Chapter Two: The Colonists- Land and Government Notes

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The Emergence of Upper and Lower Canada Notes

Upper and Lower Canada are two colonies in Ontario that run formerly ran along the St. Lawrence River

The Constitution Act of 1791 created the colonies

their creation was necessary because a large number of United Empire Loyalists were fleeing to Canada after the American Revolution

conflict arose due to the difference in language, culture, and religions (particularly the French people under British rule), as well as problems with the all-powerful oligarchies (the Family Compact and Chateau Clique)

Government In The Colonies

each colony had an elected legislative assembly

divided into voting districts, elect their representatives to the assembly

could create bills, but they had to be passed by the governor and the governing councils, all of which had veto power (these groups were made of the wealthy elite, which had different priorities then the poor farmers and regular citizens of the colonies)

Upper Canada

mainly English speakers

roughly corresponds to the modern day Ontario area (Near York, which is now Toronto)

population mostly consisted of United Empire Loyalists (who were the "HELL YES BRITAIN" immigrants that got kicked out of America)

mainly Protestant and used the English Law System (as well as speaking English)

settled along the water (bigger district)

The Ruling Class was the Family Compact (who married their cousins to preserve the blood lines)

This group was: Loyal to Britain (still official British citizens), wealthy and upper class, related through birth and marriage (which was super bad for the gene pool eventually), came from a conservative (or traditional) upbringing, and were all very well educated (the girls went to finishing school and the boys to secondary school in England)

Lower Canada

mainly French speakers

roughly corresponds to the modern day Quebec area

mainly Catholic and used French Civil Law (despite being and English colony)

The Ruling Class was the Chateau Clique (who married their cousins to preserve the blood lines)

This group was: of British ancestry, wealthy and upper class, related through birth and marriage (which was super bad for the gene pool eventually), brewers and bankers mostly, and wanted the French Canadians to adopt the British culture

The border between Upper and Lower Canada was the Ottawa River

Immigration to Upper and Lower Canada Notes

Why come to British North America?

The quest for land// to start a new life// get away from someone/something// employment// move where family/friends are

Push factors- overcrowding, disease, lack of farmland, pollution, religious and political controversy, labour-intensive economy, monarchy, representation in government

Pull factors- opportunity to own land, promise of cheap, fertile land, get away from monarchy, still able to have ties with Britain and their ideals

Who came to Canada?

Small landowners// tenant farmers// Scottish, Welsh, Irish and British populations, as well as the French

How did they get here?

coffin ships- cramped and unsanitary, illnesses like cholera, live in the cargo hold, higher chance of dying on a coffin ship then if they had stayed in their home country

Arrival into Canada- came in sick and diseased, where Lower Canada citizens thought Britain was sending over biological warfare to the colony of French people

*see The Land of Yesterday chart for full comparison of these settlements* *since it wouldn't go into these stupid notes*

Colonial Government Notes

at the time, the government was neither responsible nor representative

the government was indirectly run from Britain (based on the fact it was a colony still)

Oligarchy- small, elite groups of people (the Family Compact and the Chateau Clique) who had more in common witth the elite than the regular population

established in 1791, the Constitutional Act divided Upper and Lower Canada and gave each side a Legislative Assembly, a governor, and two councils (these two councils were the Legislative and Executive Councils) The hierarchy looked like this:

Governor (appointed by the British government)

Legislative Council (appointed by the governor, Chateau/Compact) Executive Council (appointed by Governor, all English speaking)

___________________________________________the above groups have the power of veto ________________________________

Legislative Assembly (Appointed by the people, no real power)

Many disputes were had over what was clergy and crown land (41% of all land was federal crown and, 48% of land was provincial crown land), but were ignored by the governor and councils, as well as vetoing over the idea of road building

Many felt that the Family Compact was to blame, and one land surveyor by the name of Gourlay made a list of the common folk and their grievances, which were completed ignored, and Gourlay was exiled from the colony

William Leon Mackenzie disagreed with the happenings, then riskily started a paper called the Colonial Advocate, in which his office was eventually destroyed over

he was elected the Legislative Council in 1828

In Lower Canada, three majors factors came into play as rebellion fell forward- the growing sense of nationalism, the cholera outbreak, and a protective stance over the French language as the English leaders tried to knock the French down

The Chateau Clique only supported the Church and wealthy land owners

religious conflict was also a major role in the rebellion

in Lower Canada, the English speaking people were only 25% of the population

Economy was the mainstay in Lower Canada, and as the population increased, the land available did not

This was followed by years of major crop failure, and the cost to import badic necessitates was heavy

These events led to an economic deficient and a struggle to pay taxes

The Face of Rebellion Notes

protestors were shot in 1822

the 92 resolutions were presented, then sent to London for approval. Only 10 were approved, and the ones that were approved didn't fix anything

lack of democracy, plus the cultural and language barriers, led to difficult times

The Maritime provinces had gotten peaceful reform, but it appeared that Lower and Upper Canada would not

Rebellion in Lower Canada

not enough troops from Britain to control both colonies

Upper and Lower Canada used this to coordinate attacks and rebel at the same time

planning of these rebellions was interrupted when 26 resisted arrest and began rebelling anyway (planned by Papineau)

the militant group (Sons of Liberty) began parading round Montreal with weapons

when troops attempted to arrest Papineau, full rebellion broke out

rebels organized in the country side under Wolfed Nelson's lead

November 23rd, 1837, the group defeated British troops and took the town of Saint Denis

English troops fought back and soon the rebellions were over, as the British troops had defeated and arrested the rebels. Many wondered what would have happened if the Catholic Church had stepped in to help the French

Rebellions in Upper Canada

Mackenzie and other radicals wanted American style democracy (even though USA was viewed as enemy, they still wanted a similar structure

Sir Francis Bond was appointed the new governor, abused his power and often sided with the Family Compact

When troops were sent to Lower Canada, Mackenzie planned to seize ammo and weapons and hold the new governor hostage

500 rebels marched to Yonge Street, armed, and someone went to warn Sir Francis, but was promptly shot in the head *bang*

A lot of British with cannons meant that the rebels got demolished to hell

Mackenzie and his supporters fled to Niagara Falls and declared the area the republic of Canada (why not?)

Mackenzie then tried to flee again, to the USA, was caught and arrested, and the hope for democracy ended

Aftermath

Act of Union in 1840 joined Upper and Lower Canada

Upper and Lower Canada still had the pre-existing quarrels with one another

Lord Durham was appointed as governor after the rebellions, he brought democracy but ignored French culture

upset the Family Compact and Chateau Clique

he was an elite, yet a reformer: he let the rebels off easily

he eventually resigned and went back to England but not before making recoomendations for a responsible government, and in 1841, the province of Canada was united with Montreal as the capital

French still were left angry and frustrated