Canada under British rule (1763–1867) Edit
Main article: Canada under British rule (1763–1867)
Map showing British territorial gains following the "Seven Years' War". Treaty of Paris gains in pink, and Spanish territorial gains after the Treaty of Fontainebleau in yellow.
With the end of the Seven Years' War and the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763), France ceded almost all of its territory in mainland North America, except for fishing rights off Newfoundland and two small islands where it could dry that fish. In turn France received the return of its sugar colony, Guadeloupe, which it considered more valuable than Canada.[95] As of 2015, Guadeloupe remains a part of the French Republic. The two small fishing islands, named St. Pierre et Miquelon, are less than 10 kilometers from the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, yet remain under French rule.
The new British rulers retained and protected most of the property, religious, political, and social culture of the French-speaking habitants, guaranteeing the right of the Canadiens to practice the Catholic faith and to the use of French civil law (now Quebec law) through the Quebec Act of 1774.[96] The Royal Proclamation of 1763 had been issued in October, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory.[97] The proclamation organized Great Britain's new North American empire and stabilized relations between the British Crown and Aboriginal peoples through regulation of trade, settlement, and land purchases on the western frontier.[97]