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125-626: The first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada , John Graves Simcoe , interpreted "Protestant clergy" to mean the clergy of Church of England only. However, in 1823 the Law Officers of the Crown held that the Church of Scotland was also entitled to a share of the revenues under the 1791 Act. Although Lt-Governor Maitland attempted to suppress the publication of that decision, the Legislature passed resolutions

250-496: A checkerboard pattern within each township, and were a serious obstacle to economic development as they were effectively wasteland , either being abandoned by lessees after the timber had been fully harvested, or unattractive because of the availability of cheap freehold land. This was recognized by the Legislative Assembly in 1817 when it passed resolutions that condemned the lands as "insurmountable obstacles" and called on

375-582: A depression in the Anglo-American world. This was worsened in Upper Canada by bad wheat harvests in 1836 and farmers were unable to pay their debts. Most banks – including the Bank of Upper Canada – suspended payments by July 1837 and successfully obtained government support while ordinary farmers and the poor did not. One fifth of British immigrants to Upper Canada were impoverished and most immigrant farmers lacked

500-625: A growing interest in American-inspired republicanism in the province because of the increase in immigration of American settlers to the province. The large number of migrants led American legislators to speculate that bringing Upper Canada into the American fold would be a "mere matter of marching". After the War of 1812 the colonial government prevented Americans from swearing allegiance, thereby making them ineligible to obtain land grants. Relations between

625-754: A later date by arbitrators appointed under s. 142 of the British North America Act, 1867 . The funds were awarded to each province respectively in September 1870, and the award itself was held to be valid by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in March 1878. In Ontario, the Fund continued to be accounted for separately until the passage of an Act in 1908, where all special funds were declared to form part of

750-917: A majority in the elections held in 1834 for the Legislative Assembly of the 12th Parliament of Upper Canada but the Family Compact held the majority in the Legislative Council. The union was reorganized as the Canadian Alliance Society in 1835 and adopted much of the platform of the Owenite National Union of the Working Classes in London , England, that were to be integrated into the Chartist movement in England. In pursuit of this democratic goal,

875-481: A messenger to Lount to tell him not to arrive until December 7 but was unable to reach Lount in time. The men gathered at Montgomery's Tavern but were disappointed at the lack of preparation and the failure of the Lower Canada rebels. Although Lount wanted to launch an attack that night, other rebels leaders rejected that plan so that the troops could rest after their march and they could get information from Rolph about

1000-566: A nation in 1867. Many of the grievances which underlay the Rebellion involved the provisions of the Constitutional Act of 1791, which had created Upper Canada's political framework. The Family Compact dominated the government of Upper Canada and the financial and religious institutions associated with it. They were the leading members of the administration: executive councillors, legislative councillors, senior officials and some members of

1125-416: A negotiation with Rolph, who accepted. Rolph and Robert Baldwin met the rebel troops at Gallows Hill and stated the government's proposal of full amnesty to the rebels if they dispersed immediately. Lount and Mackenzie asked that this offer be presented in a written document and a convention be organised to discuss the province's policies. When Rolph and Baldwin returned to Bond Head, they were informed that

1250-462: A new society. First, the cash-strapped Crown government in Canada could pay and reward the services and loyalty of the "United Empire Loyalists" who, originated outside of Canada, without encumbrance of debt by being awarded with small portions of land (under 200 acres or 80 hectares) with the proviso that it be settled by those to which it was granted; Second, portions would be reserved for the future use of

1375-479: A proclamation 16 July 1792 divided these districts into the nineteen original counties of Ontario: Glengarry, Stormont, Dundas, Grenville, Leeds, Frontenac, Ontario, Addington, Lennox, Prince Edward, Hastings, Northumberland, Durham, York, Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent. By 1800, the four districts of Eastern, Midland, Home and Western had been increased to eight, the new ones being Johnston, Niagara, London and Newcastle. Additional districts were created from

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1500-625: A provincial convention – which the government considered dangerous and seditious. Gourlay was tried in December 1818 under the 1804 Sedition Act and jailed for 8 months. He was banished from the province in August 1819. His expulsion made him a martyr in the reform community. The next wave of organised Reform activity emerged in the 1830s through the work of William Lyon Mackenzie , James Lesslie , John Rolph , William John O'Grady and Dr Thomas Morrison , all of Toronto. They were critical to introducing

