The
Lower Canada Rebellion (
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
:
La rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the
Patriots' War (French:
la Guerre des patriotes) by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of
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...
(now
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) and the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colonial power of that province. Together with the simultaneous
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:...
in the neighbouring colony of
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
(now
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
), it formed the
Rebellions of 1837The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 and 1838 in response to frustrations in political reform. A key shared goal was the allowance of responsible government, which was eventually achieved in the incident's aftermath.-Rebellions:The rebellions started...
.
History
The rebellion of Lower Canada continued in 1838 and is often called
Les rébellions de 1837–38 in Quebec. The actions of the rebels resulted in the declaration of
martial lawMartial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
, and a first armed conflict occurred in 1837 when the 26 members of the
Patriote movement who had been charged with illegal activities chose to resist their arrest by the authorities under the direction of John Colborne. In 1838, two major armed conflicts occurred when groups of Lower Canadian
Patriotes led by Robert Nelson crossed the American border in an attempt to invade Lower Canada and Upper Canada, drive the British army out and establish independent republics.
These events are often misreported, which moves the attention away from three decades of political battles between the Parti patriote of James Stuart and
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 Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...
, who were seeking accountability from the elected government and governor of the colony. However, the unelected body was dominated by a small group of mainly businessmen known as 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 equivalent of the
Family CompactFully developed after the War of 1812, the Compact lasted until Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the Château Clique. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s...
in
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
.
The movement for reform took shape in a period of economic disfranchisement of the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking majority and working-class English-speaking citizens. But the rebellion focused on the unfairness of colonial governing as such, as many of the leaders and participants were English-speaking citizens of Lower Canada. In banking, the timber trade, and transportation, Anglophones were seen as disproportionately represented. However, the Roman Catholic church discouraged French-Canadians from commercial activities, asserting it was God's will that they remain an agrarian society. (Out of 775 identified rebels from Lower Canada, 388 were farmers.) At the same time, some among the Anglophone business elite were advocating for a union of Upper and Lower Canada to ensure competitiveness on a national scale with the increasingly large and powerful economy of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(who, in part, inspired the rebels by their own successful war of independence). The unification of the colony was a plan favoured by the British-appointed governor, George Ramsey, Earl of Dalhousie. The reaction was a growing sense of nationalism among English and the French-speaking citizens, which solidified into the
Parti canadienThe Parti canadien or Parti patriote was a political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century...
(after 1826 called the Parti patriote).
In 1811, James Stuart became leader of the Parti Canadien in the assembly and in 1815, reformer Louis-Joseph Papineau was elected Assembly speaker. The Assembly, while elected, had little power; its decisions could be vetoed by a legislative council and the governor appointed by the British government. Dalhousie and Papineau were soon at odds over the issue of uniting the Canadas. Dalhousie forced an election in 1827 rather than accept Papineau as speaker. Sympathizers to the reform movement in England had Dalhousie forced from his position and reappointed to
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Still, the legislative council and the assembly were not able to reach a compromise. By 1834, the assembly had passed the
Ninety-Two ResolutionsThe Ninety-Two Resolutions were drafted by Louis-Joseph Papineau and other members of the Parti patriote of Lower Canada in 1834. The resolutions were a long series of demands for political reforms in the British-governed colony....
, outlining its grievances against the legislative council. At that point, the Patriote movement was supported by an overwhelming majority of the population of all origins.
Later in 1834, the Parti Patriote swept the election with more than three-quarters of the popular vote. However, the reformers in Lower Canada were divided over several issues. A moderate reformer named
John NeilsonJohn Neilson was a Scots-Quebecer editor of the newspaper La Gazette de Québec/The Quebec Gazette and a politician.- Biography :...
had quit the party in 1830 and joined the Constitutional Association four years later. Papineau's anti-clerical position alienated reformers in the Catholic Church, and his support for secular rather than religious schools made him a powerful enemy in Bishop
Jean-Jacques LartigueJean-Jacques Lartigue was a Canadian Roman Catholic who served as the first Bishop of Montreal. He was the only son of a noted Montreal family...
. Lartigue called on all Catholics to reject the reform movement and support the authorities, forcing many to choose between their religion and their political convictions.
