The Lower Canada Rebellion (French: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion (Rébellion des patriotes) in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the British colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together with the simultaneous rebellion in the neighbouring colony of Upper Canada (now southern Ontario), it formed the Rebellions of 1837–38 (rébellions de 1837–38).
As a result of the rebellions, the Province of Canada was created from the former Lower Canada and Upper Canada.
History
The rebellion had been preceded by nearly three decades of efforts at political reform in Lower Canada, led from the early 1800s by James Stuart and Louis-Joseph Papineau, who formed the Parti patriote and sought accountability from the elected general assembly and the appointed governor of the colony. After the Constitutional Act 1791, Lower Canada could elect a House of Assembly, which led to the rise of two parties: the English Party and the Canadian Party. The English Party was mostly composed of the English merchants and bourgeoisie and had the support of bureaucrats and the old seigneurial families. The Canadian Party was formed by aristocrats, French or English. The Catholic Church did not openly advocate for any political party but tended to support the English party. With the power in the hand of the population, the French-Canadian business class needed support from the population more than from the British business class. Since the population was mostly French-Canadian, those elected to the House of Assembly tended to be French-speaking and to support the French-Canadian business class. The House of Assembly gave an illusion of power to French-Canadians, but the Executive and Legislative Councils advised the governor, who could veto any legislation. Both councils were made of people chosen by the English party. The appointed legislative council was dominated by a small group of businessmen known as the Château Clique, the equivalent of the Family Compact in Upper Canada.
In the early 19th century the economy of Lower Canada changed drastically. Logging became more important than agriculture and the fur trade, which worried those who worked in the fields. Activists in Lower Canada began to work for reform of the economic disfranchisement of the French-speaking majority and working-class English-speaking citizens. The rebellion opposed the colonial government's appointed upper house of the legislature. Many of those appointed were English-speaking. French speakers felt that English-speakers were disproportionately represented in the lucrative fields of banking, timber, and transportation.
Sir James Henry Craig, governor from 1807 to 1812, encountered multiple crises. He called elections three times in 16 months because he was not satisfied with the people elected even though they kept being re-elected. Craig thought that the Canadian Party and its supporters wanted a French-Canadian republic, and feared that if the United States invaded Lower Canada, the Canadian Party would collaborate. In 1810, Craig imprisoned journalists working for the Le Canadien newspaper, in particular Pierre-Stanislas Bédard, the leader of the Canadian Party and editor of the newspaper. That created a leadership crisis in the party.
During the War of 1812 many rumours circulated in the colony of a possible invasion. The French-Canadians depended on the protection of Britain, which created a certain unity in the colony during wartime.
At the same time, some among the English-speaking business elite advocated a union of Upper and Lower Canada to ensure competitiveness with the increasingly-large and powerful economy of the United States, while some rebels were inspired by the success of the American War of Independence. The British-appointed governor, George Ramsey, Earl of Dalhousie, favoured unification. In Lower Canada, the growing sense of nationalism among English- and the French-speaking citizens was organized into the Parti canadien, which, after 1826, was 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 as speaker. The elected assembly had little power since its decisions could be vetoed by either the 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 assembly speaker. Dalhousie mistakenly hoped that the elected members would change and then decided to prorogue the parliament. The population reacted by sending a petition signed by 87,000 people to London against Dalhousie. Reformers in England had Dalhousie reassigned to India, but the legislative council and the assembly were still unable to reach a compromise.
From 1828 to 1832, there was a brief calm, and the assembly was able to pass several important laws. In 1832, the Patriote newspapers published controversial articles about the Legislative Council, and both heads of the newspapers got arrested. That created a huge tension in the population against the British government, especially when the army shot three people in a crowd during a Montreal by-election in 1832 and nobody was arrested.
After hearing about the 99 grievances submitted by Robert Gourlay, Papineau wrote the "Ninety-two Resolutions" while he was secretly co-ordinating with Upper Canada. After protestors were shot in Montreal in 1832, Papineau had to submit the list of "resolutions" to the governor himself. The document that was presented to the House of Assembly on January 7, 1834, and had 92 demands to the British government. By 1834, the assembly had passed the Ninety-two Resolutions, outlining its grievances against the legislative council. The goal was to group all together, in a single document, the people's grievances. It was addressed to the British government to tell it the problems of the colony. The Patriotes were supported by an overwhelming majority of Lower Canada's population of all origins. There were popular gatherings all around the colony to sign a petition that was sent to London to show that the document was popular. In 1834, the Parti patriote swept the election by gaining more than three quarters of the popular vote.
