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101-620: New Albion and Albionoria ("Albion of the North") were briefly suggested as names of Canada during the period of the Canadian Confederation . Francis Drake gave the name New Albion to what is now California when he landed there in 1579. The toponym in English is thought to derive from the Greek word Ἀλβίων , Latinised as Albiōn ( genitive Albionis ). The root * albiyo-

202-423: A farthing of 1672 (see Depiction on British coinage and postage stamps below). With the constitutional unification of England with Scotland in 1707 and then with Ireland in 1800, Britannia became an increasingly important symbol and a strong rallying point among Britons. British power, which depended on a liberal political system and the supremacy of the navy , lent these attributes to the image of Britannia. By

303-521: A personification of Britain. In his 1576 "General and rare memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation", John Dee used a frontispiece figure of Britannia kneeling by the shore beseeching Elizabeth I, to protect her empire by strengthening her navy. With the death of Elizabeth in 1603 came the succession of her Scottish cousin, James VI, King of Scots, to the English throne. He became James I of England, and so brought under his personal rule

404-406: A fair wind towards the promised island". "The island was then called Albion, and inhabited by none but a few giants. Notwithstanding this, the pleasant situation of the places, the plenty of rivers abounding with fish, and the engaging prospect of its woods, made Brutus and his company very desirous to fix their habitation in it." After dividing up the island between themselves "at last Brutus called

505-665: A helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity , the Latin Britannia was the name variously applied to the British Isles , Great Britain , and the Roman province of Britain during the Roman Empire . Typically depicted reclining or seated with spear and shield since appearing thus on Roman coins of the 2nd century AD,

606-513: A letter to Lord Knutsford on the topic of the loss of the use of the word kingdom, Macdonald said: A great opportunity was lost in 1867 when the Dominion was formed out of the several provinces…The declaration of all the B.N.A. provinces that they desired as one dominion to remain a portion of the Empire, showed what wise government and generous treatment would do, and should have been marked as an epoch in

707-419: A mount triangular, as the island of Britain itself is described to be, we seat in the supreme place, under the shape of a fair and beautiful nymph, Britannia herself... Britain's first road atlas was updated in a series of editions titled from the early 18th into the early 19th century using the title Britannia Depicta . During the reign of Charles II , Britannia made her first appearance on English coins on

808-581: A new definitive £2 coin was issued, with a new image of Britannia. She is also depicted in the Brit Awards statuette, the British Phonographic Industry 's annual music awards. The first writer to use a form of the name was the Greek explorer and geographer Pytheas in the 4th century BC. Pytheas referred to Prettanike or Brettaniai , a group of islands off the coast of North-Western Europe. In

909-490: A surge of new restaurants and hotels. Cool Britannia represented late-1990s Britain as a fashionable place to be. Britannia is sometimes used in political cartoons to symbol the United Kingdom's relationship with other countries. Although the archetypical image of Britannia seated with a shield first appeared on Roman bronze coins of the 1st century AD struck under Hadrian , Britannia's first appearance on British coinage

1010-608: A title for Canada in 1867 served the purpose of upholding the monarchist principle in Canada; in a letter to Queen Victoria , Lord Carnarvon stated: The North American delegates are anxious that the United Provinces should be designated as the 'Dominion of Canada.' It is a new title, but intended on their part as a tribute to the Monarchical principle which they earnestly desire to uphold. Macdonald, however, bemoaned its adoption. In

1111-408: A white garment with her right breast exposed. She is usually shown seated on a rock, holding a trident, and with a spiked shield propped beside her. Sometimes she holds a standard and leans on the shield. On another range of coinage, she is seated on a globe above waves: Britain at the edge of the (known) world. Similar coin types were also issued under Antoninus Pius . After the Roman withdrawal ,

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1212-633: A wider hegemony in Britain and hyperbolic inscriptions on coins and titles in charters often included the equivalent title rex Britanniae . However, when England was unified the title used was rex Angulsaxonum ('king of the Anglo-Saxons'). After centuries of declining use, the Latin form was revived during the English Renaissance as a rhetorical evocation of a British national identity. Especially following

1313-467: A woman of colour. A figure of Britannia appeared on the "white fiver" (a five pound note printed in black and white) from 1855 for more than a century, until 1957. From 1928 "Britannia Series A" ten shilling and one pound notes were printed with a seated Britannia bearing both a spear and an olive branch. The 25 cents fractional paper currency of the Dominion of Canada (1870, 1900 and 1923 respectively) all depict Britannia. Britannia also featured on

