rebellions

• push factors

  • lack of opportunity
  • poverty
  • persecution
• pull factors

  • cheap, available land for farming
  • a healthier life
  • less of a class system
  • strong advertising in europe
• wants from different classes

  • upper - to rule --> "second sons"
  • middle - business opportunities
  • working - land for farming + escape from rigid class system in europe
• most of good land was taken/reserved by

  • absentee landlords
  • land speculators
  • crown
  • church
• the family compact

  • descendants of loyalists
  • believed in aristocracy + ties to britain
  • wealthy, aristocratic landowners
  • anglicans
  • used influence to benefit themselves
  • opposed democratic reforms
• chateau clique

  • mostly made up of english speaking merchants
  • controlled lower canada
  • 95% were english speaking protestants
  • aristocratic
  • wanted to assimilate the french canadians into their own culture
  • did not support the french canadians, their culture, or catholicism
• representative government - representatives are elected by the people to make laws on their behalf; representatives of the people
• responsible government - can be voted out by people if they are not happy with them; responsible to the people
• causes in upper canada

  • land + roads - land speculators, absentee landlords, crown + clergy reserves
  • government reform needed - decisions = unfair + don't serve the colony
  • response to "list of grievances - Robert Gourlay composed a list of problems people had and sent it to the government of GB; response was no and to arrest, imprison, and deport Gourlay
• moderate reformers

  • want religious freedom, education, better roads
  • want to keep connection w/ GB and work for freedom
  • willing to wait and work for change
• radical reformers

  • led by William Lyon Mackenzie
  • influenced by democratic ideas from the US and France
  • wanted what moderates wanted
  • wanted to end all ties to Britain
  • want immediate change
• William Mackenzie

  • "the Firebrand"
  • disagreed w/ moderates who wanted negotiation
  • wanted to destroy the Family Compact
  • became leader of Radical cause and was elected to Legislative assembly
  • wrote "seventh report on grievances"
• seventh report on grievances

  • addressed problems w/ the colonial system of government
  • sent to GB hoping the government would act on recommendations
  • government rejected it moving radicals closer to rebellion
• causes in lower canada

  • nationalism/discrimination
  • lack of representation - corrupt government; english minority ruling french majority
  • taxes - crop failure combined w/ high taxes
  • response to Papineau's "92 Resolutions" was no
• patriotes

  • radical group of reformers
  • majority of members were french canadian + irish immigrants
  • demanded an elected legislative council rather than appointed
  • --> meant that bills proposed by legislative assembly would be passed
  • wanted representative + responsible government
  • leader = Louis Joseph Papineau
• Papineau

  • from a seigneurial family
  • a lawyer who began as a moderate
  • became the speaker for the legislative assembly
  • leader of the Parti Canadien - reform minded political party
  • wrote "92 Resolutions"
• 92 Resolutions

  • described what the french wanted
  • sent to britain in hopes they would act on it
  • 3 years later, "10 Resolutions" was the reply - denied rights of the assembly
• tenant farmer - someone who farms land owned by someone else, keeping part of the produce as payment
• class system - a society in which those born into privileged groups have rights and advantages that others do not
• oligarchy - a government controlled by small group of wealthy, well-connected people
• absentee landlord - a person who owns and rents out a property but does not live in the region
• land speculator - those who buy property at a low price and sell it at a higher price, usually without spending much of their own money
• insurrection - revolution against the established government
• response to "the 10 Resolutions"

  • Papineau + other patriote leaders plan protests
  • rally in St. Denis - attempted arrest of Patriote leaders by british soldiers
  • leaders escape to Richelieu valley + british troops pursue them
• rebellion in lower canada

  • at St. Denis - Dr. Wolfred Nelson + the Fils de la Liberte led Patriotes into battle against british soldiers
  • british eventually ran out of ammunition + retreated
  • at some point, papineau escaped to the US
  • governor of LC was shocked about the win and was sent to UC for reinforcements
  • Sir Francis Bond Head, governor of UC, sent them
  • reinforcements = defeat for patriotes - both engaged in more skirmishes at st. charles and st. eustache but lost both
• reasons for patriotes' loss

  • church encouraged french to remain loyal to the crown
  • moderates did not want armed conflict
  • british had a professional, much larger army
  • rebellion was impulsive, not well planned
• rebellion in upper canada

  • moderates disappointed about 10 Resolutions + appointment of Bond head as governor who allied w/ the Family Compact
  • radicals made treasonous plans - began training a militia
  • mackenzie's goals - seize weapons + ammunition, take Bond Head prisoner, set up new government
  • Mackenzie ordered attack to begin from Montgomery's Tavern
  • militia fired then rebels returned fire + front lines dropped to take safer firing position - rebels behind thought they were killed + panicked + ran back to the Tavern
• punishments of rebels

  • public hangings of major leaders
  • over 100 rebels "transported" to Bermuda/Australia for 7 years - long voyage, imprisoned in low-ceiling lock-ups between decks, chained to walls/deck, no bathrooms/ventilation, extreme heat, many died of illnesses
  • upon arrivals - slave labour at plantations/government projects
• lord durham's report

  • the crown launched an investigation into the rebellions
  • John Lambton, earl of durham, was appointed governor-in-chief of the canadas + was to submit a report to the crown
  • report includes results of his investigation into the rebellion + his recommendations on how to solve problems
• durham's stay in the canadas

  • travelled to the US to patch up relations
  • appointed experts in colonial reform to his team to conduct investigations
  • treated captured rebels leniently, pardoned many
  • disregarded the councils + assembly
  • his enemies complained to GB that he wasn't following British law
  • he resigned + returned to GB to complete report
• durham's recommendations

  • join UC + LC into one colony
  • give them a responsible government, not full democracy
  • eventually join all of BNA into one colony
  • assimilate french
• response to durham's recommendations

  • britain agrees to creating one large colony called Canada
  • Queen Victoria sent Lord Sydenham to replace Durham
  • wrote the Act of Union, 1840 which joined UC + LC into Canada w/ Montreal as capital
  • responsible government not enacted until 1848
• french response to response of durham's report

  • changes = unfair
  • english becomes official language - all government documents must be in english
  • seats in legislature taken away from french despite higher population
  • LC had to pay of debts of UC
• results

  • rebellions = failures for radicals
  • britain would understand the situation in colonies wasn't sustainable
  • seeds planted for BNA to move towards a responsible government