Canada is the second largest country by area in the world
... Russia is first, then Canada, followed by China with the fourth being America (USA) ...
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| c/o World Atlas |
There's a huge amount of information on Canada - so this
will be miniscule ... but over the time I'm here I expect I'll be posting more
about this part of the world ... so for now just some jottings ...
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Jacques Cartier's first voyage - 1534 |
In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec
City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491 - 1557) to a local
village.
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| Portrait of Jacques Cartier by Theophile Hamel c 1844 |
Cartier then used the word to refer not only to the village,
but to the entire area subject to the chief at the village. By 1545, European books and maps had begun
referring to this small region along the St Lawrence River as Canada.
From the 16th to 18th century "Canada" referred to
the part of New France that lay along the St Lawrence River ... before the
British colonised the area ... and Canada eventually became Canada.
That is C for Canada ... from Aspects by a British 'girl' in
Canada ...
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
57 comments:
Love that the name for this very big country stems from the name for such a small settlement. Perhaps the Canadian 'understatement' at its best.
I enjoyed reading the origin of Canada. Glad to know more about our friends to the north. Really enjoyed visiting Nova Scotia a few summers ago. How about N--Nova Scotia??
JQ Rose
What I have seen of Canada, I have liked. If the winters weren’t so long and cold, I would entertain living there.
You told me something I didn't know in the first sentence- I didn't know the countries sizes like that. sandie
Interesting! I believe that our Melbourne river was named that because someone asked a local indigenous person what it was called. The word just means "river".
Probably better than when someone asked for an indigenous name for "let's get together and have fun" and was told "Moomba"(our annual Labour Day festival). It didn't mean anything of the sort, although it depends what you mean by "fun"...
Oh, and here is my latest A to Z post - sorry, the clickable links I used last year seem to be refusing to post now, so just copy and paste if you want to know which Aussie children's writers have names starting with C!
https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com.au/2018/04/blogging-to-z-2018-c-is-for-collins.html
Gosh, you're up to C already! Where have I been? Anyways, was great to read a little about Canada's origins. Thanks Hilary!
Funny how the one word stuck and ended up meaning the whole country.
Canada is awesome. I've only been to the Quebec area and it was wonderful. I've talked to folks from all over Canada through my work. Everyone is SO nice. You are living in an awesome country, that's for sure.
This I knew, nice to be aware of something before you for a change Hilary. LOL.
As for long cold winters mentioned in one comment, they aren't really all that long and my mother, when she visited from England, used to be staggered how warm it really was. Plus, if you take up winter sports as we did when we first came, the winters seem all to short.
@ EC - yes it's an interesting way to have a country name ... it obviously just rippled out and then that word was it - the whole country, yet starting so small ...
@ JQ - how lovely to meet you ... and to know you enjoyed Nova Scotia a few years ago ... it's an area I'd love to get to ... I'm not sure what I'm doing for N yet - so Nova Scotia may feature ... though I try and 'do different' ...
@ Arleen - being on this side of the country ... it is at least warmer here - and it is beautiful ...
@ Sandie - the vastness of the four huge areas of countries was interesting to see the order ...
@ Sue - thanks for this ... fascinating to know that Melbourne was named after a local ... and it just means "river" - I suspect Mel's river - as bourne is a stream in old English ...
How funny about the 'Moomba' fun day ... that's a good tale ...
Your feed comes automatically in to my system here ... so I noticed your C was there ...
@ Denise - I know the days rock around and then the A-Z is full on the go ... this was a short post!
@ Jean - yes it's interesting how the name stuck ... it was easy to say and easy to spell too ...
@ Joanne - Canada appears to be lovely ... I've only got to this part so far; it does appear everyone is wonderful up here ... so I am lucky to be here ...
@ Jo - well I'd expect you to know this ... the weather and cold is all subjective isn't it ...
Cheers to you all - my short Kanata to Canada post is a lovely simple one - see you tomorrow for D ... Hilary
love the part about how Canada got its name. i like the the Iroquoian word kanata. sounds cool. i'll have to test our friend who lives in Ontario. see if she knows the origin of Canada's name. for land mass, i learned North America is third and China forth. must have changed since i learned it. thanks for another interesting and educational post.
Gosh I didn't know Canada was larger than USA - I though they were about the same size...
Sorry, Hilary, for the confusion. Melbourne was named for Queen Victoria’s PM. The river is the Yarra p, which just means “river” in the local language.
It's never occurred to me look into how countries came by their names. This is really interesting and it's got me wondering!
My Friend Rosey - C is for Cycling
I should have wondered if the name came from an indigenous word - half the places around where I live were named that way, too. Somehow it just hadn't occurred, tho'.
Keep 'em coming! :-)
Always love gleaning little tidbits I didn't know. Thanks for the education!
One of my favourite countries! And I know there is plenty more to explore.
Hilary: These are facts I never knew about 'our neighbor to the north.' Thank you for sharing them.
