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military campaign in 1779. Some of these Iroquois crossed the border and settled in Cana-
dian territory.
WAR OF 1812
By the turn of the 19th century, the region saw modest population growth as yeoman farm-
ers began clearing fields and planting crops. The War of 1812 erupted as the United States
declaredwaronGreatBritainovertradepoliciesandEnglishimpressmentofU.S.sailors,a
practice where English soldiers boarded U.S. vessels and seized any American sailors who
desertedfromtheBritishNavy.Manycontemporaryhistoriansbelievethattheconflictwas,
in reality, a thinly veiled attempt by the United States to annex Canadian territory.
The bloodiest fighting of that war occurred in the Niagara theater. In October 1812,
U.S. forces crossed the Niagara River and briefly took control of the cannon that was stra-
tegically placed atop Queenston Heights. The U.S. invaders were eventually repelled, but
Canadalostitsmostableyounggeneral,IsaacBrock.Inanotherdarkchapterofthewar,re-
treating U.S. forces burned down the village now known as Niagara-on-the-Lake. In retali-
ation,BritishforcescrossedtheborderandburnedLewiston,NiagaraFalls,andBuffalo.At
the end of the conflict, neither side gained or lost territory. Eventually, peace negotiations
yielded an agreed-upon, fixed boundary between Canada and the United States.
EVOLUTION OF CANADIAN GOVERNANCE
Following the war, Ontario struggled to define itself politically. Some residents favored
an aristocratic form of government with access to positions of power limited to an elite
group, many of whom were British-born transplants. This type of governance was opposed
by others loyal to the Crown, but resistant to the creation of a powerful class of unelected
“nobles.”
Building resentment led to unrest and a brief and unsuccessful armed rebellion in 1837
byWilliamLyonMacKenzie.Theseedsofreformweresown,andGreatBritainrecognized
that its colony in Canada was capable of limited autonomy. A governor would preside over
aterritoryorcolony,butthatgovernorwouldimplementthewillofademocraticallyelected
legislature.ThefirststepsweretakentowardCanada'scompleteautonomyandthecreation
of Ontario as a province.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 fundamentally changed the region's economic des-
tiny. The canal placed Buffalo at the terminus of the world's first superhighway, making it
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