However, Papineau continued to push for reform. He petitioned the British government to bring about reform, but in March 1837 the government of
Lord MelbourneWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
rejected all of Papineau's requests. Papineau then organized protests and assemblies, and eventually approved the paramilitary
Société des Fils de la LibertéThe Société des Fils de la Liberté was a paramilitary organization founded in August of 1837 in Lower Canada by young supporters of the Parti patriote who became impatient with the pace of progress of the movement for constitutional and parliamentary reforms...
during the Assemblée des six-comtés.
Papineau escaped to the United States, but the rebels set themselves up in the countryside. Led by
Wolfred NelsonWolfred Nelson, was from 1854 to 1856 the mayor of Montreal, Quebec.- Biography :Nelson was born in Montreal the son of William Nelson, an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire, England...
defeated a British force at
Saint-DenisThe Battle of St. Denis was fought on November 22, 1837 between British colonial authorities under Lieutenant-Colonel Gore and Lower Canada rebels. The rebels were victoriously led by Wolfred Nelson.- See also :*Lower Canada Rebellion...
on November 23. However, the British troops soon beat back the rebels, defeating them at
Saint-CharlesThe Battle of Saint-Charles was fought on November 25, 1837 between Great Britain and Lower Canada rebels. The British were victorious.On the morning of 25 November 1837, 2 days after Charles Gore's defeat at the Battle of Saint-Denis and the retreat to Sorel the troops of Colonel George Wetherall...
on November 25 and at
Saint-EustacheThe Battle of Saint-Eustache, fought on December 14, 1837, was a decisive battle in the Lower Canada Rebellion in which British forces defeated the principal remaining Patriotes camp at Saint-Eustache.-Prelude:...
on December 14. Saint-Eustache was then pillaged and ransacked. On December 5,
martial lawMartial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
was declared in Montreal.
When news of the arrest of the Patriote leaders reached Upper Canada,
William Lyon MackenzieWilliam Lyon Mackenzie was a Scottish born American and Canadian journalist, politician, and rebellion leader. He served as the first mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada and was an important leader during the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion.-Background and early years in Scotland, 1795–1820:Mackenzie was...
launched an armed rebellion in December 1837. In the meantime,
filibustersA filibuster, or freebooter, is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country to foment or support a revolution...
from the United States, the
Hunter PatriotsThe Frères chasseurs were a paramilitary organization that fought in the Patriote Rebellion on the Patriote side, seeking to make Lower Canada, now Quebec, an independent and democratic republic....
, formed a small militia and attacked Windsor, Upper Canada, to further support the Canadian Patriots. These revolts were quickly put down. The following year, leaders who had escaped across the border into the United States raided Lower Canada in February 1838. A second revolt began at
Battle of BeauharnoisThe Battle of Beauharnois was fought on November 10, 1838, between Great Britain and Canadian rebels. The city rose up following a series of raids by rebel leaders who had escaped into the United States. François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier commanded the ranks of the Patriote rebels. The...
in November of the same year. This too was crushed by the British.
Britain dispatched
Lord DurhamJohn George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham GCB, PC , also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in history texts simply as Lord Durham, was a British Whig statesman, colonial administrator, Governor General and high commissioner of British North America...
to investigate the cause of the rebellion.
His reportThe Report on the Affairs of British North America, commonly known as The Durham Report, is an important document in the history of Quebec, Ontario, Canada and the British Empire....
recommended that
the CanadasThe Canadas is the collective name for Upper Canada and Lower Canada, two British colonies in Canada. They were both created by the Constitutional Act of 1791 and abolished in 1841 with the union of Upper and Lower Canada....
be united into one colony (the
Province of CanadaThe Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas 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...
) so as to assimilate the French-speaking
Canadiens into
anglophoneAn English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
British cultureThe culture of the United Kingdom refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the United Kingdom and its people. It is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, major power, and its composition of four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and...
. However, he recommended acceding to the rebels' grievances by granting responsible government to the new colony.