1625-575: A rebellion began in Toronto. The mayor of Toronto refused to ring the City Hall bell if a rebellion began because he felt Fitzgibbon was causing unnecessary concern over a possible revolt. A Tory supporter obtained a copy of Mackenzie's declaration and showed it to authorities in Toronto. Government officials met at the Lieutenant Governor's residence on December 2 to discuss how to stop rumours of

1750-425: A rebellion. Fitzgibbon warned the men of rebels forging pikes north of the city and he was appointed adjutant general of the militia. Rolph tried to warn Mackenzie about the warrant for his arrest but could not find him so delivered the message to Lount instead. Upon receiving Rolph's message Lount marched a group of rebels into Toronto for December 4. When hearing about this change, Mackenzie quickly tried to send

1875-449: A sarcastic tone that belittled reformers. The Reform-dominated Assembly responded by refusing to pass the money bill , which halted the payment of salaries and pensions to many government workers. Bond Head then refused to pass any legislation from that government session including major public works projects. This caused a recession in Upper Canada. The movement was disappointed when Bond Head made it clear he had no intention of consulting

2000-520: A similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. They held a consultative position, however, and did not serve in administrative offices as cabinet ministers do. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually members of the Legislative Council. The Legislative branch of the government consisted of

2125-540: Is the epithet applied to an oligarchic group of men who exercised most of the political and judicial power in Upper Canada from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was noted for its conservatism and opposition to democracy. The uniting factors amongst the Compact were its loyalist tradition, hierarchical class structure and adherence to the established Anglican Church. Leaders such as John Beverley Robinson and John Strachan proclaimed it an ideal government, especially as contrasted with

2250-621: The Pays d'en Haut which had formed part of New France , essentially the watersheds of the Ottawa River or Lakes Huron and Superior , excluding any lands within the watershed of Hudson Bay . The "upper" prefix in the name reflects its geographic position along the Great Lakes , mostly above the headwaters of the Saint Lawrence River , contrasted with Lower Canada (present-day Quebec ) to

2375-628: The Quebec Act in 1774, which expanded the Quebec colony's authority to include part of the Indian Reserve to the west (i.e., parts of southern Ontario ), and other western territories south of the Great Lakes including much of what would become the United States' Northwest Territory , including the modern states of Illinois , Indiana , Michigan , Ohio , Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota . After

2500-625: The 1854 general election , in conjunction with the abolition of seigneurial tenure in Lower Canada , the lands were finally removed from church control and secularized under an Act of the Parliament of the Province of Canada , under which: Reform of the clergy reserves was a major issue in Canadian politics from its creation until its abolition. The controversy stemmed from the fact that many supporters of

2625-795: The American War of Independence ended in 1783, Britain retained control of the area north of the Ohio River. The official boundaries remained undefined until 1795 and the Jay Treaty . The British authorities encouraged the movement of people to this area from the United States, offering free land to encourage population growth. For settlers, the head of the family received 100 acres (40 ha) and 50 acres (20 ha) per family member, and soldiers received larger grants. These settlers are known as United Empire Loyalists and were primarily English-speaking Protestants. The first townships (Royal and Cataraqui) along

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2750-576: The Bank of Upper Canada , and the two land companies (the Clergy Corporation and the Canada Company ) that between them controlled two-sevenths of the land in the province. Lacking the minimum capital needed to found the bank, the corporate leaders persuaded the government to subscribe for a quarter of its shares. During the 1830s, a third of the bank's board were Legislative or Executive Councillors, and

2875-721: The Chartist movement in England. The Canadian Alliance Society was reborn as the Constitutional Reform Society (1836), when it was led by the more moderate reformer, Dr William W. Baldwin. After the disastrous 1836 elections, it took the final form as the Toronto Political Union in 1837. It was the Toronto Political Union that called for a Constitutional Convention in July 1837, and began organising local "Vigilance Committees" to elect delegates. This became

3000-552: The Family Compact incurred as the results of general improvements to the province, such as the Welland Canal . The Upper Canada legislature refused to pass a supply bill in 1836 after Bond Head refused to implement responsible government reforms. In retaliation Bond Head refused to sign any bills passed by the assembly, including public work projects. This contributed to economic hardship and increased unemployment throughout

3125-577: The Home District and Simcoe County created weapons for the rebellion. On October 9, 1837, a messenger from the Patriotes of Lower Canada informed Mackenzie that the rebellion in Lower Canada was going to begin. Mackenzie gathered reformers at John Doel's brewery and proposed kidnapping Bond Head, bringing him to city hall and forcing him to let the Legislature choose the members of the Executive Council. If Bond refused, they would declare independence from

