John Redpath (1796 – March 5, 1869) was a
Scots-QuebecerThe Scot-Quebecers , were pioneer settlers who emigrated from their native Scotland to Quebec, migration that began when the province was a colony of British North America.-Overview:...
businessman and philanthropist who helped pioneer the industrial movement that made
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
,
QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
the largest and most prosperous city in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
John Redpath was born in
EarlstonEarlston , is a parish and market town in Berwickshire, Scotland. It is situated on the River Leader in Leaderdale.-Early history:...
,
Scottish BordersThe Scottish Borders or simply the Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan...
,
ScotlandScotland 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...
during the period of the
Lowland ClearancesThe Lowland Clearances in Scotland were one of the results of the British Agricultural Revolution, which changed the traditional system of agriculture which had existed in Lowland Scotland in the seventeenth century...
that created economic hardship and dislocation for many Scottish families. As such, the twenty-year-old Redpath chose to
emigrateEmigrate is a rock band based in New York, led by Richard Z. Kruspe, the lead guitarist of the German band Rammstein.-History:Kruspe started the band in 2005, when Rammstein decided to take a year off from touring and recording...
to Canada. With limited funds for ship passage, the near penniless Redpath disembarked at
Quebec CityQuébec , is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in the province – after Montreal, about to the southwest...
then walked barefoot to Montreal, then a city of only 16,000 residents. Once there, he found employment in the construction industry, working as a stonemason. In November of that year, Redpath witnessed the first installation of oil streetlamps in the city on rue St. Paul.
A man of integrity with a prodigious work ethic and a keen business sense, within a few years Redpath was running his own sizeable construction business. He was involved in major projects such as the construction of the
Lachine CanalThe Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine , Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.The canal gets its name from the French word for China...
and locks that proved key to future commercial development of the city of Montreal. Beginning in 1689, attempts were made by the French Colonial government and several others to build a canal that would allow ships to bypass the treacherous
Lachine RapidsThe Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. They are located near the former city of Lachine....
. After more than 130 years of failure, with funding from the recently formed
Bank of MontrealThe Bank of Montreal is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817, making it Canada's oldest bank....
, the consortium, of which Redpath was a major part, was successful in its construction and the new canal officially opened in 1825.
The Lachine canal substantially increased shipping, turning Montreal into one of the largest ports in
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...
. Because the land along the canal belonged to the Roman Catholic Sulpician Order it remained unused for another twenty years until Redpath and other businessmen were finally able to purchase plots along the canal. As a result of the land being opened to development, on the canal's banks came the construction of large new manufacturing plants, drawn there because of the ready source of water from the canal that could be used in the production process and provide the steam power to drive machinery. It was these industries, including Redpath's construction of the first sugar refinery in Canada, that made Montreal the industrial metropolis of Canada and by the time of his passing, John Redpath witnessed traffic go from 600 small vessels passing through the canal each year to more than 13,000 large ships.
John Redpath's success in building the Lachine Canal led to further major projects including his partnering with
Thomas McKayThomas McKay was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. He was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason...
, to construct the locks at Jones Falls, Ontario on the giant
Rideau CanalThe Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
project between 1827 and 1828. In addition, Redpath built the Notre-Dame Basilica and some of the first buildings at
McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
The
Redpath SugarRedpath Sugar was an important company in the economic history of Canada.-History:Redpath Sugar was established as the Canada Sugar Refining Company in 1854 in Montreal, Quebec by Scots-Quebecer entrepreneur, John Redpath . Located on the bank of the Lachine Canal, the giant complex was the first...
refinery proved to be a major Montreal employer, within a few years annually processing approximately 7,000 tons of raw sugar imported from the West Indies aboard Redpath-owned ships. Originally called the Canada Sugar Refining Co., after his son
PeterPeter Redpath was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist, closely associated with Redpath Sugar....
(1821-1894) joined the business the company's name was changed to John Redpath & Son. Four years later in 1861, Redpath's son-in-law
George Alexander DrummondSir George Alexander Drummond, KCMG, CVO was a Scottish-Canadian businessman and senator.Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, he arrived in Canada in 1854 to work at Redpath Sugar. He married John Redpath's daughter, becoming a co-director of the family business with Peter Redpath, John's son...
(1829-1910) also joined the company.
In addition to his own industrial enterprises, Redpath invested in numerous businesses that greatly benefited the Montreal economy. In addition to his own cargo vessels to serve his sugar refinery, he had investments in the Montreal Towboat Company. He also helped finance the Montreal Telegraph Company and the Montreal Fire Assurance Company, serving as a director of both companies. He also committed substantial funds to develop the economies of Quebec's
Eastern TownshipsThe Eastern Townships is a historical region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed the Logan Line, the geologic boundary between the flat, fertile St. Lawrence Lowlands...
, including investments in the Capel Copper operations, the Belvedere Mining and Smelting Company, Rockland Slate Company, Bear Creek Coal, and Melbourne Slate Co.
