The Rebellions Of 1837-38In Lower Canada
Who Were The Rebels of 1837-38 in Lower Canada?
The Rebels were people who did not like the way the British were ruling them, and they wanted major changes in Lower Canada.
These people were often called Les Rébels de 1837-38 in
Quebec.
Some Of The Issues That Needed To Be Resolved
The Government in Lower Canada favored the business interests of the
English over the farming interests of the French population.
The French in Lower Canada were also concerned about losing their French culture and language, and the privileges given to the Anglican
church when most of the population were Catholic.
The Château Clique
Another big reason why the French were not happy was because of the Château Clique.
The Château Clique was a group of
wealthy Englishmen and leading English merchants in Lower
Canada. They were the British landed gentry
and they believed that the British should
control everything.
The Chateau Clique is similar to the Family Compact in Upper Canada.
What Made the Rebellions RebelDuring the 1820’s nervousness was rising and the Rebelsdemanded change, but the Government stayed firm, this meant a lot of problems for the Government.
The Candiens wanted to have a responsible Government so they wrote the 92 resolutions, but after that Lord Russell demanded 10 resolutions of his own and discarded any type of responsible Government
This answer from Lord Russel expanded the gap of the Candiens and the British in Lower Canada.
Louis Joseph PapineauThe leaders of the Patriotes from 1820 – 1860.
His goal was to seek a responsible Government.
Papineau was first the leader of the Parti Canadien which held most of the seats in the Legislative Assembly.
The Parti Canadien often quarreled with the Governor because they did not support taxes for building canals and roads.
Then in 1832 the Reformers split into two and there was one side which was led by John Neilson and the other group led by Papineau, this group was named the Patriotes.
The PatriotesAfter the Reformers split
into two the Patriotes could still have power over the assembly.
The Patriotes then accepted a bill that called for an elected Legislative Council in Lower Canada.
With the bill being approved the Patriotes thought that this bill would help getting a responsible government.
To even further its demands for having a responsible government, the Patriotes approved a list of ninety-two resolutions.
In Reaction To Lord Russell's Rejection of the
92 ResolutionsThe Patriotes held a public meeting at St. Charles they voted to defy British “oppression.”
Delegates then thought about how to fix this issue, and a couple of resolutions were to refuse British goods, and banks. Another resolution might have been to become apart of America or become there own nation.
However, the Patriotes still refused to approve taxes which the government needed.
The Government’s Response
In reply to the Patriotes not approving the taxes, the government decided to use the money anyways.
This angered the Patriotes because it
dishonored the Constitutional Act.So then in October of
1837 there was a big meeting at St. Charles to plan their battle of British rule.
At the meeting Papineau told fellow people to use the existing political system to get what they want, but he was the only one behind that and others wanted to revolt.
The RevoltThe Patriote newspaper then wrote a call for a armed rebellion.
But even though they announced a rebellion the rebels did not have the time to plan, and a organize a good rebellion.
However, the Catholic Church asked the Canadiens to stay loyal to the British Crown but to no avail.
With the Canadiens not cooperating the Doric Club attacked the Patriotes, and then on November 6 of 1837 the Doric Club also attacked the Fils de la Liberte. They even attacked Papineau’s home.
The Fils de la Liberte was a group which held strong republic views, the group involved Papineau’s son and other Patriotes.
The British Governor was now scared of having a rebellion so then all meetings and marches were expelled, and after the Doric attacks a warrant was issued for the arrest of Papineau for the charges of treason.
After the Warrant was IssuedAfter the British troops were sent to arrest the revolutionaries, the British troops were trained and they had everything they needed to fight. However, on the other hand the Patriotes were not well-supplied and they did not even have a good leader.
So the war was a bit one sided but the Patriotes had one moment of success and that was at St. Denis on November 22 of 1837.
But the British were too much for the Patriotes and they fell to them in December 1st of 1837 because they outnumbered them two to one.
Many of the Patriotes leaders escapef including Papineau who went to the United States.
The Aftermath
After the Patriotes way out, there was still extreme dislike between the Canadiens and British.
Even though the Patriotes were mostly gone, there was still Canadiens who
killed the British. An example was at St. Eusteche the British
found one of there dead soldiers.
In response the British burned down many homes, and the Doric Club and Orangemen drove families out into the snow while the British commanders did nothing to stop them.
The Rebellions of 1837-38
In Upper Canada
Why Were There Rebellions In Upper Canada In 1837-
38? The news of chaos in Lower Canada reached the people of
Upper Canada in October of 1837. Many people in Upper Canada agreed with the Lower Canadian rebels about the need for change in the government.
The Upper Canadian rebels were in favor for the American Revolution and felt a similar revolution was needed in Upper Canada.
William Lyon Mackenzie
William Lyon Mackenzie was the leader of the rebellions in Upper Canada. He shared many of the same ideas of the Patriotes in Lower Canada. He used his newspaper The Colonial Advocate, to demand change against the British Government and Family Compact. He was a supporter of the American Revolution and the republic it created, so he went out to accomplish the same thing in Upper Canada.
A Call For SupportOn November 27th, 1837 Mackenzie published a handbill in an attempt to get supporters for an armed revolt in Upper Canada. The handbill essentially asked for brave Canadians who do not agree with the way England is running Canada to stand up and rebel .
Montgomery’s Tavern
Montgomery’s Tavern was were the Upper Canadian rebels met before the attack on
Toronto. This was where they came up with there plan of attack on Toronto.
Attack On Toronto Mackenzie’s plan was
a joint attack. One group of rebels would march on Toronto and another group would march on Hamilton. They would take over the armory in Toronto along with 4000 guns, arrest governor Bond Head, and announce independence from Britain. After that they would create a republican form of government.
The Outcome Of The Battle At Toronto
Mackenzie’s brave plan ended in shameful defeat at the battle of Montgomery's farm. Before he and the rebels marched down Yonge street a group of about 30 men had planned to attack them. As they marched they were attacked and the group of 800 rebels started to run away.
Mackenzie’s Escape
After Mackenzie’s embarrassing defeat he take off to Rochester, New York, in the United States. From there he and a party of rebel exiles took over a Navy island in the middle of the Niagara River on December 13 1837. Mackenzie ran off because he was a wanted man with a One Thousand Pound Reward.
The Rebellions of 1838
In 1837 the Rebellions were quickly defeated by the British.
But in 1838 more battles were fought after 1837 .
During 1838 there was a guerrilla army that carried out attacks along Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
This guerrilla army was known as the Patriot Hunters.
These members battled against the Tory by burning homes and barns even murdering inhabitants.
What Happened In Lower Canada in 1838?There was also an uprising in Lower Canada in 1838, the group here that started the trouble was the les Freres Chausseres.
This group was led by Robert Nelson, and his group had supporters throughout Lower Canada.
Les Freres Chasseurs organized uprising in February of 1838 and a in November. This uprising began with seizure of seigneury of Beauharnois.
But waiting for them were the Loyalist Caughnawaga natives and they attacked the rebels and captured them.
What Happened to Robert Nelson?He was in the United States with money and arms for the rebels.
After Loyalists spotted Nelson and the Caughnawaga captured the rebel leader.
So after the capture of Nelson the rebels were defeated because of short of arms and ammunition.
So in the end the Rebels of Lower Canada were once again doomed to defeat.
What happened in Upper Canada and
Lower Canada?Two of the rebels in Upper Canada named Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount were hanged.
In Lower Canada martial law was declared and also the elected Assembly was banned after the rebellions of 1837.
After that a new governor general who was known as Lord Durham was sent to the colony to get rid of the “Canadian Problem.”
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