1414-411: A word for 'white' is thought to refer perhaps to the white Cliffs of Dover in the southeast, visible from mainland Europe and a landmark at the narrowest crossing point . On the other hand, Celtic linguist Xavier Delamarre argued that it originally meant 'the world above, the visible world', in opposition to 'the world below', i.e. the underworld. Judging from Avienius ' Ora Maritima , for which it

1515-504: A youth, he also had taken the King's sons back to Rome as obsides and to be educated. The Roman conquest of the island began in AD 43, leading to the establishment of the Roman province known in Latin as Britannia . The Romans never successfully conquered the whole island, building Hadrian's Wall as a boundary with Caledonia , which covered roughly the territory of modern Scotland , although

1616-606: Is also found in Gaulish and Galatian albio- 'world' and Welsh elfydd ( Old Welsh elbid 'earth, world, land, country, district'). It may be related to other European and Mediterranean toponyms such as Alpes , Albania or the river god Alpheus (originally 'whitish'). It has two possible etymologies: either from the Proto-Indo-European word * albʰo- 'white' (cf. Ancient Greek ἀλφός , Latin albus  ), or from * alb- 'hill'. The derivation from

1717-663: Is considered to have served as a source, the Massaliote Periplus (originally written in the 6th century BC, translated by Avienus at the end of the 4th century AD), does not use the name Britannia ; instead it speaks of nēsos Iernōn kai Albiōnōn "the islands of the Iernians and the Albiones". Likewise, Pytheas (c. 320 BC), as directly or indirectly quoted in the surviving excerpts of his works in later writers, speaks of Albiōn and Iernē (Great Britain and Ireland). Pytheas's grasp of

1818-632: Is located anywhere near Iroquoian territory, and the name Canada does not appear on any Spanish or Portuguese maps of the North American coast that predate Cartier's visit. No name for the Bay of Chaleur is attested at all in Spanish sources from that period, while the only name for Newfoundland attested in Portuguese sources is Terra Nova do Bacalhau , after the region's plentiful cod . In most versions of

1919-601: Is noted that the following names were considered for the union of British North America : "The United Colony of Canada", "the United Provinces of Canada", and "the Federated Provinces of Canada". Ewart was also an ardent advocate for the formation of "the Republic of Canada ", a position which was rarely expressed in those times. During the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, John A. Macdonald , who later became

2020-543: The Acts of Union in 1707, which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland , the personification of the martial Britannia was used as an emblem of British maritime power and unity, most notably in the patriotic song " Rule, Britannia! ". A British cultural icon, she was featured on all modern British coinage series until the redesign in 2008, and still appears annually on the gold and silver " Britannia " bullion coin series. In 2015

2121-533: The British halfpenny coin throughout the rest of the 17th century and thereafter until 1936. The halfpennies issued during the reign of Queen Anne have Britannia closely resembling the queen herself. When the Bank of England was granted a charter in 1694, the directors decided within days that the device for their official seal should represent 'Brittannia sitting on looking on a Bank of Mony' (sic). Britannia also appeared on

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2222-647: The Confederacy despite a blockade, and thus opposed the use of terms such as kingdom or empire to describe the new country. Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley , Premier of New Brunswick , suggested the term Dominion , inspired by Psalm 72 :8 (from the King James Bible ): "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." This is also echoed in Canada's motto: A Mari Usque Ad Mare ( Latin for 'from sea to sea'). The term Dominion had been used for centuries to refer to

2323-547: The Grosvenor Museum collection. Name of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada , its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona . Cartier later used

2424-566: The High Middle Ages . Following the migration of Brythonic Celts, the term Britannia also came to refer to the Armorican peninsula (at least from the 6th century). The modern English, French, Breton and Gallo names for the area, all derive from a literal use of Britannia meaning "land of the Britons". The two "Britannias" gave rise to the term Grande Bretagne (Great Britain) to distinguish

2525-588: The Laurentian language , which was spoken by the inhabitants of St. Lawrence Valley settlements such as Stadacona (modern-day Quebec City ) and Hochelaga (modern-day Montreal ) in the 16th century, is now extinct, it was closely related to other dialects of the Iroquoian languages , such as the Oneida and Mohawk languages. Related cognates meaning 'town' include nekantaa , ganataje , and iennekanandaa in

2626-646: The Mohawk , Onondaga , and Seneca languages respectively. Prior to archaeological confirmation that the St. Lawrence Iroquois were a separate people from the Mohawk, most sources specifically linked the name's origin to the Mohawk word instead of the Laurentian one. A widespread perception in Canadian folklore is that Cartier misunderstood the term "Canada" as the existing proper name of