I've been to Canada once - to Ontario and to see Niagra. Otherwise I have had to study what I can see from the Detroit River Walk - Oh, and from studying stamps!
Great info. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting. Karen and I both have ties to early French Canada. Most of her ancestors were French Canadian, while (not 100% proven) one line of mine traces back to a couple where in April 1657, a French soldier turned farmer, Pierre Couc dit Lafleur de Cognac, married an Algonquin woman, Marie Mitéouamegoukoué, who had lost her first husband and two small children when a band of Iroquois warriors attacked her village several years before. One of their daughters "fled" to the English colonies in the early 18th century, before what we call the French and Indian War also known as the Seven Years War where Canada was lost to the English.
I love history. This is great, Hilary. I know not enough about my northern neighbor.
@ Lenny - Isn't it interesting how a simple Iroquoian word has become 'Canada' - as the name for the country. When I looked up the sizing that's what came up ... N America 4th, China 3rd ... not sure how they work it out!!
@ Nila - it seems that Canada is larger than the States ... but could still be nearly the same size ...
@ Sue - I did wonder ... so I'm glad you're back to confirm that Melbourne was named after Queen Vic's PM - that makes sense ... and the Yarra means river in a local language - thanks for clarifying ...
@ Keith - it is interesting how names came about ... but I then wondered what countries you were pondering on ...
@ Jz - it's interesting finding out snippets of information ... and how, why and when villages became settled and named ... then countries ...
@ Liza - it is interesting finding these educational snippets out ... good to see you ...
@ Anabel - I know you've had some lovely times here ... and yes unfortunately I'm certainly not going to see that much of the country ...
@ QS - good to see you ... and for noting these bits of info on Canada - your northerly neighbour ...
@ Bob - yes I remember your trip over to Niagara ... there I've never been ... I expect the Detroit River Walk has lots of history ... we are always finding things out as our science improves ...
@ Ronel - thanks ...
@ Mike - thanks for the extra info re Karen's ancestry ... and great you've been able to trace her history back. I'm sure there are plenty of soldiers around the world who settled where they had been fighting on behalf of their government in the early days. That must have been really eye opening to be able to trace Marie's lineage back ... knowing that it probably linked into to Karen's early history. I don't think I'd ever properly get to grips with wars over the centuries - as to which area fought which area and why ... Brilliant snippet - thank you ...
@ Jacqui - great that I'm adding a little to your knowledge of your northern next door neighbour -
Thanks everyone ... so glad there's an interest via your own knowledge or early history - cheers Hilary
I like the way you've embraced your new digs so thoroughly.
Isn't it ironic that the name of such a huge country derives from a word for village?
CLICK HERE for Bazza’s barmecidal Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
Many areas around me came from Native American words.Sad that we pushed them out so many times showng our gratitude.
So it's a bit like there being so many rivers in the UK called Avon because it's the Celtic word for river and when the Romans asked what a river was called they were told avon? :)
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings - Movie Monsters
And to think I didn't know so much of this. Thank you, Hilary. I particularly enjoyed learning where the name Canada came from. Going to share with my son.
I have loved my travel in Canada. Ontario, British Columbia and the Yukon! Thanks for blogging about Canada.
It's always interesting to learn how a country got its name. The other day I saw a post on Facebook about that literal meanings of the names of countries. That was fascinating. (The United States of America was just the United States of America. Not very interesting. :))
In the 1500's already, discovered by Gautier? Well, that's amazing - it would be interesting to know of the Inhabitants of that time (hint hint) .. thanks Hilary, the original name of Canada is lovely ...
You really could go no further than C for Canada this year :-) Interesting info yet again. Well done, Cheers Diane
hari OM
Oops, am well late getting here today!... this was interesting. Have done various bits of research on Canada over the years (got family there and many blogpals and have visited on the East side...) but I don't recall every really taking in the naming of the country. YAM xx
Fabulous! You are actually teaching me more about my ancestors than I ever knew before. I do enjoy your "jottings" ;-)
Hi H. - gee, you get around. Canada, huh? My youngest daughter, Jessie, has been in Vancouver working, for 6 months and will stay there for another 18.
You've got a lot of work to do - Canada is HUGE !!!
I love how much I always learn from you posts. Really interesting how a local word became the name for a whole country.
Are you sure it's that big? I mean we do have Texas and California...just kidding. You know how we Americans love to think it's all about us. Go big or go home! Don't mess with Texas and all that :)
Elsie
Me too, exactly! I have many cousins there and go to family reunions (in summer) whenever possible.
I would love to visit Canada one day
@ Lynda - surprisingly I have found out rather more than I expected about Canada - yet there's so much out there ...
@ Bazza - isn't it interesting about the name from one small settled area - that it becomes this huge country's name ...
@ Steve - you're right ... I"m sure many of 'our' names come from Native American words ... and yes we don't respect them too much ...
