Denis-Benjamin Papineau
Encyclopedia
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada were the leaders of the Province of Canada, from the 1841 unification of Upper Canada and Lower Canada until Confederation in 1867....
for Canada East
Canada East
Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....
from 1846 to 1848. His joint premiers for Canada West during this period were William Henry Draper
William Henry Draper
William Henry Draper was a lawyer, judge, and politician in Upper Canada later Canada West.-Personal life:...
and Henry Sherwood
Henry Sherwood
Henry Sherwood, QC was a lawyer and Tory provincial politician, moved to municipal politics and was alderman of St. David's Ward when chosen as Toronto's 7th mayor from 1842 to 1844. Sherwood was appointed QC on 23 January 1838...
.
Papineau was a seigneurial agent, bookseller, seigneur
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
, merchant, office holder, justice of the peace, and politician.
Born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, he was the son of Joseph Papineau
Joseph Papineau
Joseph Papineau was a notary, seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada.Joseph Papineau was the father of Louis-Joseph Papineau who had the great distinction of being a fiery player in the history of the French dominated British colony called Lower Canada...
and Rosalie Cherrier. He studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec
Petit Séminaire de Québec
Le Petit Séminaire de Québec is a private French-language Roman Catholic secondary school in the Vieux-Québec area of Quebec City which was originally part of the Séminaire de Québec...
. He oversaw the operation of the Seigneury
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
of Petite-Nation, first for his father and later for his brother Louis-Joseph
Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...
; he also served as postmaster for the region. He also was a partner in a Montreal bookstore. He was named a justice of the peace for Montreal district. In 1822, he became seigneur for the fief of Plaisance. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...
representing Ottawa district
Ottawa (County of)
Ottawa was a federal and provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada, which was represented in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1830 to 1867, in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1892, and in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to at least 1919.The...
in Canada East in 1842 and served until the end of 1847. Besides serving as joint premier, he also was commissioner of crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
s and of public works from 1844 to 1847. He died in Sainte-Angélique (Papineauville
Papineauville, Quebec
Papineauville is a town and municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Papineau Regional County Municipality and part of Canada's National Capital Region...
), Lower Canada.
When he yielded to requests from Denis-Benjamin Viger
Denis-Benjamin Viger
Denis-Benjamin Viger was a 19th century Lower Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, and Patriote movement member.Viger was part of the militia in the early 19th century and then a captain in the War of 1812...
and Sir Charles Metcalfe
Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe
Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe, Bt, KCB, PC , known as Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bt between 1822 and 1845, was a British colonial administrator...
to accept an appointment on the Executive Council, Papineau was criticized by many French-Canadians, despite his family's association with reform. His brother Louis-Joseph Papineau had been leader of the reform movement and was exiled for a time for his role in the Lower Canada Rebellion
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
.
His son Denis-Émery
Denis-Émery Papineau
Denis-Émery Papineau was a Quebec notary and political figure.He was born in Montreal in 1819, the son of Denis-Benjamin Papineau. He studied at Saint-Hyacinthe, qualified as a notary in 1841 and entered practice in Montreal. Around 1843, he was named notary for the city of Montreal...
later represented the County of Ottawa in the Legislative Assembly.