2727-625: The Province of Canada , in 1841, based on the recommendations of the Durham Report . The former colonies were then known as Canada East and Canada West, and a single legislature was established with equal representation from each. Underpopulated Canada West opposed demands by Canada East for representation by population, but the roles reversed as Canada West's population surpassed the east's. The single colony remained governed in this way until July 1, 1867, often with coalition governments. A new capital city

2828-630: The Rhine delta : —Pliny the Elder, Natural History , IV.16 In his 2nd century Geography , Ptolemy uses the name Ἀλουΐων ( Alouiōn , "Albion") instead of the Roman name Britannia , possibly following the commentaries of Marinus of Tyre . He calls both Albion and Ierne in Ancient Greek: νῆσοι Βρεττανικαὶ , romanized:  nēsoi Brettanikai , lit.   'British Isles'. In 930,

2929-460: The Roman army . The name is a Latinisation of the native Brittonic word for Great Britain, Pretanī , which also produced the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai . In the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a spear and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet . When Roman Britain was divided into four provinces in 197 AD, two were called Britannia Superior ( lit.   ' Upper Britain ' ) in

3030-559: The Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian word (pronounced [kanata] ) as "Canada" and was the first European to use the word to refer not only to the village of Stadacona but also to the neighbouring region and to the Saint Lawrence River , which he called rivière de Canada during his second voyage in 1535. By the mid-1500s, European books and maps began referring to this region as Canada. Canada soon after became

3131-629: The constitution ". The governor general at the time, The 4th Viscount Monck , supported the move to designate Canada a kingdom; however, officials at the Colonial Office in London opposed this potentially "premature" and "pretentious" reference for a new country. They were also wary of antagonizing the United States, which had emerged from its Civil War as a formidable military power with unsettled grievances because British interests had sold ships to

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3232-588: The octosyllabic Anglo-Norman poem "Des grantz geanz" dating to 1300–1334. According to the poem, in the 3970th year of the creation of the world , a king of Greece married his thirty daughters into royalty, but the haughty brides colluded to eliminate their husbands so they would be subservient to no one. The youngest would not be party to the crime and divulged the plot, so the other princesses were confined to an unsteerable rudderless ship and set adrift, and after three days reached an uninhabited land later to be known as "Britain". The eldest daughter Albina ( Albine )

3333-565: The penny coin between 1797 and 1967 , occasional issues such as the fourpence under William IV between 1836 and 1837, and on the 50 pence coin between 1969 and 2008. See "External Links" below for examples of all these coins and others. In the spring of 2008, the Royal Mint unveiled new coin designs "reflecting a more modern twenty-first century Britain" which do not feature the image of Britannia. The government pointed out, however, that earlier-design 50p coins will remain in circulation for

3434-511: The νῆσος Πρεττανική ( nēsos Prettanikē , "Prettanic island") is somewhat blurry, and appears to include anything he considers a western island, including Thule . The name Albion was used by Isidore of Charax (1st century BC – 1st century AD) and subsequently by many classical writers. By the 1st century AD, the name refers unequivocally to Great Britain. But this "enigmatic name for Britain, revived much later by Romantic poets like William Blake, did not remain popular among Greek writers. It

3535-687: The 1st century BC, Diodorus Siculus referred to Pretannia , a rendering of the indigenous name for the Pretani people whom the Greeks believed to inhabit the British Isles . Following the Greek usage, the Romans referred to the Insulae Britannicae in the plural, consisting of Albion (Great Britain), Hibernia (Ireland), Thule (possibly Iceland or Orkney ) and many smaller islands. Over time, Albion specifically came to be known as Britannia , and

3636-529: The 2021 Britannia bullion coin range. The original 1987 coin design by Philip Nathan was enhanced with new security features. The Royal Mint claims this makes the Britannia "the world's most visually secure bullion coin." The security features include a latent image, micro-text, surface animation and tincture lines. In 2021, the Royal Mint issued a new range of commemorative coins featuring a redesigned Britannia as

3737-516: The Anglo-Norman Brut deriving from Wace . In the Prolog of this chronicle, it was King "Dioclician" of "Surrey" (Syria), who had 33 daughters, the eldest being called "Albyne". The princesses are all banished to Albion after plotting to murder their husbands, where they couple with the local demons; their offspring became a race of giants. The chronicle asserts that during the voyage Albyne entrusted

3838-610: The British Isles, naming the two largest islands Albion and Ierne : —Pseudo-Aristotle, On the Universe , 393b Pliny the Elder , in the fourth book of his Natural History (Latin: Naturalis historia ) likewise calls Great Britain Albion . He begins his chapter on the British Isles (Latin: Britanniae , lit.   'the Britains';) as follows, after describing