Aftermath
Following the military defeat of the Patriotes, Lower Canada was merged with Upper Canada under the Union Act. The
Canadiens barely remained a majority in the new political entity, and with continued emigration to the English-speaking part of Canada, this dominance was short lived. Eight years after the Union, a responsible government was set up in the united
Province of CanadaThe Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas 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...
. The great instability of this new regime (see
Joint Premiers of the Province of CanadaJoint 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....
) led to the formation of the
Great coalitionThe Great Coalition was a grand coalition of the political parties of the two Canadas in 1864. The previous collapse after only three months of a coalition government formed by George-Étienne Cartier, George Brown and John A. MacDonald. The Great Coalition was formed to stop the political deadlock...
, and another major constitutional change, the
Canadian ConfederationCanadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
of 1867.
The rebellion of the
Patriotes Canadiens of Lower Canada is often seen as the example of what might have happened to the United States of America if the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
had failed. In Quebec, the rebellion (as well as the parliamentary and popular struggle) is now commemorated as the Journée nationale des Patriotes (National Patriotes Day) by the use of the Canadian Statutory Holiday,
Victoria DayVictoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. The date is also, simultaneously, that on which the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday is recognized...
. It has become a symbol for the
contemporary Quebec independence movementThe Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
(and to a lesser extent a symbol of Canada's small
republican movementCanadian republicanism is the appreciation amongst Canadians for the replacement of the Canadian system of constitutional monarchy with a republican form of government in the sense of the state headed by a president. These beliefs are expressed either individually generally in academic circles or...
).
Leaders
- Thomas Storrow Brown
Thomas Storrow Brown was a journalist, writer, orator, and revolutionary in Lower Canada .- Biography :...
(1803–1888)
- Jean-Olivier Chénier
Jean-Olivier Chénier was a physician in Lower Canada . Born in Lachine . During the Lower Canada Rebellion, he commanded the Patriote forces in the Battle of Saint-Eustache...
(1806–1837)
- François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier
François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier , also known under various shorter names as François-Marie-Thomas de Lorimier, Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier or Chevalier de Lorimier, was a notary who fought as a Patriote and Frère chasseur for the independence of Lower Canada in the Lower Canada...
(1803–1839)
- Amury Girod (1800–1837)
- Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan
Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, was a doctor and journalist.Born in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland, he studied medicine in Paris and immigrated to Lower Canada in 1823 where he became involved in the political reform movement of the Parti patriote...
(1797–1880)
- Wolfred Nelson
Wolfred Nelson, was from 1854 to 1856 the mayor of Montreal, Quebec.- Biography :Nelson was born in Montreal the son of William Nelson, an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire, England...
(1791–1863)
- 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...
(1786–1871)
See also
- History of Canada
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Canada has been inhabited for millennia by distinctive groups of Aboriginal peoples, among whom evolved trade networks, spiritual beliefs, and social hierarchies...
- Patriote movement
The Patriote movement was a political movement that existed in Lower Canada from the turning of the 19th century to the Patriote Rebellion of 1837 and 1838 and the subsequent Act of Union of 1840. It was politically embodied by the Parti patriote at the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada...
- Timeline of Quebec history
This article presents a detailed timeline of Quebec history. Events taking place outside Quebec, for example in English Canada, the United States, Britain or France, may be included when they are considered to have had a significant impact on Quebec's history....
- Politics of Quebec
The politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of the province is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Premier, the legislature, and cabinet reside.The...
- Canada Bay, New South Wales
Canada Bay is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Canada Bay is located 11 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of City of Canada Bay....
: some French Canadians who took part in the rebellions were expelled to this region of Australia.
- National Patriots' Day
- Kahnawake Iroquois and the Rebellions of 1837–38
- February 15, 1839
February 15, 1839 is a 2001 Quebec historical drama film. Directed by Pierre Falardeau, it is about the incarceration at the Pied-du-Courant Prison and the execution by hanging there of Patriote participants of the Lower Canada Rebellion...
- Félix Poutré
Félix Poutré was a French Canadian patriot and spy, who became known both as a popular hero and an infamous traitor within Lower Canada following his involvement in the Lower Canada Rebellion....
