D. Invasion & Aftermath

From HCO Jr

5. Conflict & Change: The Rebellion Years → A. Background of Discontent → B. Lower Canada Rebellion → C. Upper Canada Rebellion → D. Invasion & Aftermath → E. Road to Responsible Government

Introduction

The rebellions in both Upper and Lower Canada were incredibly important events for the time. Canada had never experienced a rebellion before. People who lived in both Upper and Lower Canada wondered about the future. How would the British government react to the rebellions? How would the United States react to the rebellions? These were serious concerns that worried both the people and the politicians of both colonies.

The Hunters Lodges

Hunters' Lodges were groups of men who wanted to attack and liberate Upper and Lower Canada from British control. They were secret societies. This means that members of the lodges kept their membership hidden from other people. Members of the Hunters Lodges did not discuss what happened at their meetings with non-members.

Hunters Lodges were founded in 1838 by Canadian rebels who had escaped to the United States. They found support for their cause from American citizens who wanted to see Britain's Canadian colonies become part of the United States. For a short time the Hunters Lodges were very popular. They had over 40,000 members.

The Hunters Lodges sometimes launched small invasions of Canada. There was very little chance that they would be able to conquer either Upper or Lower Canada. They hoped that their invasions would stir the Canadian population to rise up against the British. This never happened. However, the British had to keep an army in both colonies to protect settlers from the invading rebels. Killing, injuring, and robbing by the Hunters instilled fear in the local population. Charges of disloyalty and republicanism increased. Pro-government volunteers used the raids as a pretext to continuing attacking their enemies. Martial law was invoked in Lower Canada. Anyone the British government suspected of supporting the Hunters Lodges could be arrested.

Several raids were launched against Lower Canada in 1838. These raids started in the border state of Vermont. Canadian supporters also started to attack small areas within Lower Canada. None of these raids and attacks were successful.

On November 21, 1838, the United States government became involved. It did not like independent raids being conducted across its border into British North America. It created bad relations between Britain and the United States. The U.S. government declared that any US citizen who took part in these raids would not be protected when they crossed back into the United States. This meant British troops could enter Vermont to capture any US citizen who took part in a raid against Canada. This decision by the US goverment stopped the Hunters Lodges. Within a few years the lodges ceased to exist.

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What to do with the Rebels?

Rebels in Upper Canada

Once the threat of the Hunters Lodges was dealth with, the British government had to decide what to do with the captured rebels. Jails in both Upper and Lower Canada were full of people who took part in the rebellions. There were more than 1000 rebels in Upper Canadian jails, and there were over 3000 rebels in the Lower Canadian jails. Jails at this time were very filthy and crowded. They were cold, and the food was horrible. Dozens of prisoners died in the jails without ever going to trial.

Men who were forced to join the rebel forces were released from prison. Some men who had joined the rebel cause only when violence erupted were also released. However, there were still a lot of rebels held in jail: 500 still remained in Upper Canadian jails. Senior rebel leaders were brought to trial on charges of murder. They were held responsible for the people who died in the rebellions. If found guilty they would be hanged.

Hanging of Upper Canada Rebels

Upper Canada received a new lieutenant-governor in 1838: Sir George Arthur. One of the first things he did when he arrived in the colony on March 23 was sign the death sentence for two rebel leaders: Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews. Both men had plead guilty in their trials. They both hoped they would be shown mercy by the court. However, the judge in their case, John Beverly Robinson, sentenced both me to death.

People sent petitions to the Executive Council of Upper Canada asking for mercy. In total, 35,000 people signed the petitions. However, Lieutenant-Governor Arthur would not change his mind. Arthur believed he should not show weakness towards those who supported the rebellion. Samuel Lount's wife, Elizabth, personally pleaded with Arthur to spare her husband. However, Arthur refused to change the sentence for either Lount or Matthews.

Elizabeth Lount Pleads for Mercy

Two months after her husband's hanging, Elizabeth Lount wrote a letter to John Beverley Robinson. In her letter she explained how horrible her life was not that her husband was gone. She had left Upper Canada to live in Michigan. Elizabeth Lount wrote that "by the cruely of the government, I find myself a widow, driven from my home and kindred and a stranger in a strange land." She said her husband, before he died, forgave the British for executing him. Elizabeth Lount wanted to know why the British could not forgive her husband.