3939-670: The Canadas until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867 , Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference , and the word Dominion was conferred as the country's title . By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth". The government of Louis St. Laurent ended

4040-605: The Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom.... Moreover, section 2 indicates that the provinces: ... shall form and be One Dominion under the Name of Canada; and on and after that Day those Three Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under that Name accordingly. The French translation of the 1867 British North America Act ) translated "One Dominion under

4141-484: The English king Æthelstan used the title rex et primicerius totius Albionis regni , 'king and chief of the whole realm of Albion'. His nephew, Edgar the Peaceful , styled himself in 970: totius Albionis imperator augustus , 'august emperor of all Albion'. A legend exists in various forms that giants were either the original inhabitants, or the founders of the land named Albion. John Milton told

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4242-522: The Gallic bounds An island which the western sea surrounds, By giants once possessed, now few remain To bar thy entrance, or obstruct thy reign. To reach that happy shore thy sails employ There fate decrees to raise a second Troy And found an empire in thy royal line, Which time shall ne'er destroy, nor bounds confine. After many adventures, Brutus and his fellow Trojans escape from Gaul and "set sail with

4343-628: The Iberian origin theory to the phrase nada mas caca ('nothing but shit'). No historian or linguist has ever analyzed this explanation as anything more than an obvious joke. The demonym "Canadien" or "Canadian" once referred exclusively to the indigenous groups who were native to the territory. Its use was extended over time to the French settlers of New France , and later the English settlers of Upper Canada . European explorer Jacques Cartier transcribed

4444-480: The Iberian origin theory, the Spanish or Portuguese passed their name on to the Iroquois, who rapidly adopted it in place of their own prior word for a village; however, no historical evidence for any such Iberian-Iroquoian interaction has ever actually been found. Elliott's "valley" theory, conversely, was that the Spanish gave their name for the area directly to Jacques Cartier , who then entirely ignored or passed over

4545-522: The Iroquois people's entire territory rather than the generic class noun for a town or village. For instance, the Historica Canada 's Heritage Minute episode devoted to Cartier's landing at Hochelaga is scripted as having Cartier believe that "Kanata" or "Canada" was the established name of the entire country. This is not supported by Cartier's own writings, however—in Bref récit , Cartier fully understands

4646-510: The Kingdoms of England (and the dominion of Wales), Ireland and Scotland . On 20 October 1604, James VI and I proclaimed himself as "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland", a title that continued to be used by many of his successors. When James came to the English throne, some elaborate pageants were staged. One pageant performed on the streets of London in 1605 was described in Anthony Munday 's Triumphs of Reunited Britannia : On

4747-519: The Name of Canada" as " une seule et même Puissance sous le nom de Canada " using Puissance ('power') as a translation for dominion . Later, the English loanword dominion was also used in French. The Fathers of Confederation met at the Quebec Conference of 1864 to discuss the terms of this new union. One issue on the agenda was to determine the Union's " feudal rank " (see Resolution 71 of

4848-653: The Quebec Conference, 1864). The candidates for the classification of this new union were: le Royaume du Canada ('the Kingdom or Realm of Canada'), l'Union du Canada ('the Union of Canada'), and le Dominion du Canada ('the Dominion of Canada'). There are numerous references in United Kingdom Acts of Parliament to "the Dominion of Canada;" and the British North America Act, 1867 referred to

4949-401: The United Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The words ' Privy Council ' shall mean such persons as may from time to time be appointed, by the Governor General, and sworn to aid and advise in the Government of the Kingdom. Canada's founders , led by Macdonald, wished their new nation to be called the Kingdom of Canada in order to "fix the monarchical basis of

5050-435: The United States: P.S. On reading the above over I see that it will convey the impression that the change of title from Kingdom to Dominion was caused by the Duke of Buckingham. This is not so. It was made at the instance of Lord Derby , then foreign minister, who feared the first name would wound the sensibilities of the Yankees. I mentioned this incident in our history to Lord Beaconsfield at Hughenden in 1879, who said, 'I

5151-638: The actual meaning of the word ("They call a town Canada"). While the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian origin for the name Canada is now widely accepted, other theories have been put forth in the past. The most common alternative theory suggested that the name originated when Portuguese or Spanish explorers , having explored the northern part of the continent and unable to find gold and silver, wrote cá nada ('nothing here' in Portuguese ), acá nada, aqui nada or el cabo de nada ('Cape Nothing' in Spanish ) on that part of their maps. An alternative explanation favoured by philologist Marshall Elliott linked

