| Most people are aware that Canada and the United States are two very large countries in North America. |
| However, most people do not know how these countries came to exist. |
| The story of the creation of these countries is a very interesting one. |
| During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, |
| some people from England and from France moved across the Atlantic ocean. |
| English people lived on what is now the east coast of the United States, |
| and French people lived in what is now Quebec, in the eastern part of Canada. |
| The kings of England and France were often at war with each other. |
| This meant that there was often fighting in North America between the soldiers of England and France. |
| By about the year 1750, |
| there were many more people in the English colonies than in the French colonies. |
| When the next war began, |
| the English king was determined to defeat the French and gain complete control of North America. |
| The English assembled a large force of ships and soldiers and attacked the French at Quebec. |
| The French fought bravely, but they were too few in numbers, and the English won the war. |
| England then gained control of all of North America. |
| After this war, the people of the English colonies in North America |
| began to feel dissatisfied with their government. |
| They were not represented in the English government, |
| but they had to pay taxes to the English king. |
| The taxes were used to pay for English soldiers who defended the American colonies, |
| but the Americans did not want these soldiers. |
| In 1775, the American settlers began to rebel, |
| and in 1776 the Americans declared their independence. |
| For several years, there was much fighting between the Americans and the English soldiers. |
| For a while, it appeared that the Americans would lose, even though they fought bravely. |
| Then, the king of France decided to help the Americans. |
| He sent his ships and soldiers to America, |
| and they helped the Americans to defeat the English forces. |
| England recognized the United States of America as an independent country in 1783. |
| However, England kept control of Canada. |
| When the American colonies rebelled against England, |
| some of the people who lived in those colonies did not rebel. |
| Those people were called “Loyalists” because they were loyal to the king. |
| When the war ended, the Loyalists had to leave the country. |
| They moved northward to Canada, where they started new English-speaking colonies. |
| During the year 1812, the Americans invaded Canada, |
| but they were not able to conquer the country. |
| During the 19th century, |
| the people of Quebec continued to speak French and to maintain their French culture. |
| Meanwhile, many more people moved to the English-speaking areas of Canada. |
| In the year 1867, |
| Quebec and the English-speaking colonies agreed to form a single country, Canada. |
| By this time, there were two very large countries in the northern part of North America! |