When London received the resolutions, they asked Governor Lord Gosford to analyze it. At first, he was trying to attract the Patriotes away from Papineau and his influence. However, the same governor created a loyal militia made of volunteers to fight the Patriotes. In 1836, the government was able to vote some subsidies to the administration during the assembly because the assembly members from the City of Quebec decided to go against Papineau. The period of calm did not last long because a month later, Papineau found Gosford's secret instructions, which said that the British never planned on accepting the resolutions.
However, the reformers in Lower Canada were divided over several issues. A moderate reformer, John Neilson, had quit the party in 1830 and joined the Constitutional Association four years later. Papineau's anticlerical position alienated reformers in the Catholic Church, and his support for secular, rather than religious, schools resulted in opposition by the powerful Bishop, Jean-Jacques Lartigue, who called on all Catholics to reject the reform movement and to support the authorities, forcing many to choose between their religion and their political convictions.
In 1837, the Russell resolutions rejected all of the Patriotes' resolutions and gave the right to the governor to take subsidies without voting in the assembly. It also said that the legislative council would continue to be chosen by the Crown. The Russell Resolutions were adopted in Westminster by a huge majority.
Organizing for armed conflict
Papineau continued to push for reform. He petitioned the British government, but in March 1837 the administration of Lord Melbourne rejected all of Papineau's requests. After the Russell Resolutions were announced, the Patriotes used their newspapers to organize popular gatherings to inform people about their positions. They encouraged people to boycott British produce and illegally import goods from the United States. The gatherings took place all over Lower Canada, and thousands participated. Papineau attended most gatherings in the summer of 1837, to ensure that people would pressure the government only by political measures, such as the boycott of British produce.
Governor Gosford tried to forbid those gatherings but they were attended even by those loyal to him. At the end of the summer, many of Gosford's local representatives quit, in a show of support for the Patriotes. Gosford hired loyal people and tried to gain the Patriotes' trust by appointing seven French-Canadian members to the Legislative Assembly. In September and October 1837, a group of more radical Patriotes tried to intimidate the colonial government by going out into the street and rioting near the homes of certain loyalists. At the end of October, the largest of the Patriotes' gatherings took place in Saint-Charles, led by Wolfred Nelson. It lasted for two days and formed the Confédération des Six-Comtés.
Papineau organized protests and assemblies and eventually approved formation of the paramilitary Société des Fils de la Liberté during the Assembly of the Six Counties. In his last speech before the armed conflict, Papineau said that it was not yet time to fight. He thought that political actions could still avoid fighting. Wolfred Nelson made a speech immediately afterwards, saying that he disagreed with Papineau and thought that it was time to fight. After the Assembly of the Six Counties, the Patriotes were divided between supporters of Papineau and supporters of Nelson. On the other side, the supporters of the Russell Resolutions called a Constitutional Association led by Peter McGill and John Molson, and held gatherings around the province calling for government troops to return order to the colony.
On November 6, 1837, Les Fils de la Liberté were holding a meeting in Montreal, when the Doric Club began fighting with them and violence and vandalism broke out across the city of Montreal. Arrest warrants were issued for those responsible for the leaders of the Assembly of the Six Counties.
Taking up arms
The first armed conflict occurred in 1837 when the 26 members of the Patriotes who had been charged with illegal activities chose to resist their arrest by the authorities under the direction of John Colborne. Arrest warrants against Papineau and other assembly members were issued. They left Montreal and hid in the countryside. Papineau escaped to the United States (later to return and serve in the Parliament). Other rebels organized in the countryside.
On November 16, Constable Malo travelled to Saint-Jean and arrested three Patriotes. About 150 Patriotes were waiting for them at Longueuil and liberated the prisoners. The victory affected the morale of the Patriotes, who knew that government troops would soon intervene. Although there was doubt the Patriotes were ready to fight regular soldiers, a rebel force, led by Wolfred Nelson, defeated a government force in the Battle of Saint-Denis on November 23, 1837. Nelson had 800 people fighting with him, half of them equipped with firearms. When confidence among the Patriote supporters wavered, Nelson threatened them to make sure they did not leave. To the surprise of many, Papineau was not there during the battle.
Government troops beat back the rebels two days later, defeating them at Saint-Charles. At the Battle of Saint-Charles, the Patriotes were defeated. General Brown was confident but was not a capable commander. There was no discipline in the camp. Different people offered him men, but he turned down all the offers. Once the battle started, Brown escaped the fight. After the Battle of Saint-Charles, Nelson tried to keep Saint-Denis safe, but knew there was no hope. The main leaders, including Papineau, O'Callaghan, and Nelson, left for the United States.
Meanwhile, On December 5, the government declared martial law in Montreal.