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5252-457: The birth of Christ, but by then there were only 24 giants left, due to inner strife. As with Geoffrey of Monmouth's version, Brutus's band subsequently overtake the land, defeating Gogmagog in the process. The octosyllabic poem appears as a prologue to 16 out of 26 manuscripts of the Short Version of the Anglo-Norman prose Brut , which derives from Wace . Octosyllabic is not the only form the Anglo-Norman Des Grantz Geanz , there are five forms,

5353-461: The change from dominion to realm ; in the proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II's new titles in 1953 , the phrase "of her other Realms and Territories" replaced "dominion" with another mediaeval French word with the same connotation, "realm" (from royaume ). With that said, the national holiday of " Dominion Day " kept that name until 1982, when a private member's bill to replace the name with Canada Day that had received first reading in May 1980

5454-418: The city after its destruction. Brutus went to Britain and founded London, while Corneus, who was descended from giants, went to Britanny, where he founded cities and castles, and gave his name to Cornouaille . In this version the giants were descended from Corneus, and survived until the time of King Arthur , when they fought alongside the Saracens against the Britons during the Saxon invasion of Britain. In

5555-434: The classical national allegory was revived in the early modern period . On coins of the pound sterling issued by Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland , Britannia appears with her shield bearing the Union Flag . To symbolise the Royal Navy 's victories, Britannia's spear became the characteristic trident in 1797, and a helmet was added to the coinage in 1825. By the 1st century BC, Britannia replaced Albion as

5656-430: The colony was split on December 26, 1791, into Upper and Lower Canada , sometime being collectively known as " The Canadas ", the first time that the name "Canada" was used officially in the British regime. Some reports from the 1840s suggest that in that era, the word "Canada" was commonly pronounced "Kaugh-na-daugh" rather than its more contemporary pronunciation. Upper and Lower Canada were merged into one colony,

5757-401: The fate of the sisters to "Appolyn", which was the god of their faith. The Syrian king who was her father sounds much like a Roman emperor, though Diocletian (3rd century) would be anachronistic, and Holinshed explains this as a bungling of the legend of Danaus and his fifty daughters who founded Argos . Because Geoffrey of Monmouth's work was regarded as fact until the late 17th century,

5858-412: The first Prime Minister of Canada , talked of "founding a great British monarchy ," in connection with the British Empire . He advocated, in the fourth Canadian draft of the British North America Act (BNA Act), the name " Kingdom of Canada ", in the text is said: The word ' Parliament ' shall mean the Legislature or Parliament of the Kingdom of Canada. The word 'Kingdom' shall mean and comprehend

5959-414: The foreseeable future. Also Britannia still appeared on the gold and silver " Britannia " bullion coins issued annually by the Royal Mint. A new definitive £2 coin was issued in 2015, with a new image of Britannia. In late 2015, a limited edition (100000 run) £50 coin was produced, bearing the image of Britannia on one side and Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. In October 2020, The Royal Mint released

6060-404: The formation of "one Dominion under the name of Canada". Section 4 of the BNA Act also declares that: "Unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under this Act;" this has been interpreted to mean that the title of the country is simply Canada . The term "Dominion of Canada" appears in the Constitution Act, 1871 —the usage of which

6161-408: The heel of the emperor. She appeared on coins issued under Hadrian , as a more regal-looking female figure. Britannia was soon personified as a goddess, looking fairly similar to the goddess Athena - Minerva - both are seated and replete with helmet, spear (trident) and shield. Early portraits of the goddess depict Britannia as a beautiful young woman, wearing a Corinthian helmet , and wrapped in

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6262-502: The high value Great Britain definitive postage stamps issued during the reign of George V (known as ' seahorses ') and is depicted on the £10 stamp first issued in 1993. The Britannia watermark has been widely used in papermaking, usually showing her seated. An example can be found at papermoulds.typepad.com Britannia is depicted in the Brit Award statuette, the British Phonographic Industry 's annual music awards. The statuette of Britannia has been regularly redesigned by some of

6363-425: The history of England. This would probably have been the case had Lord Carnarvon , who, as colonial minister, had sat at the cradle of the new Dominion, remained in office. His ill-omened resignation was followed by the appointment of the late Duke of Buckingham , who had as his adviser the then Governor General, Lord Monck - both good men, certainly, but quite unable, from the constitution of their minds, to rise to