@ Natasha - I guess you're right there ... I hadn't realised that avon meant river ... so ... many of our names are so simple if we relate back ...
@ Silvia - that's great ... your son is of the age, when he'll appreciate this/these snippets of history
@ Sue - that's great if I'm bringing the memories of your trips back - I hope I can get to travel to these places ...
@ Sherry - oh I don't do FB - so missed that bit of information ... there must be some history to the US of A name ...
@ Susan - yes they were pretty keen on their exploration ... each country wanted to be first and to grab the goods (so to speak). Re the inhabitants ... I think I'll leave that subject - as I'll never get to grips with them, and I certainly don't want to upset anyone ... much like the tribes of South Africa - I'm not qualified at all. However I will do something at some stage - probably a whole post after the A-Z ...
@ Diane - I nearly didn't use it ... then realised I could make the 'C' post short and sweet
@ Yamini - well I'm sure I'm going to be missing some posts out - it happens in the A-Z. That's great you've had some insights into Canada over the years ... through family and blog-friends ... and I'm sure some of these will add to your knowledge ...
Thanks so much for your interest .. next reply to comments coming up - cheers Hilary
@ Diedre - oh thank you! That's lovely to know you enjoy my jottings ... delighted!
@ Roberto - good to see you once again. I'm just having a quick (2 year max) visit helping out family. Sounds like your daughter might have a similar arrangement - I've yet to get over to Vancouver - but will do at some stage ...
@ Pam - thanks so much ... and as you say interesting how a native word became the name for the whole country ...
@ Elsie - yes apparently so!! Can't remember where I checked it out ... but I'll keep the post ...
@ Hels - how lovely ... so pleased you can get up to visit cousins and have family reunions here ... can understand why you come up ...
@ Jo-Anne - well I hope you can get up here to visit sometime ...
Thanks everyone - so lovely to have all the comments - cheers Hilary
How interesting about the origin of Canada's name. That's something I've never considered and now I'm curious about all countries in general. You've planted a search desire Hilary.
Hi Hilary,
It's intriguing seeing Canada through your eyes, while you're here visiting. I will enjoy the journey with you - I'm already learning quite a bit about my country. I've always enjoyed studying the origins of Canada - but there's always something more to learn.
Cheers, Jenny at Pearson Report
Very interesting origin of the name Canada. So much land, so sparsely populated in a lot of the north. An uncle through marriage lives far north of you. Vehicles can only reach his town in the winter when the water is frozen. During the summer, only boats and planes can reach it.
Hi Hilary. Another interesting post. I didn't know any of these facts about Canada before. Take care. Kim
I'm an American who has visited Canada at various points in her life - Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto (twice), Vancouver, Saint John, and even the Yukon. I haven't been to Canada since 2008 - I will enjoy learning more about this country. The Unknown Journey Ahead agingonthespectrum.blogspot.com
I remember learning this in school. I was also confused by the fact that Upper Canada was in the south part and Lower Canada was north of it!
@ Sue - it's complicated! Actually I find the history of Europe - middle ages onwards until recent times quite challenging to get a grip of - and so far think I've failed. But the States and Canada is equally muddling - but the snippets I'm picking up or avoiding! at least let me and you get a glimpse into some of the Canadian life ...
@ Jenny - thanks ... and yes a Canadian - I'm doing the easy bits - something that makes it fun for me and I hope for anyone who visits - so it's not just facts etc - so glad to know you're approving so far!!
@ Emily - I was fascinated to find the origin of the name 'Canada'; those ice road trips are quite horrific ... I've watched a couple of tv episodes of them - when I was back home ... before I knew I was going to be here ...
@ Kim - that's great ... if the posts 'edu-amuse' blogging friends - thanks ...
@ Bookworm ... this is my 2nd trip - but only this part of the world - my posts will be pretty simple ... but readable is my intention ... You've visited a few places I'd like to visit - not sure how far I'll get ...
@ Christine - that bit of information I hadn't picked up - so might use that later on ...
Thanks so much for visiting ... take care and nearly at E - help!! Cheers to you all - Hilary
She is big - how many people realize that?
Interesting. It had not occurred to me to wonder where the name Canada came from.
As a Canadian girl myself, I loved this post Hilary. Thanks for the little bit of history I wasn't aware of. :)
@ Leslie - I too wonder ... but an awful lot is very cold!
@ Liz - I was delighted to learn the apparent simplicity of the way Canada got her name ...
@ Debbie - just happy to know I'm posting the odd thing Canadians aren't aware of ...
Thanks for your visits here ... cheers Hilary
It is so interesting hearing how names came about, Hilary. Just enough here to wet the appetite :-) X
I love knowing how Canada got its name!
Love the fact that you're doing an A to Z on Canada!
@ Deborah - yes I can't do too much detail ... I muddle myself!
@ Lynn - well I was interested I must say ...
@ Deniz - that's great ... it's a very superficial, eclectic take ...
Cheers and thanks for being here - Hilary
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