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Canada Becomes a Nation
加拿大建国
Before Canada became a nation in 1867, the area of North America that now composes Canada was a large expanse of widely scattered communities of British and French origins.
在1867年加拿大成为一个国家之前，组成现在的加拿大的北美地区，辽阔宽广，到处是分散的英国人和法国人的移民社区。
It was an area with diverse landscapes that physically divided them from the north of the United States.
这片土地景色多变，很自然观地将其与美国的北方分辨开来。
There was little connection among communities politically or economically.
这些社区之间很少有政治或经济上的联系。
These colonies of British North America traditionally traded with Britain and with the United States, very little among themselves.
传统上，这些英属的北美殖民地与英国和美国进行贸易，而相互之间却少有往来。
These colonies even had customs duties that, to some extent, restricted such trade. In the mid 1800s, important events and changes took place.
这些殖民地甚至还没有关税，在一定程度上限制贸易往来。19世纪中期发生的几件重大事件，使情况有了变化。
Britain repealed the Corn Laws and Navigations Acts, which had been economically beneficial to the colonies at the same rate it applied to all other trading countries, a situation to which the colonies had never been accustomed.
英国撕毁了给好几代殖民地人带来经济利益的谷物法和航行法案，并开始对殖民地课以与其他所有贸易国家同样高的税率，这是殖民地从未遇到过的情况。
From 1861 to 1864, Americans were involved in a major civil war.
1861到1864年，美国陷入全面内战。
Britain had traditional economic ties with the southern part of the United States that provided cotton to British markets.
过去是美国南方为英国市场提供棉花，英国与之有着紧密的传统经济联系。
In the meantime, since the war was essentially between the North and the South, the North resented Britain's connection with the South.
在此期间，由于这实际上是一场南北方之间的战争，北方当然不满英国与南方之间的这种传统关系。
In addition, during the last year (1864) of the American Civil War, the American Government of the dominant and ultimately victorious North, refused to renew a ten-year free trade agreement with United Canada, the large British colony in the central part of British North America.
此外，在美国内战的最后一年（1864年），占据优势并最终获胜的北方的美国政府，拒绝延续与联合加拿大--英属北美中部最大的英国殖民地--签订的十年自由贸易协议。
These arbitrary events brought concern and even fear to these colonies.
这些独断专横的事件带给这些殖民地的是担忧甚至是恐惧。
With the loss of traditional trading arrangements and the end of the civil war, the North being victorious, the colonists feared that the Americans might turn on the British colonies in retaliation for Britain's moral support for the South.
传统贸易协议的废除和以北方作为胜利者的内战的结束，使殖民者们害怕美国人可能会转而对付英属殖民地，以报复英国对南方的道义支持。
The need for new markets, and a solid defense system from potential invasion by the United States, brought an acute awareness to these diverse colonies that they should look to each other for resolutions to these problems.
对新市场的需求，以及为了建立对付美国潜在入侵的可靠防御系统，使这些松散的殖民地清醒地认识到，它们应该共同寻求解决这些问题的办法。
They felt uneasy trying to cope against these adversities on their own.
它们急于设法处理这些难题。
Sir John A. Macdonald from United Canada, the dominant personality at this time, also saw the acceleration of American settlers moving north and spreading throughout the flat prairie lands to the west.
联合加拿大的约翰·A·麦克唐纳先生，这个时期的关键人物，也看到美国人加快了向北方移民的速度，从大草原到西部到处都是。
This would potentially put a wall between the colonies in the East and the lonely western British colony in what is today part of British Columbia on the west coast of North America.
这很可能会将东部的殖民地与孤立的西部英属殖民地--北美西岸的现在的英属哥伦比亚的一部分--分隔开来。
Macdonald felt that the situation was urgent.
麦克唐纳感到情况紧急。
In the summer of 1864, the maritime colonies of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New found land scheduled a meeting to discuss the possibility of a customs union or free trade area to compensate for the latest setbacks in trade relations with Britain and the United States.
1864年夏，新斯科舍的沿海殖民地，爱德华太子岛和纽芬兰计划召开会议讨论建立关税联盟或自由贸易区的可能性，以弥补最近在与英国和美国贸易关系上遭到的损失。
Macdonald managed to get permission for some delegates from United Canada to attend as observers.
麦克唐纳设法得到许可让联合加拿大的一些代表作为观察员出席。
For a number of years, United Canada was experiencing problems of political deadlock.
多年来，联合加拿大都面临着政治僵局的难题。
Canada West was predominantly English-speaking Canada East was predominantly French-speaking.
加拿大西部以说英语为主，而东部则以说法语为主。
A central government, set up in 1841, required a majority from both Canada West and Canada East for all legislation to become law.
1841年成立的中央政府，则要求一切法案成为法律之前，要得到加拿大西部和加拿大东部的多数同意。
It was very difficult to pass significant legislation when two opposing views were constantly being debated and legislative bills were constantly being defeated.
在两种对立观点争论不休，法律草案一再被否决的情况下，要通过重要的法案非常困难。
The Canadians saw a new, wider union, a potential new national institution or central government, as a possible solution for breaking out of this constant political disorder.
加拿大人认识到一个更为广泛的新型的联盟，一种可能的新型国家制度或中央政府，可以作为避免这种时常发生的政治混乱的一个可行的解决办法。
The Canadian delegates sailed on board a cruise ship down the St. Lawrence River, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island.
加拿大的代表们乘坐一艘游船沿劳伦斯河航行到劳伦斯湾，抵达爱德华太子岛的夏洛特敦。
This convention expanded to discussions of the possibility of all the British colonies uniting into one nation.
在那里，大会广泛讨论了联合所有英属殖民地建立一个国家的可能性。
After much complicated debate at another convention in Quebec City that same year, the delegate submitted a draft of an agreement for the formation of the dominion of Canada.
同年，在魁北克城的另一次会议上，经过错综复杂的讨论后，代表们提交了一份建立加拿大国家的协议草案。
The bulk of the work had been done by a group of men of seemingly high virtue, who became know in history as "the Fathers of Confederation".
大部分工作是由一些那时德高望重的人完成的，他们成为历史上有名的“联邦国父”。
United Canada was divided into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
联合加拿大被划分为安大略省和魁北克省。
Some allowances were given to Quebec because it was a predominantly French-speaking Catholic province and had special needs, unlike other provinces.
一些特权给了魁北克，因为它与其他省不同，是一个以说法语为主的天主教省，有其特殊需要。
The colony of Nova Scotia was divided into Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
新斯科舍省殖民地被分为新斯科舍省和新布伦斯威克。
These four provinces formed the original new nation. A flexible approach, in later years, persuaded other colonies to join.
这四个省形成了新国家的雏形。在以后的岁月里，他们以灵活的方式说服了其他殖民地加入了这个国家。