6464-406: The island after his own name Britain, and his companions Britons; for by these means he desired to perpetuate the memory of his name". Geoffrey goes on to recount how the last of the giants are defeated, the largest one called Goëmagot is flung over a cliff by Corineus . The 13th century Prose Merlin drew on Geoffrey's story, but instead had Brutus and Corneus as two barons of Troy, who fled

6565-443: The island of Britain from the continental peninsula. Following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain , the term "Briton" only referred to the native British , Celtic-speaking inhabitants of the province; this remained the case until the modern era. The use of the term as an inhabitant of the island of Great Britain or the UK is relatively recent. It was during the reign of Elizabeth I that "Britannia" again came to be used as

6666-447: The lands held by a monarch, and had previously been adopted as titles for the Dominion of New England and the Dominion and Colony of Virginia . It continued to apply as a generic term for the major colonial possessions of the British Empire until well into the 20th century; although Tilley and the other Fathers of Confederation broadened the meaning of the word dominion to a "virtual synonym for sovereign state ". Its adoption as

6767-411: The name "Canada" to: a word in an unspecified indigenous language for 'mouth of the country' in reference to the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; a Cree word for 'neat or clean'; a claimed Innu war cry of " kan-na-dun, Kunatun "; a shared Cree and Innu word, p'konata , which purportedly meant 'without a plan' or 'I don't know'; a short-lived French colony purportedly established by a settler whose surname

6868-408: The name for the group was subsequently dropped. Although the creation and unification of the province of Britannia is commonly attributed to the emperor Claudius in 43 AD, Julius Caesar had already established Roman authority over the Southern and Eastern Britain dynasties during his two expeditions to the island in 55 and 54 BC. Just as Caesar himself had been an obside , hostage, in Bithynia as

6969-424: The name of a colony in New France that stretched along the St. Lawrence River. The terms "Canada" and "New France" were often used interchangeably during the colonial period. After the British conquest of New France (including ceding of the French colony, Canada) in 1763, the colony was renamed the Province of Quebec . Following the American Revolution and the influx of United Empire Loyalists into Quebec,

7070-410: The name to the Spanish word cañada , meaning ' glen ' or ' valley '. The earliest iterations of the Spanish "nothing here" theory stated that the explorers made the declaration upon visiting the Bay of Chaleur , while later versions left out any identifying geographic detail. The known Portuguese presence in modern Canadian territory, meanwhile, was in Newfoundland and Labrador . Neither region

7171-456: The occasion. Had a different course been pursued, for instance, had united Canada been declared to be an auxiliary kingdom, as it was in the Canadian draft of the bill, I feel sure almost that the Australian colonies would, ere this, have been applying to be placed in the same rank as The Kingdom of Canada. He added as a postscript that it was adopted on the suggestion of British colonial ministers to avoid offending republican sensibilities in

7272-593: The others being: the alexandrine , prose, short verse, and short prose versions. The Latin adaptation of the Albina story, De Origine Gigantum , appeared soon later, in the 1330s. It has been edited by Carey & Crick (1995), and translated by Ruth Evans (1998). A variant tale occurs in the Middle English prose Brut (Brie ed., The Brut or the Chronicles of England 1906–1908) of the 14th century, an English rendition of

7373-590: The phrase meant that they were seeking land or that they were hunting. These words do not actually exist in Spanish, however. British philologist B. Davies surmised that by the same process which initially saw the First Nations mislabelled as Indians , the country came to be named for the Carnata region of India or that region's Kannada ethnic group; however, this theory has attracted no significant support from other academics. Additional theories have attributed

7474-474: The practice of using Dominion in the statutes of Canada in 1951. The Canada Act 1982 , which brought the constitution of Canada fully under Canadian control, referred only to Canada . Later that year, the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day . The term Dominion was used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though after the Second World War

7575-481: The practice of using "Dominion" in the Statutes of Canada in 1951. The independence of the separate Commonwealth realms was emphasised after the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, when she was proclaimed not just as Queen of the United Kingdom , but also Queen of Canada , Queen of Australia , Queen of New Zealand , Queen of South Africa , and of all her other " realms and territories ". This also reflected

7676-457: The prevalent Latin name for the island of Great Britain . After the Roman conquest in 43 AD, Britannia came to refer to the Roman province that encompassed the southern two-thirds of the island (see Roman Britain ). The remaining third of the island, known to the Romans as Caledonia , lay north of the River Forth in modern Scotland . It was intermittently but not permanently occupied by

7777-414: The region either, meaning that Elliott's allegation that the kanata derivation was not adequately supported by Cartier's own writing on the matter was also true of his own preferred theory. Franciscan priest André Thevet claimed that the word derived from segnada Canada , an answer reportedly given by Spaniards in the St. Lawrence Valley area when asked what their purpose was; according to Thevet,

