Macdonald High School
[email protected] stewarthistory.weebly.com @stewarthistory History & Citizenship 10 Final Exam Review Notes British Rule: Power and Countervailing Powers Background : ❏ Great Britain conquers New France in 1763. They change the borders of New France, making it smaller, and change its name to Quebec . They also create a new constitution for the colony called the Royal Proclamation of 1763. ❏ The goal of the Royal Proclamation was to assimilate the French Canadiens by imposing on them the Protestant religion, English laws and the English language. However, Governor James Murray did not enforce the laws of the Royal Proclamation and was kind to the French; allowing them to remain Catholic, speak French and use French civil laws. ❏ In an effort to secure the loyalty of the French in the case of an American Revolution, the British created a new constitution called the Quebec Act of 1774 which gave back all the rights that the French lost under the Royal Proclamation. ❏ After the start of the American Revolution, Loyalists fled the 13 Colonies and arrived in Quebec. Along with the French middle class (petite bourgeoisie) they demanded the right to vote and have a Legislative Assembly . ❏ Another new constitution, the Constitutional Act of 1791, divided Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada and granted Loyalists and Canadiens their wish for a Legislative Assembly. However, things were not truly “free” or democratic because the Governor still had the right to “veto” or cancel any Legislative Assembly laws that he didn’t like. ❏ The lack of freedom in the colonies led to the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838. After the Rebellions were crushed, the British created yet another constitution to solve the problems in the colony. The 1840 Act of Union united Upper and Lower Canada in an effort to assimilate the French Canadiens and have English dominate the new Legislative Assembly. Power Structure From 1763 to 1791: ❏ The leader in Canada during the entire British Regime was the Governor General (i’ll call him the “GG” in these notes). The “GG” was appointed by the British Monarchy (King or Queen); he was not “ elected ” by the people of the colony! ❏ The GG took orders from Britain and had to enforce those orders in the colony with the help of the Legislative Council (group of friends the GG appointed; again NOT elected). Relationship Between the Church and State ❏ By 1760, right after Conquest, the Catholic Church was in a bad position in Quebec. They could no longer collect the church tax ( tithe ) and had no leader ( Bishop ). They HAD to be nice and work with the British authorities or else they would not survive in Quebec. ❏ From this point on, a strong relationship grew between the Church and the British Government; the Church would always support the government and encourage the Canadiens to do the same and, in return, the government would allow the Church to collect taxes and have a Bishop in the colony . Relationship between British Merchants and the State ❏ By 1763, as the first new British citizens arrived in the colony (mostly merchants), they had a harsh attitude towards the Canadiens. ❏ The British merchants decided that the colony should be English , not French! They wanted English laws, English language, Protestant religion and the end of the seigneurial system and tithes (church taxes). They also wanted a Legislative Assembly that would exclude French Canadiens. ❏ Governors Murray and Carleton opposed these demands as they were too harsh on the French, who were 99% of the population. ❏ These British merchants, although few in numbers, had connections in London and were able to get Murray “fired”; though, the new governor Guy Carleton was the same as Murray in his good treatment of the French. ❏ However, over time, these British merchants gained influence and power with the Governors and, using their money, influenced all the actions of the government for their benefit. They became the Governor’s closest advisors and a major reason why the people of Upper and Lower Canada felt the government was corrupt and undemocratic . Beginning of a Parliamentary Regime 1791­1840 ❏ With the arrival of British Loyalists in Quebec by the 1770’s and the growth of a new French “middle class” or bourgeoisie, the demands for a representative (elected) Legislative Assembly grew. ❏ These two groups got together and, as “ Reformers ”, were able to obtain a Legislative Assembly with the Constitutional Act of 1791 . ❏ However, this Assembly had no “real” power because the Governor had the right to “ veto ” or cancel any laws the Assembly created. ❏ Between 1791 and 1840 the Assembly of Lower Canada was dominated by 2 political parties: ❏ The Tory Party : Conservatives representing English merchants. ❏ The Parti Canadien : Reformers representing French Canadiens. Not happy with lack of democracy. Changed their name to Parti Patriote because they were becoming more rebellious. Relationship Between The Patriotes and the Governor ❏ Tension between the Canadiens and government grew over time due to the lack of rights and “democracy” in the colony. ❏ Louis Joseph Papineau , leader of the Parti Patriote, became the main voice of anger towards the British. ❏ In 1834, he and the Patriotes wrote a list of 92 “Resolutions” or demands of the British Government. ❏ The main demand was for “ Responsible Government ” or democracy; the right to vote for the leaders of the colony. ❏ The British Government’s representative, Lord Russell, responded with his list of 10 “Resolutions” which made the colony even more unfair towards the French. ❏ This was the last straw and the Patriotes were ready for violent protest; rebellion ! Militant Organizations ❏ Both sides of the debate in Lower Canada had organizations that were more radical than normal political parties. ❏ The French had the Societe St. Jean Baptiste de Montreal and the Fils de la LIberte while the English had the Doric Club . ❏ These groups were always quick to fight and street level confrontations occurred. The Rebellions of 1837­1838 ❏ The Patriotes used public assemblies and speeches to spread their pressure tactics like boycotting British products. The Fils de la Liberte were there to pressure people to pick up weapons and revolt. ❏ When street fights between the Doric Club and the Fils de la Liberte broke out, the Governor banned public meetings and this led to armed Rebellion by the Patriotes. ❏ The Patriotes were defeated by the British Army. Many Patriotes fled to the US, some were arrested and exiled to Australia and 12 were tried and executed . Act of Union 1840 ❏ After the Rebellions, Britain sent Lord Durham to investigate the causes and make a report. ❏ His report recommended the assimilation of the French and the establishment of Responsible Government. The British agreed to assimilate the French by uniting Upper and Lower Canada but did not trust the “colonials” enough to grant Responsible Government. Relationship between the Reform Party and the Tory Party ❏ Britain’s idea of assimilating the French by uniting the colonies didn’t work as the members of the Legislative Assembly worked together along political lines instead of language. ❏ In this way, a group of English and French Reformers led by Robert Baldwin and Louis Lafontaine created the Reform Party and were able to control the Assembly and push for Responsible Government. Gaining Ministerial Responsibility (Responsible Government) ❏ In Great Britain the Liberals took power and became more open to the idea of Responsible Government in Canada. ❏ In Canada, the Governor, Lord Elgin , granted Responsible Government to the Reform Party in 1848. ❏ The Reform Party immediately started to pass laws that had been banned before such as recognizing the French language in the Assembly and compensating victims of the Rebellions of 1837. ❏ Governor Elgin respected Responsible Government and did not veto the laws. ❏ The Tories (conservatives) became enraged and burned down the Parliament in Montreal. ❏ As a result of this anger among political parties, no party was able to win a majority government through the 1850’s. This led to the idea of a federal union (British North America Act or BNA Act) of colonies and the creation of Canada in 1867.