- List of the 108 Lower Canadians prosecuted before the general court-martial of Montreal in 1838-1839
Further reading
- Greenwood, Frank Murray. and Barry Wright, ed. (2002). Canadian State Trials. Volume 2: Rebellion and Invasion in the Canadas, 1837–1839, Toronto: The Osgoode Society and University of Toronto Press, 512 p. (ISBN 0802037488) (preview)
- Boissery, Beverly (1995). A Deep Sense of Wrong: The Treason Trials, and Transportation to New South Wales of Lower Canadian Rebels after the 1838 Rebellion, Toronto: Dundurn Press, 367 p. (ISBN 1550022423)
- Greer, Allan (1993). The Patriots and the People: The Rebellion of 1837 in Rural Lower Canada, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 385 p. (ISBN 0802069304) (preview)
- Senior, Elionor Kyte (1985). Redcoats and Patriotes: The Rebellions in Lower Canada, 1837–38, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 218 p. (ISBN 0920002285)
- Mann, Michael (1986). A Particular Duty: The Canadian Rebellions 1837–1839, Salisbury (Wiltshire): Michael Russel Publishing, 211 p.
- Buckner, Philip Alfred (1985). The Transition to Responsible Government: British Policy in British , North America, 1815–1850, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 358 p.
- Tiffany, Orrin Edward (1980). The Relations of the United States to the Canadian Rebellion of 1837–1838, Toronto: Coles Pub., 147 p.
- Burroughs, Peter (1972). The Canadian Crisis and the British Colonial Policy, 1828–1849, Toronto: MacMillan, 118 p.
- Schull, Joseph
Joseph Schull was a Canadian playwright and historian who wrote more than two dozen books and 200 plays for radio and television....
(1971). Rebellion: the Rising in French Canada 1837, Toronto: Macmillan, 226 p.
- Ryerson, Stanley Brehaut
Stanley Brehaut Ryerson was a Canadian historian, educator, political activist. There is very little information available concerning his parents, but Ryerson was born in 1911, into a well-off middle class family in Toronto...
(1968). Unequal Union: Confederation and the Roots of Conflict in the Canadas, 1815–1873, Toronto : Progress Books, 477 p.
- Manning, Helen Taft
Helen Herron Taft Manning , was the second child and only daughter of President of the United States William Howard Taft and his wife Helen Herron....
(1962). The Revolt of French Canada, 1800–1835. A Chapter in the History of the British Commonwealth, Toronto: Macmillan Company of Canada, 426 p.
- Kinchen, Oscar Arvle (1956). The Rise and Fall of the Patriot Hunters, Toronto: Burns and Maceachern, 150 p.
- Morison, John Lyle (1919). British Supremacy and Canadian Self-Government, 1839–1854, Toronto: S. B.Gundy, 369 p.
- Decelles, Afred Duclos (1916). The "Patriotes" of '37: A Chronicle of the Lower Canadian Rebellion, Toronto: Glasgow, Brook & Co., 140 p. [translated by Stewart Wallace]
- Bradshaw, Frederick (1903). Self-Government in Canada, and How it was Achieved: the Story of Lord Durham’s Report, Londres: P.S.King, 414 p.
- Scott, Stuart D. (2004). To the Outskirts of Habitable Creation: Americans and Canadians Transported To Tasmania In The 1840s, Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 514 p. [Illustrated by Seth Colby].
External links
- The Patriotes Rebellion Quebec 1837–1839, selection of French documents translated into English for the Marxists Internet Archive
Marxists Internet Archive is a volunteer based non-profit organization that maintains a multi-lingual Internet archive of Marxist writers and other similar authors...
- Les Patriotes de 1837@38 Web site edited by historian Gilles Laporte since 1995 (news, analysis, bibliography, time line, biographies, atlas, debates, diaporama
A Diaporama is a photographic slideshow, sometimes with accompanying audio. The word shares etymological roots with the English words diorama and panorama, both of which come from the Greek root horama, meaning "a view." Salon columnist Camille Paglia used the term as early as March 2008 when she...
, games etc.)
- Les rébellions des Patriotes de 1837–38
- Histoire Québec, Rebelles et Patriotes, volume 5, numéro 2, Décembre 1999