7878-506: The south and Britannia Inferior ( lit.   ' Lower Britain ' ) to the north. The name Britannia long survived the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th century and yielded the name for the island in most European and various other languages, including the English Britain and the modern Welsh Prydain . In the 9th century the associated terms Bretwalda and Brytenwealda were applied to some Anglo-Saxon kings to assert

7979-591: The statesman Thomas D'Arcy McGee commented, "Now I would ask any honourable member of the House how he would feel if he woke up some fine morning and found himself, instead of a Canadian, a Tuponian or a Hochelegander?". Working towards the Confederation of Canada , Canada's founders deliberated on the official title for their new country, primarily between the "Kingdom of Canada" or the "Dominion of Canada". In J. S. Ewart 's two volume work, The Kingdom Papers , it

8080-530: The story appears in most early histories of Britain. Wace , Layamon , Raphael Holinshed , William Camden and John Milton repeat the legend and it appears in Edmund Spenser 's The Faerie Queene . William Blake 's poems Milton and Jerusalem feature Albion as an archetypal giant representing humanity. (Quotation needed) In 2010, artist Mark Sheeky donated the 2008 painting "Two Roman Legionaries Discovering The God-King Albion Turned Into Stone" to

8181-459: The story in his History of Britain (1670) In Book I he recounts that the land was “subdu’d by Albion a Giant, Son of Neptune; who call’d the Iland after his own name, and rul’d it 44 Years. ” According to the 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae ("The History of The Kings of Britain") by Geoffrey of Monmouth , the exiled Brutus of Troy was told by the goddess Diana : Brutus! there lies beyond

8282-452: The story, they are eventually defeated by Arthur and his knights, and flee to a forest "that noon ne a-bode other"; Merlin warns not to chase them, "ffor soone shull thei mete with folke that shall do hem I-nough of sorowe and care." Later, in the 14th century, a more elaborate tale was developed, claiming that Albina and her sisters founded Albion and procreated there a race of giants. The "Albina story" survives in several forms, including

8383-478: The term Cool Britannia (drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band of the song " Rule Britannia ", with words by James Thomson [1700–1748], which is often used as an unofficial national anthem ), was used to describe the contemporary United Kingdom. The phrase referred to the fashionable scenes of the era, with a new generation of pop groups and style magazines, successful young fashion designers, and

8484-563: The term federal had replaced dominion . The name Canada is now generally accepted as originating from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata ( [kana:taʔ] ), meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. Related translations include 'land' or 'town', with subsequent terminologies meaning 'cluster of dwellings' or 'collection of huts'. This explanation is historically documented in Jacques Cartier 's Bref récit et succincte narration de la navigation faite en MDXXXV et MDXXXVI . Although

8585-585: The term "Britannia" remained in use in Britain and abroad. Latin was ubiquitous amongst native Brythonic writers and the term continued in the Welsh tradition that developed from it. Writing with variations on the term Britannia (or Prydein in the native language) appeared in many Welsh works such as the Historia Britonum , Armes Prydein and the 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae , which gained unprecedented popularity throughout western Europe during

8686-485: The time of Queen Victoria , Britannia had been renewed. Still depicted as a young woman with brown or golden hair, she kept her Corinthian helmet and her white robes, but now she held Neptune's trident and often sat or stood before the ocean and tall-masted ships representing British naval power. She also usually held or stood beside a Greek hoplite shield, which sported the British Union Flag : also at her feet

8787-513: The turn of the 20th century and still features in the New Zealand Coat of Arms . Perhaps the best analogy is that Britannia is to the United Kingdom and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy. During the 1990s

8888-572: The virtually identical Iroquoian word. According to Elliott, Cartier never explicitly stated that there was a direct connection between canada or kanata as the Iroquoian word for 'village' and Canada as the new name of the entire territory, and never accounted for the spelling difference between kanata and Canada —and thus the Spanish etymology had to be favoured because the spellings matched. Notably, Cartier never wrote of having any awareness of any preexisting Spanish or Portuguese name for

8989-565: The whole of the boundary marked by Hadrian's Wall lies within modern-day Northern England . A southern part of what is now Scotland was occupied by the Romans for about 20 years in the mid-2nd century AD, keeping in place the Picts to the north of the Antonine Wall . People living in the Roman province of Britannia were called Britanni , or Britons . Ireland, inhabited by the Scoti , was never invaded and

9090-581: The word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the Saint Lawrence River as Canada . From the 16th to the early 18th century, Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the Saint Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada . These two colonies were collectively named

