In 1791, with the Constitutional Act, the frontiers of the colony were reduced to what is essentially southern Qubec today. The colony was also granted an elected Assembly. But the territory, like any other British colony, was directly and undemocratically governed from the metropolis through a governor named by London and a body of Councils also composed of non-elected members. The Assembly had limited powers. Because French-Canadians had developed a distinct identity by the end of the 18th century, the struggle for democracy became, at least for half a century, synonymous with nationalism. After the Rebellion of 1837-38, Qubec was amalgamated with Upper Canada (Ontario) in 1841 and became part of a legislative union. After the failure of that union, Qubec became in 1867 a province of the Canadian federation. For many French-speaking Canadians who supported the BNA Act of 1867, Confederation was based on the principle of a federation of nations, namely the British and the French (both the French and the British excluded the First Nations.) But that interpretation of Confederation was never shared by a majority of English-speaking Canadians. They tended to see Canada as a homogeneous nation composed of different regions represented by the provinces. This unresolved debate about the nature of the federation has been at the core of every political and constitutional crisis in Canada and the province of Qubec since 1867. In 1980 the first referendum on Qubec's independence was defeated with a majority of Quebeckers voting to remain within Canada. Two years