Editing 1840s (section)

==== Canada ====

In the prior decade, the desire for [[responsible government]] resulted in the abortive [[Rebellions of 1837–1838]]. The [[Report on the Affairs of British North America|Durham Report]] subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture.<ref name=Buckner>{{cite book|title=Canada and the British Empire|editor= Buckner, Philip|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|pages=37–40, 56–59, 114, 124–125|isbn=978-0-19-927164-1}}</ref> The [[Act of Union 1840]] merged the Canadas into a united [[Province of Canada]] and responsible government was established for all British North American provinces by 1849.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Romney|first=Paul|date=Spring 1989|title=From Constitutionalism to Legalism: Trial by Jury, Responsible Government, and the Rule of Law in the Canadian Political Culture|journal=Law and History Review|volume=7|issue=1|page=128|doi=10.2307/743779|jstor=743779|s2cid=147047853 }}</ref> The signing of the [[Oregon Treaty]] by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the [[Oregon boundary dispute]], extending the border westward along the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]]. This paved the way for British colonies on [[Colony of Vancouver Island|Vancouver Island (1849)]] and in [[Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)|British Columbia (1858)]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Evenden|first=Leonard J|author2=Turbeville, Daniel E|title=Geographical snapshots of North America|editor=Janelle, Donald G|publisher=Guilford Press|year=1992|page=[https://archive.org/details/geographicalsnap0000unse/page/52 52]|chapter=The Pacific Coast Borderland and Frontier|isbn=978-0-89862-030-6|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/geographicalsnap0000unse/page/52}}</ref>
* [[March 11]], [[1848]] – [[Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine]] and [[Robert Baldwin]] became the first [[Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada]] to be democratically elected under a system of [[responsible government]].
* [[April 25]], [[1849]] – [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin]], the [[Governor General of Canada]], signs the [[Rebellion Losses Bill]], outraging [[Montreal]]'s [[English-Canadian|English]] population and triggering the [[Montreal Riots]].