As a result of his business acumen, in 1833 Redpath was invited to serve on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Montreal, a position he would hold for 36 years. Canada has always had a very small population and in the developing years of the early 1800s, that small population meant there was limited financial resources for business to draw upon. Because major business development was still dependent upon funding from the
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
(UK) financial market, Redpath understood the need for Canada to begin the long process of developing its own capital markets. As such, he was a promoter of the Montreal Investment Association, the forerunner of the Montreal Stock Exchange. Too, coming from the Scottish working class Redpath had an inherent mistrust of the aristocratic power structure in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and did not view England as the mother country as other Canadians such as
Robert BaldwinRobert Baldwin was born at York . He, along with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, led the first responsible ministry in Canada, regarded by some as the first truly Canadian government....
did. Numerous complaints by business officials in the Canadian colony were ignored by the British authorities and the situation became intolerable when the government in London decided to abolish tariffs that protected
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...
producers from the established and well-financed British companies. Understanding that fighting these powerful forces in Britain was costly and near impossible, along with other businessmen who had invested in Canada, Redpath lent his support to the
Annexation Movement in CanadaThe Montreal Annexation Manifesto was a political document, published in 1849 in Montreal, Quebec, calling for Canada's annexation by the United States....
in an effort to leverage the situation. This group promoted the idea of the Canadian Provinces joining the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, an idea that had been touted on prior occasions. It had been unfair taxes and tariffs that led to the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
and while the Annexation Movement was short-lived, the growing support for such an idea, particularly from powerful men like Redpath,
John MolsonJohn Molson was an Anglo-Quebecer who was a major brewer and entrepreneur in Canada, starting the Molson Brewing Company.-Birth and early Life:...
,
Louis-Joseph PapineauLouis-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 Patriot movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838...
, and Alexander Galt, caused the British authorities to make changes that resulted in the
Canadian-American Reciprocity TreatyThe Canadian American Reciprocity Treaty, also known as the Elgin-Marcy Treaty, was a trade treaty between the colonies of British North America and the United States...
of 1854.
Beyond business, charity and community service played a large role in Redpath's life. He was elected to the Montreal City council and was a director of such charitable institutions as the
Montreal General HospitalThe Montreal General Hospital is a hospital in Montreal, Canada, established on May 1, 1819 and an early teaching hospital. First located on the corner of Craig and St-Lawrence Streets with only 24 beds, it moved in 1822 to a new 72-bed building on Dorchester Street. It is currently situated on...
. He was one of the founders of the Protestant House of Industry and Refuge and a major donor to the Canada Foreign Missionary Society and the French-Canadian Missionary Society. Redpath was a supporter of the 1833 law that abolished
slaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
in the British colonies and served as the head of a small group that lobbied for government assistance to fight Montreal's "white slavery" traffic, working with the
Magdalen AsylumMagdalene Asylums were institutions for so-called "fallen women", most of them operated by the Roman Catholic Church. In most asylums, the inmates were required to undertake hard physical labour such as laundry work. In Ireland, such asylums were known as Magdalene Laundries...
in Montreal to aid impoverished immigrant women forced into
prostitutionProstitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. In most cultures, prostitution is viewed by many as a deviant profession, either illegal or socially discouraged...
. Having had limited education, Redpath was a strong advocate of learning. He helped establish
The Presbyterian College, MontrealThe Presbyterian College/Le Collège Presbytèrien, 3495 University Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, is a Theological College of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and is affiliated with McGill University through their Faculty of Religious Studies...
and the Montreal Mechanics Institute, now the Atwater Library. John Redpath was also a benefactor of the first endowment fund established for
McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. His son
PeterPeter Redpath was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist, closely associated with Redpath Sugar....
also endowed a Chair of Mathematics at the university as well as building the university's
Redpath MuseumThe Redpath Museum is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University and located on the university's campus at 859 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1882 as a gift from the sugar baron Peter Redpath. It houses collections of interest to ethnology,...
and
Redpath LibraryThe Redpath Library was the major arts and humanities library at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. When the McLennan Library was built in 1967-1969 it assumed this role and the Redpath Library was split into Redpath Hall and the Redpath Library - the stack areas...
.
Redpath was first married in 1818 to Janet McPhee, a native of Glengarry, Ontario, and they had ten children before her death in 1834. The following year he married 20-year-old Scottish-born Jane Drummond, and they had seven children. Redpath built a large family home overlooking Montreal on the slopes of
Mount RoyalMount Royal is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately north of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name.The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians...
, an area that eventually became the city of
WestmountWestmount is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the Island of Montreal, an enclave of the city of Montreal; pop. 20,494; area 4.02 km²; its population density of 5,092.56 inhabitants/km² is the second-highest of any municipality in Canada .Westmount is mostly a wealthy residential area,...
.
Following his death in 1869, Redpath was interred in the
Mount Royal CemeteryOpened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
in Montreal.
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