3250-521: The parliament comprising legislative council and legislative assembly . When the capital was first moved to Toronto (then called York) from Newark (present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake ) in 1796, the Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada were at the corner of Parliament and Front Streets, in buildings that were burned by US forces in the War of 1812, rebuilt, then burned again by accident in 1824. The site

3375-657: The "Corporation for Superintending, Managing and Conducting the Clergy Reserves within the Province of Lower-Canada", was constituted with the Bishop of Quebec (initially the Right Rev. Jacob Mountain ) as perpetual Principal and Director, and with rectors of four parishes within the diocese constituted as perpetual directors. In 1828, a British parliamentary committee reported that leases were being granted on certain terms: The reserve lands generated little income in Lower Canada, with

3500-404: The "baneful domination" of the mother country. Struggling to avoid the charge of sedition, reformers later purposefully obscured their true aims of independence from Britain and focused on their grievances against the Family Compact. Thus, responsible government became a "pragmatic" policy of alleviating local abuses, rather than a revolutionary anti-colonial moment. William Kilbourn stated that

3625-473: The 1838 report written by Lord Durham ), where William Lyon Mackenzie exclaimed to the crowd outside Montgomery's Tavern : Stick true to the cause of Liberty, and you shall, every man of you, have three hundred Acres of Land and a piece out of the Clergy Reserves! The Parliament of Upper Canada passed a bill to sell the reserves in 1840, but the Governor General reserved the bill for consideration by

3750-898: The Atheist, the Infidel, the Pagan, the Mussulman, the Romanist, the Mormon and the Protestant? Is the kingdom of Satan, in whatever shape it may appear, to enjoy the same public favor as the Kingdom of God? Is a Christian Church, a Pagan temple, and a mosque, to be equally held in honor? In one word, is "the freedom of the City to be bestowed on all the gods of mankind?" Following the victory of Augustin-Norbert Morin and Allan MacNab in

3875-687: The British Empire. Reformers such as Thomas David Morrison opposed this plan and the meeting ended without consensus on what to do next. The next day Mackenzie convinced John Rolph that a rebellion could be successful and happen without anyone being killed. Rolph convinced Morrison to support the rebellion but they also told Mackenzie to get confirmation of support from rural communities. Mackenzie sought out support in rural communities but he also proclaimed that an armed rebellion would happen on December 7 and assigned Samuel Lount and Anthony Anderson as commanders. Rolph and Morrison were reluctant about

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4000-659: The British North American colonies, so that Arthur reported to Durham. Durham was assigned to report on the grievances among the British North American colonists and find a way to appease them. His report eventually led to greater autonomy in the Canadian colonies and the union of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada in 1840. Over 800 people were arrested after the rebellion for being Reform sympathisers. Van Egmond died of an illness he acquired while imprisoned while Lount and Peter Matthews were sentenced to

4125-534: The British Political Unions to Upper Canada. Political Unions were not parties. The unions organised petitions to Parliament. The Upper Canada Central Political Union was organised in 1832–33 by Dr Thomas David Morrison (mayor of Toronto in 1836) while William Lyon Mackenzie was in England. This union collected 19,930 signatures on a petition protesting Mackenzie's unjust expulsion from the House of Assembly by

4250-802: The British government, which disallowed the bill. The British then enacted the Clergy Reserves in Canada Act 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 78) later in that year. Although considered to be more favourable to the Church of England, the Act as passed provided that only one-half of future sales would be dedicated on a 2:1 basis to the Churches of England and Scotland, with the remaining half being distributed to all other churches according to their respective strengths. The administration of

4375-569: The British under Robert Rogers took formal control of the Great Lakes region in 1760. Fort Michilimackinac was occupied by Roger's forces in 1761. The territories of contemporary southern Ontario and southern Quebec were initially maintained as the single province of Quebec, as it had been under the French. From 1763 to 1791, the Province of Quebec maintained its French language, cultural behavioural expectations, practices and laws. The British passed

4500-598: The Chartists eventually staged a similar armed rebellion, the Newport Rising , in Wales in 1839. The Canadian Alliance Society was reborn as the Constitutional Reform Society in 1836, and led by the more moderate reformer, William W. Baldwin . The Society took its final form as the Toronto Political Union in 1837 and they organized local "Vigilance Committees" to elect delegates to a Constitutional Convention in July 1837. This became