Rebels in Lower Canada

British authorities handled things a little differently in Lower Canada. The rebellion in Lower Canada had been more serious than in Upper Canada. British officials were worried about bringing French rebel leaders to trial. These trials would be decided by a jury: a group of 12 men who decided if the person on trial was guilty or not guilty. These juries would be made up of largely French-Canadians. British officials were worried that French juries would not find the rebel leaders guilty.

Governor Colborne decided to set up a British military court to try to French Candian rebel leaders. On December 6, 1838, this military court began to try the rebels. Nine of the men were acquited (i.e.: found not guilty). Ninety-nine men were found guilty and given the death penalty. However, only twelve of these men were executed. Another 58 men were banished from the colony and sent to Australia (this penalty was called deportation). Another 27 men were set free by the authorities.

Hanging of Lower Canada Rebels

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Lord Durham

After the rebellions the British government suspended all government activity in both Upper and Lower Canada. From 1838 until 1841 the Legislative Assembly of both colonies was disbanded. Special councils were appointed to run the colonies.

On May 27, 1838, John Lambton (Lord Durham) landed at Quebec. He was appointed by the British parliament to be the new governor-general of British North America. Part of Lord Durham's job was to investigate the causes of the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada, and recommend changes to the British government to avoid rebellions in the future.

John Lambton, Lord Durham

Durham had a number of problems to deal with when he become governor. First, what should be do with all the people who supported the rebellions? It was estimated that 20,000 people took part in the rebellions: 13,000 in Lower Canada and 7,000 in Upper Canada. One thousand rebels were in Canadian jails, and thousands more had escaped to the United States. While the rebellions were both unsuccessful, it was obvious that a large number of people supported Papineau and Mackenzie.

Durham decided to concentrate on the main rebel leaders. He had nine Patriote leaders make confessions about their role in the Lower Canadian rebellion. Lord Durham banished eight of these men to the British colony of Bermuda. Durham then granted an amnesty to 107 jailed rebels. They were released from prison without any further punishment.

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Durham Reports on Canada

Durham only spent five months in Canada. During that time he spent only eight days in Lower Canada. Even though this was a very short time to spend in the colonies, Durham wrote his report for the British government. It was called the Report on the Affairs of British North America. Most historians today call it Durham's Report. Durham's Report is one of the most important reports in Canadian history. Durham did two important things in his report: he wrote about the causes of both rebellions, and he made recommendations to change how government works in Upper and Lower Canada.

Lord Durham

Durham had a lot of sympathy for the moderate reformers in Upper Canada. He said that conflict between the elected Legislative Assembly and the two appointed councils was the chief cause of the rebellion in Upper Canada. Durham was very harsh with the Family Compact in Upper Canada. He thought these families were holding back the colony, and causing a great deal of harm to the people of Upper Canada. Durham realized that moderate reformers did not want to break away from Britain. They only wanted to reform how government worked in Upper Canada.

Durham did not have any sympathy for the Patriotes in Lower Canada. He did recognize that a cause of the rebellions in Lower Canada was conflict between English and French-Canadians. Durham wrote in his report that "I expected to find a contest between a government and a people; I found two nations warring in the bosom of a single state; I found a struggle not of principles, but of races." Durham, however, thought French-Canadians were to blame for this problem. He believed that the French were a backwards people.

Durham came up with several recommendations to solve these problems. First, he said Upper and Lower Canada should be joined together into one colony. This would be the Province of Canada. This new colony would only have one government. People from the old colonies of Upper and Lower Canada (now called Canada West and Canada East) would vote and send representatives to this government.

Durham also recommended that this new government be based on the idea of responsible government. This was something the reformers in both colonies wanted. The governor of the new colony would chose his executive council from whichever party held the most seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Durham hoped this union of Upper and Lower Canada would help assimilate the French. Both Upper and Lower Canada would have an equal number of seats in the new government: each were given 42 seats. This meant that English representatives from both colonies would outnumber the French colonies. Durham also said that English should be the only official language of government.

Britain accepted some of Durham's recommendations. They did not want responsible government in the new Province of Canada. In 1841 the British government passed The Act of Union. The two colonies were now joined together.

Reformers in the new colony were not very happy. They wanted responsible government, but the British government did not give it to them. French-Canadians were worried that they would be dominated by the English in the new government. Some English-Canadians worried that the French representatives could not be trusted. It was not a very good start to this new government and colony.