Quebec had once been inhabited by indigenous peoples. During the age of colonization, the French colonists had claimed modern-day Quebec as well as a majority of North America. It had been lost, however, during warfare with Great Britain. Quebec had been under English control for 75 years, until a rebellion by Canadiens from Lower Canada, with assistance from France and the United States, paved the way for independence by 1850 after the Springtime of Nations.