Da Costa 400

Chronological Overview of Canadian Black History


1600s – late 1700s	Black people were sold in Canada as slaves.
1605	Mattheu Da Costa, thought to be the first Black man in Canada (Acadia), came to Canada with Samuel de Champlain, the “Father of Canada”. He travelled aboard the Jonas, which left La Rochelle, France, on May 13. Da Costa acted as an interpreter for the French among the Mi’kmaq natives. Clearly, he had been in Canada some time previous to Champlain's voyage of discovery, since Mi’kmaq is not a European or an African language.
1628	The first known African slave was recorded; a six-year-old boy who was given the name of his owner, a priest named Olivier LeJeune.
1734	Marie Joseph Angelique, the slave of de Franchville, a wealthy Montreal merchant, carried out a dramatic act of resistance. On April 17, after learning she was going to be sold, Marie Joseph set fire to her owner's house in order to cover her escape. The fire engulfed and destroyed forty-six buildings, including the Hotel Dieu. In June of 1734 she was captured, tortured, paraded through the streets, hanged, and her body burned as an example to others.
1780s	Shelburne, Nova Scotia was the site of Canada’s first race riot. Members of the Black community were willing to work for less money than whites during a recession. Whites burned houses in the Black community in an attempt to discourage Blacks from working as cheap labourers.
1780s	Legislation was passed barring Black children from attending school. That legislation was only repealed during the twentieth century.
1782-1785	About 3,500 Blacks fled to what is now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick at the close of the American Revolution. They had fought for Britain in return for freedom. Once in the Maritimes, they were cheated of land, forced to work on public projects such as road building, and denied equal status.
1783	A group called the Black Pioneers were some of the first settlers in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. They were men who had served in the army and had helped to build the town. They set up their own town called Birchtown, established by Colonel Stephen Blucke, near the outskirts of Shelburne. Although promised land by the British, they received only varying amounts of poor-quality land, and some received none at all.
1783	Rose Fortune became Canada's first Black policewoman in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
1784	There were 1,132 Black slaves in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which made the total Black population 5,500 people.
1791	The British Government offered free passage to Blacks willing to relocate to the British colony of Sierra Leone.
1792	An exodus to Africa occurred: 1,190 men, women and children left Halifax on fifteen ships for the long voyage to Sierra Leone. Sixty-five died en route.
1792	A slave, attempting to enter a public hall, was struck dead with a spade. The killer stood trial but was later acquitted.
1793	Under the leadership of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, Upper Canada passed a law to stop people from bringing slaves into Upper Canada. The law also freed slaves who were twenty-five years of age or older. With this act, Upper Canada became the first British territory to bring in legislation against slavery, although it did not abolish it entirely.
1796	In July, nearly 600 Trelawney Maroons exiled from Jamaica arrived in Halifax, N.S. They faced miserable conditions and opted to go to Sierra Leone in 1800.
1799	Louis-Joseph Papineau Sr. tried to reestablish slavery in Lower Canada.
1800-1865	More than 30,000 Blacks found their way to Canada on the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a network of people who worked together to stage one of the largest—and most secret—uprisings in American history. Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous "conductors" on the Underground Railroad, spirited several hundred fugitive slaves into Canada, despite a $40,000 reward for her capture, dead or alive.
1812	The first Baptist church was established in Colchester County, N.S.
1812	A Coloured Corps was formed during the War of 1812 after petitioning by Black veteran Richard Pierpoint.
1816	The Halifax Green Market Riots took place.
1819	The Government of Upper Canada established the settlement of Oro for Black veterans of the War of 1812.
1820s–1840s	Black Canadians began playing an early form of ice hockey in Nova Scotia.
1833	The British Imperial Act abolished slavery in the British Empire (which included Canada), effective August 1, 1834.
1841	The British-American Institute was set up by Rev. Josiah Henson. It was a place where refugees could study and live. It is now in Dresden, Ontario.
1844	The African Baptist Church in Dartmouth, N.S. was founded on June 9.
1848	Land records show that William Brown Sr. purchased the first property in Africville, N.S.
1850s	In Ontario, the Common Schools Act was passed, allowing separate schools for Blacks and Roman Catholics. This resulted in the creation of separate schools for Blacks, and led, in some cases, to Whites refusing to have their children attend schools with Blacks.
1850	The second Fugitive Slave Act was passed in the United States, placing all people of African descent at risk. The Underground Railroad increased its operations.
1850	With aid from the Presbyterian Church, the Eglin settlement was created in Ontario.
1852	Nova Scotia’s William Hall, age twelve, enlisted in the Royal Navy and served on the flagship Victory, becoming the first Canadian sailor.
