This article is about a group in nineteenth century Canadian history. For the pact between the royal families of eighteenth century France and Spain, see Pacte de FamilleThe Pacte de Famille is one of three separate, but similar alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain.- The first Pacte de Famille :...
.
The
Family Compact was the informal name for the wealthy, Anglican, conservative elite of
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario in Canada. Upper Canada officially existed from 26 December 1791 to 10 February 1841 and generally comprised present-day Southern Ontario...
in the early 19th century. It was one of a number of
ToryToryism is a traditionalist political philosophy, which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is most prominent in Great Britain, but also features in some parts of The Commonwealth — particularly in Canada...
-dominated
compact governmentCompact governments or compacts were the conservative colonial cliquesthat ruled colonies, particularly in British North America prior to the granting of responsible government. They were usually Tory in orientation and were representative of the local elite. The best known one was the Family...
s that ruled the colonies of
British North AmericaBritish North America consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783....
.
The Family Compact developed after the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
and lasted (at least) until Upper and
Lower CanadaThe Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
were united in 1841.
This article is about a group in nineteenth century Canadian history. For the pact between the royal families of eighteenth century France and Spain, see Pacte de FamilleThe Pacte de Famille is one of three separate, but similar alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain.- The first Pacte de Famille :...
.
The
Family Compact was the informal name for the wealthy, Anglican, conservative elite of
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario in Canada. Upper Canada officially existed from 26 December 1791 to 10 February 1841 and generally comprised present-day Southern Ontario...
in the early 19th century. It was one of a number of
ToryToryism is a traditionalist political philosophy, which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is most prominent in Great Britain, but also features in some parts of The Commonwealth — particularly in Canada...
-dominated
compact governmentCompact governments or compacts were the conservative colonial cliquesthat ruled colonies, particularly in British North America prior to the granting of responsible government. They were usually Tory in orientation and were representative of the local elite. The best known one was the Family...
s that ruled the colonies of
British North AmericaBritish North America consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783....
.
History
The Family Compact developed after the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
and lasted (at least) until Upper and
Lower CanadaThe Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the
Château CliqueThe Clique du Château or Château Clique was a group of wealthy families in Lower Canada in the early 19th century. They were the Lower Canadian equivalent of the Family Compact in Upper Canada...
. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s. Canadian Members of the Family Compact were described as adherents of "rabid Toryism" by
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
during his visit to
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
. Some of the members were of dubious reputation, even in the eyes
of their own circle.
The Family Compact controlled the government through the
Executive CouncilThe Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually members of the Legislative Council. Members were...
and Legislative Council, the advisers to the Lieutenant Governor, leaving the popularly elected
Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house...
with little real power. Members of the Family Compact ensured their conservative friends held the important positions in the colony through political patronage.
The Family Compact was centred in Toronto, then called York. Its most important member was Bishop
John StrachanJohn Strachan was an influential figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.-Early life:...
; in fact, many of the other members were his former students, or people who were in some way related to him. The most prominent of Strachan's pupils was Sir
John Beverley RobinsonJohn Beverley Robinson was elected mayor of Toronto in 1856. He was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario between the years 1880–1887....
who was from 1829 the Chief Justice of
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario in Canada. Upper Canada officially existed from 26 December 1791 to 10 February 1841 and generally comprised present-day Southern Ontario...
for 34 years. The rest of the members were mostly descendants of
United Empire LoyalistsThe name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific name which has been given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the...
or recent upper-class
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
settlers. With this Loyalist background and under the leadership of Strachan, they were strong royalists, and supported the
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
over not only
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
but other Protestant churches. They especially interpreted the
Constitutional Act of 1791The Constitutional Act of 1791 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain The Constitutional Act of 1791 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain The Constitutional Act of 1791 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (1791 (31 Geo. 3) C A P. XXXI., long title An Act to repeal certain...
, which gave land grants to build Protestant churches, to refer to Anglican churches alone. They were able to act on this interpretation through the creation of the
Clergy CorporationThe Clergy Corporation, or the Clergy Reserve Corporation of Upper Canada, existed to oversee, manage and lease the clergy reserves of Upper Canada. The Clergy Reserves represented a large amount of land in Upper Canada that had been put aside for the Anglican and later Protestant churches...
which oversaw the management of the reserves. These actions were opposed by the large numbers of Presbyterian
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
settlers, as well as smaller groups of
MethodistsMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to Reverend John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement in the Anglican Church. His younger brother...
.
The influence of the Family Compact was one of the chief concerns of all liberal-minded citizens of Upper Canada. The radical reformer
William Lyon MackenzieWilliam Lyon Mackenzie was a Scottish-Canadian journalist, politician, and rebellion leader. He served as the first mayor of the city of Toronto and was an important leader during the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion.-Background and early years in Scotland, 1795-1820:Mackenzie was born in Dundee,...
was, in particular, a most vocal advocate against the Family Compact, which at one point resulted in a group of fourteen led by
Samuel JarvisSamuel Peters Jarvis was the Chief Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Upper Canada from 1837 until 1845, and a member of the Family Compact....
, disguised as Indians, breaking into the offices of Mackenzie's newspaper
Colonial Advocate on June 8, 1826, where they smashed his
printing pressA printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium , thereby transferring an image. The mechanical systems involved were first assembled in Germany by the goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, based on existing screw-presses used to press...
and threw it into
Toronto HarbourToronto Harbour or Toronto Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a natural harbour, protected from Lake Ontario waves by the Toronto Islands. It is a commercial port on the Great Lakes as well as a recreational harbour...
. Mackenzie sued, won
£The pound sterling , often simply called the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory...
625 which was paid by donations from the Family Compact, and was able to set up a larger operation.
Mackenzie's frustration with their control of the government was one of the catalysts for the failed
Upper Canada RebellionThe Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...
of 1837. Their hold on the government was reduced with the creation of the united
Province of CanadaThe Province of Canada or the United Province of Canada was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of 1837.The Province of...
and later the installation of the system of
Responsible GovernmentResponsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
in Canada.