HISTORY

Ontario was, for the first European explorers, entered the area, inhabited by various Indian tribes. Around 1610-1615 the area was explored by the French. Also by the English navigator Henry Hudson. He explored the bay that is now named after him. French and English colonial interests occurred in North America several times in conflict and thus also in Ontario. In 1763, at the end of the French and Indian War, the entire area was led by the English, and Ontario was annexed to Quebec in 1774. After the American Revolution, many British were living in Ontario, and in 1791 Quebec was split and the area now called Ontario was changed to Upper Canada.

During the War of 1812, American troops invaded Upper Canada and York, the later Toronto, was burned down. The Americans who did have control over the Great Lakes failed to get to the mainland and were put back across the border. After the war, many immigrants entered the country, so the population grew rapidly. The main place with runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad was the south of the Canadian state of Ontario around the Niagara Peninsula and the city of Windsor. Some 30,000 people successfully fled to Canada. This led to a major population increase in the still underpopulated Canadian colonies and these settlers formed the basis for the current black population of Ontario.