1853	Mary Ann Shadd, the first Black journalist and newspaper publisher in Canada, launched The Provincial Freeman, one of two Black newspapers published in Ontario from 1853-1857. Shadd was the first Black newspaperwoman and the first woman publisher of a newspaper in Canada.
1854-1860	Septimus Clarke served as the first clerk of the African Baptist Association.
1857	William Hall became the first person of African descent to receive the Victoria Cross for bravery and distinguished service.
1858	The modern Black history of British Columbia started in the spring of 1858. The discovery of gold, well-publicized in California, attracted hundreds of fortune-seekers to Victoria and to the banks of the Fraser River. The steamship Commodore brought the first wave of Black gold-hunters from San Francisco to Esquimalt, B.C. on April 25.
1860	The Black military group, the Victoria Rifle Corps, were ready to defend British Columbia if needed.
1861	Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott became Canada’s first doctor of African descent.
1869	Black businessman Mifflin Gibbs was a member of Victoria’s municipal government.
1870	Lester and Gibbs, a general store, was set up in Victoria, B.C. by two Black businessmen, Mifflin Gibbs and Peter Lester.
1870	John Hamilton invented the first railway flanger, used to keep rails free of snow and slush.
1872	Elijah McCoy, born in Colchester, Ontario, invented the first of his many devices for oil engines used in trains and factories. His inventions were so good that many people refused to have imitations of his work. They insisted (and still insist) on having “the real McCoy”.
1880	Mary Ann Shadd organized the Coloured Women’s Progressive Association.
1882	A Black cowboy, John Ware, introduced longhorn cattle into Canada. He also was one of the first people to start rodeoing.
1885	Delos Roget Davis, of Amherstberg, Ontario, became one of Ontario’s first Black lawyers. He was appointed to the King's Council in 1910.
1890	Known as “the greatest little fighter the world has ever known,” George Dixon won the world’s featherweight championship in 1980.
1893	Henry Sylvester Williams enrolled at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
1894	William Peyton Hubbard became the first Black council member elected to Toronto City Council, and was re-elected for thirteen successive terms. He served on the Board of Control and acted as mayor on a number of occasions.
1895	The Acadian Recorder reported on the first official Black hockey league.
1900	The Pan-African Conference was held in London, England.
1900	The Coloured Women's Club of Montréal was founded.
1904	The Coloured Hockey League played its last year as a major entity.
1905	The "Black Trek", the migration of dissatisfied African-Americans from Oklahoma to the Canadian prairies, began.
1905	A group led by W.E.B. DuBois and Monroe Trotter met secretly in Niagara, Ontario to organize resistance to U.S. racism.
1907	Canada restricted immigration.
1907	The Union United Church was formed in Montréal.
1909	People in the West were outraged at the number of Black people moving into the Canadian West and had the immigration laws changed, making it more difficult for Black people to immigrate into the West.
1910	Ontario - The first Black to be appointed to the King’s Council was Delos Rogest Davis of Amherstburg.
1915	James Robinson Johnston was murdered by his brother-in-law.
1916	The No. 2 Construction Battalion was formed in Nova Scotia.
1919	Most railway porters were Black men who formed the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
1920s	Hundreds of Caribbean immigrants, called the "later arrivals", flocked to Cape Breton, N.S., to work in coal mines and a steel factory.
1921	The Orphanage for Coloured Children was opened by James Kinney.
1922	The last recorded game of the Africville Sea-Sides was played against the Halifax All-Stars.
1925	Oscar Peterson, Montréal's most famous jazz musician, was born.
1929	Rockhead's Paradise, an important entertainment centre, was opened in Montréal by Black entrepreneur Rufus Rockhead.
1930s	There was massive unemployment among Blacks during the Depression.
1933	Gordon T.C. Jemmott, former star and coach of the Africville Brown Bombers, became the new headmaster at the Africville School.
1939-1945	World War II. Many Blacks enlisted in the armed forces to fight for Canada, in spite of opposition from authorities. Blacks insisted on serving their country, however, and eventually joined all services.
1946-1956	Nova Scotia’s first Black newspaper, the Clarion, was founded and published in New Glasgow by Mrs. Carrie Best.
1946	Carrie Best used the Clarion to publicize the case of Viola Desmond, a Black Halifax businesswoman who was arrested for violating the "no-Blacks" rule by sitting in the Whites-only seats in the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, N.S. The publicity brought to Mrs. Desmond's case, thanks in a large part to the attention of Mrs. Best, helped abolish the laws permitting Black segregation in Nova Scotia.
