Republic of Lower Canada
Appearance
Republic of Lower Canada République du Bas-Canada | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1838 | |||||||||
Status | Unrecognized | ||||||||
Capital | Napierville | ||||||||
Common languages | French, English | ||||||||
Government | Republic | ||||||||
President | |||||||||
• 1838 | Robert Nelson[1] | ||||||||
Legislature | Representative Democracy | ||||||||
Historical era | Lower Canada Rebellions | ||||||||
22 February 1838 | |||||||||
9 November 1838 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of |
The Republic of Lower Canada was a break-away state proclaimed in the aftermath of the Rebellions of 1837–1838. The defeat of the rebellion meant that the state could never be properly established.
History
[edit]Origins
[edit]A British colony since 1763, Canada was divided in two distinct entities in 1791: Lower Canada, mainly inhabited by the descendants of the colonists of New France, and Upper Canada, mainly inhabited by British colonists. Lower and Upper Canada had very frequent tensions with each other, which made governing difficult.[2]
Declaration of independence and 1838 invasions
[edit]Nelson declared himself president and read the Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada in front of thousands of people cheering him along in Napierville, Quebec.[3]
See also
[edit]- Patriote movement
- Republicanism in Canada
- Executions at the Pied-du-Courant Prison
- History of Quebec
References
[edit]- ^ Boissery 1995, p. 73.
- ^ Barczewski et al. 2014, p. 118.
- ^ Boissery 1995, p. 73, 76.
Sources
[edit]- Boissery, Beverley (1995). A Deep Sense of Wrong: The Treason, Trials and Transportation to New South Wales of Lower Canadian Rebels After The 1838 Rebellion. The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. ISBN 1-55002-242-3.
- Barczewski, Stephanie; Eglin, John; Heathorn, Stephen; Silvestri, Michael; Tusan, Michelle (October 30, 2014). Britain since 1688: A Nation in the World (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-60660-4.
External links
[edit]- Account of the events (Republiquelibre.org (French))