4625-479: The Church of England's autonomous control of the clergy reserves on the model of the Clergy Corporation of Lower Canada, created in 1817. The Clergy Corporation , of which Strachan became the chairman, was subsequently incorporated in 1819 to manage the clergy reserves. The 1819 charter (drafted by Strachan's former student, Attorney General John Beverly Robinson ) provided for the Bishop of Quebec to become

4750-488: The Crown (for which 22,345 acres (9,043 ha) were set aside), where the revenues would be remitted to the Church. The act also provided for the creation of parish rectories , giving parishes a corporate identity so that they could hold property (although none were created until 1836, prior to the recall of John Colborne , in which he created 24 of them). They were granted lands amounting to 21,638 acres (8,757 ha), of which 15,048 acres (6,090 ha) were drawn from

4875-407: The Crown and the clergy that did not require settlement by which to gain control. Lt. Governor Simcoe saw this as the mechanism by which an aristocracy might be created, and that compact settlement could be avoided with the grants of large tracts of land to those Loyalists not required to settle on it as the means of gaining control. The Calton weavers were a community of handweavers established in

5000-475: The Crown providing goods for the people. Reformers such as Mackenzie and Samuel Lount lost their seats in the Legislature and they alleged that the election was fraudulent. They prepared a petition to the Crown protesting the abuses, carried to London by Charles Duncombe , but the Colonial Office refused to hear him. The new Tory-dominated Legislature passed laws that exacerbated tensions including continuing

5125-413: The Executive Council in the daily operations of the administration. The Executive Council resigned, provoking widespread discontent and an election in 1834. Unlike previous Lt. Governors, Bond Head actively supported Tory candidates and utilized Orange Order violence in order to ensure their election. He appealed to the people's desire to remain part of the British Empire and a paternalistic attitude of

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5250-580: The Family Compact. This union was reorganised as the Canadian Alliance Society (1835). It shared a large meeting space in the market buildings with the Mechanics Institute and the Children of Peace . The Canadian Alliance Society adopted much of the platform (such as secret ballot & universal suffrage) of the Owenite National Union of the Working Classes in London, England, that were to be integrated into

5375-571: The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. On 1 February 1796, the capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake ) to York (now Toronto ), which was judged to be less vulnerable to attack by the US. The Act of Union 1840, passed 23 July 1840 by the British Parliament and proclaimed by the Crown on 10 February 1841, merged Upper Canada with Lower Canada to form the short-lived United Province of Canada . Upper Canada's constitution

5500-486: The Indigenous peoples. Some of the treaties spelled out designated reserve lands for the Indigenous peoples. Following the War of 1812, European settlers came in increasing numbers. The Indian Department focussed on converting the Indigenous peoples to abandon their old way of life and adopt agriculture. The treaties shifted from one-time payments in exchange to annual annuities from the sale of surrendered lands. Between 1825 and 1860, treaties were concluded for nearly all of

5625-422: The Inspector General and Surveyor General, controlled the Board. These three members were part of the Family Compact , of which Strachan was the leader. The reserves were allotted in lots of 200 acres (81 ha), generally intermixed with other lots sold to individuals within each surveyed township . Except in the Talbot Settlement (where they were located off the main roads), they were generally arranged in

5750-412: The Inspector General and the Surveyor General to the board, and made a quorum of three for meetings; these two public officers also sat on the Legislative Council with Strachan. These three were usually members of the Family Compact. The clergy reserves were not the only types of landed endowment for the Anglican Church and clergy. The 1791 Act also provided for glebe land to be assigned and vested in

5875-426: The Legislative session after the death of the King, prohibiting members of the Legislature from serving as Executive Councillors, making it easier to sue indebted farmers, protecting the Bank of Upper Canada from bankruptcy, and giving Legislative Councillors charters for their own banks. On July 10, 1832, US President Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill for the refinancing of the Second Bank of the United States , causing

6000-401: The Militia, the Attorney General , the Auditor General of Land Patents for Upper Canada , the Auditor General (only one appointment ever made), Crown Lands Office , Indian Office , Inspector General , Kings' Printer , Provincial Secretary and Registrar's Office , Receiver General of Upper Canada , Solicitor General , and Surveyor General . The Executive Council of Upper Canada had