1947	Jackie Robinson broke baseball's colour bar in Montréal.
1948	The first Black women to graduate from a Canadian School of Nursing were Gwennyth Barton and Ruth Bailey.
1950s	New laws made it illegal to refuse people work, withhold service in stores or restaurants, or prevent someone from moving into a home because of race.
1950s	The Victoria General Nursing Hospital did not accept Black students until the mid-1950s.
1951	Porters on the Northern Alberta Railway were organized.
1952	The first Black woman to be ordained to the ministry was Reverend Addie Aylestock.
1953	The Africville School was closed.
1953	Wilson Brooks, an RCAF Veteran, became Toronto's first Black public school teacher.
1956	The report recommending the annex of Africville land was published by the City of Halifax.
1958	Willie O'Ree became the first Black hockey player in the National Hockey League.
1959	Stanley Grizzle was the first Black person to run for a seat in the Ontario Legislature.
1960s	Community-wide segregation of Blacks existed throughout Nova Scotia until the 1960s. Restaurants, churches and movie theatres were segregated.
1960s	Senator Calvin Rucke established a housing co-op in East Preston, N.S. that enabled Black people to own their homes.
1962	The Ontario Human Rights Commission, the first in Canada, was formed. Its first director was American-born Black activist Daniel G. Hill, who moved to Canada in 1950. It was the first government agency in Canada established to protect citizens from discrimination. Hill later became chair of the Commission.
1963	Lionel Jones was the first Black man to be admitted to the Bar in Alberta.
1963	Nova Scotia - A Black man, Calvin Best, became the president of the Civil Service Association of Canada.
1963	Leonard Braithwaite was elected to the Ontario legislature. He was the first Black to serve in a provincial legislature in Canada.
1964	A Québec law was passed forbidding discrimination in employment.
1964	Leonard Braithwaite participated in the amendment of the Separate Schools Acts, leading to the end of segregation in schools.
1965	The last segregated school, which was in Essex County, Ontario, was closed down.
1967	The last of the residents of Africville were relocated.
1968	Portia White died at the age of 57.
1969	The Sir George Williams University’s Computer Department in Montreal was occupied in a protest against inequality.
1969	The first Black police officer in Regina was David Pollanis.
1969	Ontario - The first Black man to become a member of the federal parliament was Lincoln Alexander.
1969	Ontario - The first national Black organization was formed. It was called the National Black Coalition of Canada.
1969	The first Black lawyer to be admitted to the Bar in British Columbia was Ed Searles.
1969	The first Black History Week was celebrated.
1969	The City of Halifax began to bulldoze Africville.
1970	Aaron "Pa" Carvery was the last man standing at Africville on January 2.
1972	The first Black members of the British Columbia legislature were Rosemary Brown and Emery Barnes.
1974	The first Black man to be elected mayor was Dr. Monestine Saint Firmin of Mattawa, Ontario.
1974	Ontario - The first Black moderator of the United Church of Canada was Dr. Wilbur Howard.
1975	Canada’s first Black federal citizenship court judge was Stanley G. Grizzle.
1978	The Ontario Black History Society was founded by Dr. Daniel Hill, Wilson Brooks and Lorraine Hubbard. The Society was dedicated to the acknowledgement and preservation of Black contributions to Canada's development.
1980	Lincoln Alexander retired from Parliament and became the chairman of the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board.
1983	Elnora Collins, a Black singer, received an Achievement Award from the Black Historical and Cultural Society in British Columbia for her contribution to the entertainment industry.
1983	The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia opened.
1985	Makeda Silvera became the co-founder and managing editor of Sister Vision Press, the first press for Black women in Canada.
1985	The first Black female mayor took oath on January 3 in the town of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
1986	Anne John-Baptiste, member of the Focus on Black Women group, acted as a parliamentary assistant for New Democrat MP Dan Heap.
1986	Winnipeg - The National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada was formed. The organization was formed to deal with language barriers, racism, immigration, mental health, and work conditions.
1987	Approximately 200 refugees from Fiji came to Edmonton because two military coups in Fiji changed the country’s political climate.
1991	Julius Alexander Isaac, a native of Grenada, was named Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada. He was the first Black Chief Justice in Canada and the first to serve on the Federal Court.
1993	Jean Augustine was sworn in as Canada's first Black female Member of Parliament.
1997	Dionne Brand was given the Governor-General's Award for Poetry and the Trillium Award for Literature for her work Land To Light On.
2001	Alison Duke was given the award for Best Canadian Documentary at the Reel World Film Festival for her rap documentary Raisin' Kane.
2002	Dr. Rinaldo Walcott was awarded the Canada Research Chair in Social Justice and Cultural Studies.

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