9191-827: Was "sanctioned" —and both "Canada" and "Dominion of Canada" appear in other texts of the period, as well as on numerous Canadian banknotes before 1935. Until the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was commonly used to identify the country. As the country acquired political authority and autonomy from the United Kingdom , the federal government began using simply Canada on state documents. Quebec nationalist leaders also objected to dominion , arguing that it suggested Ottawa would have control over Quebec. Under Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent , compromises were reached that quietly, and without legislation, "Dominion" would be retired in official names and statements, usually replaced by "federal". The St. Laurent government thereby ended

9292-497: Was Cane; Jacques Cartier 's description elsewhere in his writings of Labrador as "the land God gave to Cain ;" or, to a claim that the early French habitants demanded a "can a day" of spruce beer from the local intendant (a claim easily debunked by the fact that the habitants would have been speaking French , not English). In their 1983 book The Anglo Guide to Survival in Québec , humourists Josh Freed and Jon Kalina tied

9393-469: Was being built at Ottawa , chosen in 1857 by Queen Victoria , and became a national capital. At the conferences held in London to determine the form of confederation that would unite the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec ), the province of New Brunswick , and the province of Nova Scotia , a delegate from either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick proposed the name Canada in February 1867, and it

9494-448: Was called Hibernia . Thule , an island "six days' sail north of Britain, and [...] near the frozen sea", possibly Iceland , was also never invaded by the Romans. Claudius paid a visit while Britain was being conquered and was honoured with the agnomen Britannicus as if he were the conqueror; a frieze discovered at Aphrodisias in 1980 shows a bare breasted and helmeted female warrior labelled BRITANNIA , writhing in agony under

9595-653: Was not aware of the circumstance, but it is so like Derby, a very good fellow, but who lives in a region of perpetual funk.' Use of the term dominion was formalized in 1867 through Canadian Confederation . In the Constitution of Canada , namely the Constitution Act, 1867 ( British North America Acts ), the preamble of the act indicates: Whereas the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have expressed their Desire to be federally united into One Dominion under

9696-729: Was often the British Lion, an animal found on the arms of England, Scotland and the Prince of Wales. Neptune is shown symbolically passing his trident to Britannia in the 1847 fresco "Neptune Resigning to Britannia the Empire of the Sea" by William Dyce , a painting Victoria commissioned for her Osborne House on the Isle of Wight . New Zealanders adopted a similar personification of their country in Zealandia , Britannia's daughter, who appeared on postage stamps at

9797-420: Was on the farthing in 1672, though earlier pattern versions had appeared in 1665, followed by the halfpenny later the same year. The figure of Britannia was said by Samuel Pepys to have been modelled on Frances Teresa Stuart, the future Duchess of Richmond , who was famous at the time for refusing to become the mistress of Charles II, despite the King's strong infatuation with her. Britannia then appeared on

9898-627: Was soon replaced by Πρεττανία ( Prettanía ) and Βρεττανία ( Brettanía 'Britain'), Βρεττανός ( Brettanós 'Briton'), and Βρεττανικός ( Brettanikós , meaning the adjective British). From these words the Romans derived the Latin forms Britannia, Britannus, and Britannicus respectively". Describing the ocean beyond the Mediterranean Basin , the Pseudo-Aristotelian text On the Universe (Ancient Greek: Περὶ Κόσμου , romanized:  Perì Kósmou ; Latin: De Mundo ) mentions

9999-484: Was the first to step ashore and lay claim to the land, naming it after herself. At first, the women gathered acorns and fruits, but once they learned to hunt and obtain meat, it aroused their lecherous desires. As no other humans inhabited the land, they mated with evil spirits called " incubi ", and subsequently with the sons they begot, engendering a race of giants. These giants are evidenced by huge bones which are unearthed. Brutus arrived 260 years after Albina, 1136 before

10100-455: Was unanimously accepted by the other delegates. There appears to have been little discussion, though other names were suggested. While the provinces' delegates spent little time, if any, in settling on Canada as the name for the new country, others proposed a variety of other names: Walter Bagehot of The Economist newspaper in London argued that the new nation should be called Northland or Anglia instead of Canada. On these names,

10201-605: Was unexpectedly passed in the House . In the Senate , Eugene Forsey and the Monarchist League of Canada strongly defended the traditional usage. When a Gallup poll showed 70% of all Canadians favoured the change, the Senate approved the bill without a recorded vote . Britannia Britannia ( / b r ɪ ˈ t æ n i ə / ) is the national personification of Britain as

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