6125-412: The Mormons, and the Holy Bible, to be held equally sacred? And are the public authorities, the organs by which the nation acts, to take any of these indifferently as the rule to direct them in their public proceedings? And in a nation of Protestants, who have high and peculiar interests to preserve and transmit to posterity, are all places of power and trust, and even the Throne itself, to be open equally to

6250-404: The Parliament in Westminster to authorize their sale. Until 1827, no reserve lands were sold. They were leased for terms of twenty-one years, with rents on a sliding scale : Even with higher rates being charged from 1819, total annual revenues were still only £1200 in 1824, and only one-third could be collected without pursuing legal action. In 1826, the Canada Company was formed to sell off

6375-452: The Patriot War in 1838–39. John Lambton, Lord Durham 's support for " responsible government " undercut the Tories and gradually led the public to reject what it viewed as poor administration, unfair land and education policies, and inadequate attention to urgent transportation needs. Durham's report led to the administrative unification of Upper and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada in 1841. Responsible government did not occur until

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6500-474: The Rev. John Strachan was appointed to the Executive Council, the advisory body to the Lieutenant Governor, in 1815, he began to push for the Church of England's autonomous control of the clergy reserves on the model of the Clergy Corporation created in Lower Canada in 1817. Although all clergymen in the Church of England were members of the body corporate, the act prepared in 1819 by Strachan's former student, Attorney General John Beverly Robinson , also appointed

6625-424: The St. Lawrence and eastern Lake Ontario were laid out in 1784, populated mainly with decommissioned soldiers and their families. "Upper Canada" became a political entity on 26 December 1791 with the Parliament of Great Britain 's passage of the Constitutional Act of 1791 . The act divided the province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada , but did not yet specify official borders for Upper Canada. The division

6750-447: The State of Upper Canada that closely resembled the objectives in the constitution of the Canadian Alliance Society in 1834. Mackenzie printed broadsheets listing grievances and a call to arms to communities surrounding Toronto. Mackenzie also printed handbills declaring independence which were distributed to citizens north of Toronto. Bond Head did not believe the reports that stated the severity of resources and discontent gathered by

6875-440: The Windmill , just eleven months after the initial battle at Montgomery's Tavern. The British government was concerned about the rebellion, especially in light of the strong popular support for the rebels in the United States and the Lower Canada Rebellion . Bond Head was recalled in late 1837 and replaced with Sir George Arthur who arrived in Toronto in March 1838. Parliament also sent Lord Durham to become Governor-in-Chief of

7000-436: The appointed Legislative Council and the elected Legislative Assembly became increasingly strained in the years after the war, over issues of immigration, taxation, banking and land speculation. The Upper Canada Central Political Union was organized in 1832–33 by Thomas David Morrison and collected 19,930 signatures on a petition protesting William Lyon Mackenzie's expulsion from the House of Assembly. The Reformers won

7125-458: The average annual profit from such activity amounting to only £3 between 1791 and 1837. Pressure arose to reform the entire structure of the reserves, but the government of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine chose not to proceed on such a course, because of the resistance of the established churches and the roadblocks presented by the 1791 Act. However, such caution eventually came to be seen as inflexibility, which would be overcome by

7250-423: The capital to pay for purchased land. Debt collection laws allowed them to be jailed indefinitely until they paid their loans to merchants. In March 1837 the Tories passed a law making it cheaper to sue farmers by allowing city merchants to sue in the middle of harvest. If the farmer refused to come to court in Toronto, they would automatically forfeit the case and their property subjected to a sheriff's sale. Among

7375-422: The city and Mackenzie marched his troops towards Toronto. A group of twenty-six men led by Samuel Jarvis met the rebels on their march and fired upon them before running away. The rebels believed there were several battalions of troops firing upon them and several ran away. Lount encouraged some riflemen to return fire before realising that the enemy had left the battlefield. Lount and the riflemen marched to find

7500-616: The clergy reserves and other glebe lots, while 6,950 acres (2,810 ha) were taken from ordinary Crown lands. A later suit to have this action annulled was dismissed by the Court of Chancery of Upper Canada . The Province of Canada would later pass an Act in 1866 to authorize the disposal of such glebe and rectory lands not specifically used as churches , parsonages or burial grounds . In 1797, lands in twelve townships (six east of York, and six west, totalling about 500,000 acres (200,000 ha), were set aside, from which revenues arising from their sale or lease were dedicated to support

