I decided to make Canada angst over the break-up of the FACE family during the revolutionary war.
There are actually several historical references in this one.
France did in fact give up Canada up after loosing the French and Indian War (more commonly known as the Seven Years War) in favor of Martinique, a island far south that had numerous sugar plantations, which was more profitable then the fur and trade that was in Canada. I personally think that this was mostly a financial decision, but maybe that's because I'm French-Canadian and would prefer to think that my ancestors meant something to France.
What that bit about deportation was alluding to was the Acadian deportation. basically when England achieved military victory in Nova Scotia and new Brunswick in 1755 they actually systematically expelled all but 165 families of the French speaking Acadian families (Canadians) that had inhabited Canada for over a century. The English army dispossessed them of their farms and shipped them in overcrowded ships to Louisiana (where they became known as cajuns), and I think about a third of them died of disease en-route... (which is why Matthew remembers sickness)
Why did the French and Indian war start in the first place? Well, good old George Washington accidentally killed a French diplomat. Not one of his smarter moves. In fact it was downright stupid. But let me make this clear before you yell at me about how awesome George Washington is.
I do respect George Washington as a president. I think he was a great law maker, and he did do a lot to keep America together in the somewhat chaotic post revolution period... However, as a general, he simply wasn't as brilliant as people make him out to be. Frankly, he quite nearly lost the revolution several times. The first example of this is at the Battle of Brooklyn, The american forces (led by washington) panicked if it hadn't been for four hundred Maryland soldiers taking a stand, it's pretty safe to assume that George washington and his army would have been captured, thus ending the revolution. And this was the first major battle. If not for some really good retreating (maybe he took some lessons from Feliciano and Romano?) The entire revolution would have been lost, and America would have never gotten off the ground as an independent nation.
So it's not like I don't respect George Washington, it's that I think he was a particularly effective general. He simply had a lot of luck when it came to escaping in the nick of time, and launching surprise attacks. I think these surprise attacks are why a lot of people considered him to be a good general. However, it doesn't cut the mustard in my book. He just lost way to many times for me to call him an effective general.
Now onto the American historical references!
Many Loyalists, or Tories (Americans who were against breaking away from the British Crown during the American Revolution) had to leave America and go to the British held Canada because of the discrimination that they faced. One of the popular ways to humiliate a Tory was to tar and feather them.
What is tarring and feathering? Well... It's not pleasant I'll say that much. Basically, the person who is to be tarred and feathered is stripped to the waist, and then hot tar is either poured or painted on them while they are immobilized. Then they either have to roll around in feathers, or have feathers thrown at them. The feathers stick to the tar. Then the victim was often paraded around in a wooden cart. As you can see. It's rather unpleasant.
NOW ON WITH THE STORY! I DON'T OWN HETALIA!
Canada could remember. He remembered that France gave him up to England. The man who deported his people. He remembered the sickness, he remembered the freezing winter and the lean, damp springs, and he remembered the hurt in his heart as his people were herded to the coast and packed in overcrowded ships and taken away from him. He remembered it so well. Years and years later he would wake to the clenching in his chest and tears rushing down his face.
Now America was rebelling.
Why? why would he rebel? Why would he break up their family? Why would he break up the loving family that Canada has come to know? Did Alfred not want to be his brother? Was he not good enough to be his brother? Why would he do this?
how could he do this?
England was poor. He was poor from a war that one of America's people caused. Poor from the war that tore Canada from his own parent nation. He needed taxes from America to get back on his feet. it was a colony's job to help out their parent nation. It was their duty. It was their duty to help England. The French within him cried in protest, but their small voices are squashed. His people don't have anything to do with national policy. England is the one who decides that. England decided to enforce taxes. It was their duty to obey. But no. Of course that didn't sit well with Alfred. Of course he didn't understand what it was to be unwanted. Of course not. His head was too thick to understand what empathy was in the first place, let alone feel it for his brother.
Now Canada had to fight. He had to stare across the field. He had to stare into the eyes of France. He had to stare into his papa's eyes, and he had to shoot. He had to cry as he ducked and reloaded, and shot once again at his beloved Papa. Papa who gave him up, the Papa who had chosen Martinique and their sugar over his endless land and fish and fur, the Papa who had people who thought that all he ever could be was a frozen wasteland.
And yet Canada loved him. Canada missed him. And yet Canada wondered at night exactly what France thought of him. And why did he have to look at everything he loved and hated all at once in the face?
All because Alfred and his people were whiney. All because they couldn't bring themselves to pay taxes. All because of his selfishness. He couldn't be with his Papa because Alfred couldn't keep his people in line. All because of Alfred. Because of that stupid America. His Papa's first choice as a colony. All because of the colony that out-shined him.
That was why Canada was hurting so. That was why he wished forever to be the one France wanted to have as a colony. The one that France wanted to be allies with. That was why he had shoot at the man he'd called Papa. That was why America chased his own people out of his country. That was why America tarred and feathered his own people for their loyalty to the crown, and that was why he couldn't sleep at night because of England's somewhat silent sobbing.
All because of America... It was because of America that England came home drunk off his ass. It was because of America that Canada had to suffer through the "am I Catholic or Protestant?" rant night after night after night, and that was why he offered himself night after night. He'd lost his purity when England claimed his vital regions, but now it was every night. Now he had to simply pretend it was someone else. Anyone else. But to be fair, England never exactly called out the right name in either. It was because of America that he had to wonder why he was always playing second fiddle.
Also, I don't hate America. Not as a character in Hetalia, not as a country. I live in the USA, so don't get the wrong idea. I think the American revolution got started up over something pretty stupid, especially when compared to the underlying causes of other revolutions at the time. The underlying causes of the American Revolution (From what I have learned in class and reserched on my own time) is that American's were being taxed on imported items like tea, sugar, and black cloth, which drove prices for said goods way up. When the colonies complained Britian basically said, deal with it cause we're poor and are gonna keep taxing you.
After this the colonies got pissed, and said that they should have representation within parliment. Which in itself really isn't so horrible, but also was unheard of. I can think of no other colonies in the western hemisphere that had this right at this time. But Brittian refused again. After this there were many famous protests (including both boycotts and the boston tea party) And on July 4th America declared independence and the battling began soon after.
Now lets look at other revolutions from this time period. French Revolution: underlying causes of class inequalities of almost horrifying proportions, hunger, EXTREME excess on the part of the upper class, lack of social mobility.
Irish revolutions of 1789: State discrimination against Catholics, poverty on the parts of poor farmers of all religions, Irish parliment being controlled by aristocrats, restrictions on trade.
Though both these revolutions were inspired by the American revolution. Actually, the revolutions in Ireland were inspired by both the French and American revolutions. So, I don't knock the revolution. Okay, I believe that the American revolution was VERY important historically, but that the causes were kinda small compared with the reasons of other revolutions. After all, the thirteen colonies did have religous freedom and class mobility, as well as many other freedoms. All they didn't have was something that no one had, representation in the goverment of their "mother" country.
I feel as a character, Matthew might resent the brother that got all the attention just a little bit, and might blame things on Alfred when he has to fight Francis, another person that he loves deeply that has chosen America. Nothing more, nothing less.