THE REBELLIONS OF 1837

BRITISH NORTH AMERICA British N. America now consisted of the following colonies: Upper Canada (Ontario) Lower Canada (Quebec) New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island After the War of 1812, Irish and English immigrants continued to arrive French Canadians were afraid of being slowly assimilated, of losing their culture, their religion, and their language.

WHO’S IN CHARGE AROUND HERE? Lower Canada Governor Other colonies Lieutenant-governors Historians, however, often use the term “governor” to refer to both Thomas Carleton is referred to as “the first Governor of New Brunswick,” even though he was, technically, a lieutenant- governor.

WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE Reformer in Upper Canada (arrived from Scotland) In York, he set up a newspaper called the Colonial Advocate In the Advocate, he attacked the Family Compact - group of powerful men who controlled business, politics and religion in Upper Canada - and the governor Members of the Family Compact destroyed his press, but he took them to court and won the case He bought another press and continued the newspaper Elected member of the Assembly, where he continued his attack on the government Great orator, who was often expelled from the Assembly but voted back each time First mayor of Toronto in 1834

ELECTIONS IN UPPER CANADA Each political group set up headquarters Usually at a tavern or inn Built platforms outside for the speakers On the morning of the election, crowds would gather around to hear the speeches There was no such thing as a secret ballot They used to vote in front of everybody Each person climbed onto the platform and announced who they were voting for Often fights would break out, employers would fire employees if they didn’t like the way they voted Elections last for days

GOVERNOR SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD An eccentric, British chap who wrote cheap adventure novels and like to pretend he was an Argentine cowhand while performing tricks with his lasso for appreciative members of the Royal Family. This was the man the British Colonial Office decided to appoint Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada in He knew absolutely nothing about Canada

BOND, SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD, BOND He called for a snap election Since only property owners could vote, he promised land to known supporters Something called “quick enfranchisement” It worked The Tories (friends and supporters of the Family Compact) won and the Reformers were swept away

MACKENZIE STRIKES BACK… SORT OF Bond Head’s fixed election made Mackenzie mad. He began riding through the countryside urging rebellion A small group of folks joined him It was time to march on Toronto, capture the government and declare a glorious New Republic. Mackenzie’s men – armed with pitchforks, rifles, clubs, and pike, marched on. They were met by a small group of nervous volunteers (Bond Head’s garrison was pre-occupied in Montreal) The volunteers fired a single volley The rebels panicked and ran away The volunteers ran away, too What a battle that was! Fun fact : This “battle” took place near the future site of Maple Leaf Gardens (Montgomery’s Tavern)

BOND STRIKES BACK… FOR REAL Two days later Bond led an army of volunteers out of Toronto to Montgomery’s Tavern In half and hour it was all over The rebels were beaten and the tavern was torched Mackenzie escaped and fled south to the U.S.

LOUIS-JOSEPH PAPINEAU Leader of the French-speaking majority in the Assembly He wanted French-speaking people to have a greater share in lawmaking Dedicated his life to preserving the French language, law and religion Lawyer Leader of the Reform party in Lower Canada He, and his supporters, became known as Patriotes They attacked the Chateau Clique (a group of wealthy, mostly British, families – equivalent to the Family Compact)

LOWER CANADA’S UH-OHS Economy was suffering Crops had failed Immigrants were flooding in Cholera (infection of the small intestine) epidemics had swept through the cities Leaving hundreds dead The British government, and the Chateau Clique, continued to upset Lower Canada They did not listen to any complaints Used tax money for their own benefit Used government positions to support themselves and the majority of citizens

REBELLION IN LOWER CANADA Nov. 6th 1837 fights break out in Montreal and other parts of Lower Canada The governor calls in troops Nov. 23rd 1837 Colonel Gore leads a British attack on Patriote headquarters in St. Denis Patriote’s win Nov. 25th, 1837 Government raids Patriote stronghold at St. Charles Town is burned and many dead Patriotes blame their defeat on old guns and that they were outnumbered 2-1.

MORE… AND… DONE Dec. 14th troops advance on St. Eustache Troops set fire to the church, where the patriotes were As the Patriotes flee, 70 are shot The town is looted Papneau flees to the USA The rebellion is over.

WHY THE REBELLION FAILED The Rebellion was not well planned and it lacked leadership Only 1 in 10 Patriotes had a gun They were not trained soldiers Many Patriotes were unwilling to go against the church Papineau was eventually pardoned and returned to Quebec in 1845

LORD DURHAM The rebels of 1837 certainly caught the attention of the British government In response: Great Britain suspended civil rights dissolved the assemblies of Upper and Lower Canada sent over a troubleshooter named Lord Durham to assess the situation and report back

“RADICAL JACK” In Lower Canada, he met mainly with English merchants In Upper Canada, he spent only 24 hours in Toronto, the main site of the unrest, but did meet with a moderate reformer, Dr. William Baldwin and his son Robert He hosted lavish and extravagant banquets He wined and dined disgruntled American representatives With his charm, he managed to soothe Canada’s strained relationship with the U.S.

KICKED TO THE CURB Durham’s mission ended after 5 months in Canada He had exiled prisoners to Bermuda – BERMUDA! Bermuda’s governor did not like this one bit He sailed back to England to defend himself. The following spring, he submitted his Report on the Affairs of British North America

LORD DURHAM’S REPORT In it, he made three central recommendations: That Upper and Lower Canada be united under one government (the better to overwhelm and assimilate the French Canadians) That the governor be required to name the leaders of the elected assembly as his ruling advisors. (That is, elected member would now, finally, be in control.) That the colonies be given authority over their own internal affairs. Only on imperial matters would the governor be allowed to override them. Simply put: The colonies should be given the same parliamentary rights available to the citizens of Britain.

ACT OF UNION The Act of Union was proclaimed on February 10, 1841 Among the terms: Upper and Lower Canada would be united under a single government The Assembly would have an equal number of representatives from both regions (even though Lower Canada had people and Upper Canada had only ). By under-representing the French, it was hoped the English would dominate the government and that this, in turn, would help speed up the inevitable Anglicization of French Canadians

ACT OF UNION Upper Canada’s public debt (1.2 million) would now be pooled with that of Lower Canada’s much smaller one (95 000). Again this was extremely – and intentionally – unfair to French Canadians. Upper Canada would now be known as “Canada West” and Lower Canada would be “Canada East”. The two would no longer be separate colonies, but regions within a single parliament English would be the only official language of government Created today’s French ‘separatism’

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What does a Clique refer to today? Can you think of a modern example of a clique? Compare and Contrast the causes and outcomes of the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada. (make it pretty – perhaps a poster) Why do you believe these two conflicts had different effects or outcomes? Brainstorm at least two reasons. (perhaps you will add these reasons to your poster)