7625-520: The community of Calton , then in Lanarkshire just outside Glasgow , Scotland in the 18th century. In the early 19th century, many of the weavers emigrated to Canada, settling in Carleton Place and other communities in eastern Ontario , where they continued their trade. In 1825, 1,878 Irish Immigrants from the city of Cork arrived in the community of Scott's Plains. The British Parliament had approved an experimental emigration plan to transport poor Irish families to Upper Canada in 1822. The scheme

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7750-407: The elected assembly's legislative role, leaving elected politicians to simply review the administration's legislative program and budgets. The First Nations occupying the territory that was to become Upper Canada were: Prior to the creation of Upper Canada in 1791, much land had already been ceded by the First Nations to the Crown in accordance with the Royal Proclamation of 1763 . The first treaty

7875-436: The establishment of grammar schools and a university for the Province. They were distributed as follows: Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario ) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (present-day Quebec ), which started

8000-447: The existing districts as the population grew until 1849, when local government mainly based on counties came into effect. At that time, there were 20 districts; legislation to create a new Kent District was never completed. Up until 1841, the district officials were appointed by the lieutenant-governor, although usually with local input. Justices of the Peace were appointed by the Lt. Governor. Any two justices meeting together could form

8125-436: The following year that recognized that church's status. Complications in establishing leasing procedures prevented the reserve lands from being leased before 1803. Until 1819, the reserve lands were managed by the Province, and in most years they earned revenues that were barely sufficient to cover their expenses. After the Rev. John Strachan was appointed to the Executive Council of Upper Canada in 1815, he began to push for

8250-518: The former rebels were compensated by the Canadian government for their lost property in the rebellion aftermath. The rebels from Toronto travelled to the United States in groups of two. Mackenzie, Duncombe, Rolph and 200 supporters fled to Navy Island in the Niagara River and declared themselves the Republic of Canada on December 13. They obtained supplies from supporters in the United States, resulting in British reprisals (see Caroline affair ). On January 13, 1838, under attack by British armaments,

8375-450: The gallows for leading the rebellion. Other rebels were also sentenced to hang and ninety-two men were sent to Van Diemen's Land . A group of rebels escaped their prison at Fort Henry and travelled to the United States. A general pardon for everyone but Mackenzie was issued in 1845, and Mackenzie himself was pardoned in 1849 and allowed to return to Canada, where he resumed his political career. John Charles Dent , writing in 1885, said

8500-474: The government troops. They agreed to send sixty men to the Don Bridge to divert government troops. That afternoon a sentinel reported the government force's arrival from Gallows Hill. At this point only 200 men at Montgomery's Tavern were armed. The armed forces were split into two companies and went to fields on both sides of Yonge Street. The rebels without arms were sent to the tavern with their prisoners. The government forces also split into two companies when

8625-446: The government's offer had been withdrawn. Rolph and Baldwin relayed the rejection to the rebels, and Rolph told Mackenzie that they should attack as soon as possible because the city was poorly defended. Instead, Mackenzie spent the day burning down the house of Bank of Upper Canada official and questioning the loyalty of his troops. A few hours later Rolph sent a messenger to Mackenzie that Toronto rebels were ready for their arrival to

8750-418: The government. At noon Bond Head ordered that the troops, consisting of 1200 men and two cannons, march towards the rebels. Anthony Van Egmond arrived at the tavern on December 7 and encouraged the rebel leaders to disperse, as he felt the rebellion would not be a success. His advice was rejected, so he proposed entrenching and defending their position at the tavern. Mackenzie disagreed and wanted to attack

8875-455: The judiciary. Their administrative roles were intimately tied to their business activities. For example, William Allan "was an executive councillor, a legislative councillor, President of the Toronto and Lake Huron Railroad, Governor of the British American Fire and Life Assurance Company and President of the Board of Trade." Members of the Family Compact utilized their official positions for monetary gain, especially through corporations such as

9000-448: The land-mass of the future province of Ontario. In 1836, Manitoulin Island was designated as a reserve for dispossessed natives, but much of this was ceded in 1862. Crown land policy to 1825 was multi-fold in the use of a "free" resource that had value to people who themselves may have little or no money for its purchase and for the price of settling upon it to support themselves and a create

9125-457: The late 1840s under Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine . After the Rebellions, the new governor, Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham , proved an exemplary Utilitarian , despite his aristocratic pretensions. This combination of free trade and aristocratic pretensions needs to be underscored; although a liberal capitalist, Sydenham was no radical democrat. Sydenham approached

