War of 1812

After the defeat of Napoleon's fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), the Royal Navy ruled the waves. But Americans resented British interference with their shipping. The USA believed that it would be easy to conquer Canada and launched an invasion in June 1812. Canadian volunteers and First Nations, including Shawnee led by Chief Tecumseh, supported British soldiers in Canada's defence. In July, Major-General Sir Isaac Brock captured Detroit but was killed while defeating an American attack at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls. In 1813, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry and 460 soldiers, mostly Canadiens, turned back 4,000 American invaders at Châteauguay, south of Montreal. The Americans burned Government House and the Parliament Buildings in York (now Toronto). In retaliation in 1814, the British burned down the White House and other public buildings in Washington, D.C. The leader of that expedition, Major General Robert Ross, died in battle soon afterwards and was buried in Halifax with full military honours.

The war ended in 1814, when both sides gave back any territory they had captured. The British paid for a costly defence system including the Citadels at Halifax and Quebec City, the naval drydock at Halifax, Fort Henry at Kingston, and the Rideau Canal between Kingston and Ottawa. Today these are important historic sites and popular tourist attractions. The present-day Canada-U.S. border is partly an outcome of the War of 1812, which ensured that Canada would remain independent of the United States.