "non-sovereign but independent" ...
Independence in this context means self-government. Essentially, the stuff laid out by the Statute of Westminster. The UK doesn't tax Newfoundland residents, laws passed in one country do not (and can not) affect the other.
Sovereignty, on the other hand, means absolute independence. Canada did not have this until 1982.
Free Newfoundland 🕊️
Québec libre 🇲🇶 !
REJOICE NEWFOUNDLANDERS for we have been mentioned
Why don't yuz asks them when their wimens gots the vote bys?
I am what I am a proud Canadian but a true newfoundlander
An island... "doesn't feel as connected to the mainland?" Nice wordplay
Thank you, Canada is so large and diverse.
Would you say Newfoundland's status before joining Canada was like Greenland to Denmark and Puerto Rico and the smaller territories iare to the US?
My understanding is that, in the early oughts was Quebec's last chance to succeed. The imigrant population keeps increasing, most of them want to stay in.the union.
er-was not Manibia not inde[endent under Louis Reil till it became a provice with Louis Reil as its 1st primier
True, I think they called themselves Manitobah
Actually Canada stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
you're saying it wrong
very informative tho, thanks