9250-466: The lease of these lands was claimed by the Rev. John Strachan on behalf of the Church of England . These reserves were directly administered by the Crown; which, in turn, came under increasing political pressure from other Protestant bodies. The Reserve lands were to be a focal point of dissent within the Legislative Assembly. The Clergy Corporation was incorporated in 1819 to manage the clergy reserves. After

9375-412: The letter and continued his plan for rebellion. On Wednesday morning Peter Matthews arrived at the tavern with sixty men, but Mackenzie could still not convince the rebel forces to march towards Toronto. Instead, they decided to wait for Anthony Van Egmond to lead the rebellion into Toronto. The rebels raided a mail coach, stole the passenger's money and looked for information about the progress of

9500-613: The lowest level of the justice system, the Courts of Request. A Court of Quarter Sessions was held four times a year in each district composed of all the resident justices. The Quarter Sessions met to oversee the administration of the district and deal with legal cases. They formed, in effect, the municipal government until an area was incorporated as either a Police Board or a City after 1834. Incorporated in Upper Canada era (to 1841) Incorporated in Canada West (1841-1867) The Family Compact

9625-409: The more than 150 lawsuits they launched that year, the Bank of Upper Canada, sued Sheldon, Dutcher & Co., a foundry and Toronto's largest employer with over 80 employees in late 1836, bankrupting the company. Mackenzie's first plan for rebellion involved calling on Sheldon & Dutcher's men to storm the city hall, where the militia's guns were stored. The Reformers were incensed at the debt that

9750-497: The neck and escaped back to Toronto to report to Bond Head. The rebel leaders met that night to discuss who would become the rebellion's leader after the death of Anderson and Lount's refusal to lead on his own. It was decided that Mackenzie would become the leader. At noon on December 5, Mackenzie gathered the rebels and marched them towards Toronto. Meanwhile, Bond Head proposed a negotiating session with rebel leaders to Marshall Spring Bidwell , who declined. Bond Head then offered

9875-548: The northeast. Upper Canada was the primary destination of Loyalist refugees and settlers from the United States after the American Revolution , who often were granted land to settle in Upper Canada. Already populated by Indigenous peoples, land for settlement in Upper Canada was made by treaties between the new British government and the Indigenous peoples, exchanging land for one-time payments or annuities. The new province

10000-535: The organizational structure for the Rebellion and most of the rebel organizers were elected Constitutional Convention delegates. Sir Francis Bond Head was appointed as Lieutenant-Governor and the Reform movement believed he would support their ideas. After meeting with Reformers, Bond Head concluded that they were disloyal to the British Empire and allied himself with the Family Compact. He refused proposals to bring responsible government to Upper Canada, responding in

10125-681: The organizational structure for the Rebellion of 1837. William Lyon Mackenzie James Lesslie John Rolph William John O'Grady Henry John Boulton David Willson Samuel Hughes John McIntosh Marshall Spring Bidwell Robert Baldwin William Warren Baldwin Francis Hincks Charles Duncombe Samuel Lount Peter Matthews Jesse Lloyd Anthony Van Egmond Thomas D. Morrison David Gibson James Hervey Price Joseph Shepard The Upper Canada Rebellion

10250-715: The perpetual Principal and Director (as he was for the Lower Canada body), who, with twelve other directors, constituted the Board. The Bishop's Official (named by the Bishop) and the rectors of Niagara and York could each serve as acting chairman. Other perpetual directors were: Any two directors, together with the Principal or an acting chairman, constituted a quorum, but, because of the poor network of roads, most clergy members were generally unable to attend Corporation meetings. This effectively meant that Strachan (as rector of York), together with

10375-590: The plan so Mackenzie sought Anthony Van Egmond to help lead the armed forces. In November 1837, in the lead-up to the Political Union's Constitutional Convention, Mackenzie published a satire in the Constitution , a round table discussion by John Locke , Benjamin Franklin , George Washington , Oliver Goldsmith and William Pitt and others. As part of this satire, he published a draft republican constitution for

10500-580: The previous month, that emboldened rebels in Upper Canada to revolt. The Upper Canada Rebellion was largely defeated shortly after it began, although resistance lingered until 1838. While it shrank, it became more violent, mainly through the support of the Hunters' Lodges , a secret United States–based militia that emerged around the Great Lakes , and launched the Patriot War in 1838. Some historians suggest that although they were not directly successful or large,

10625-565: The province's Consolidated Revenue Fund. Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (French: province du Haut-Canada ) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain , to govern the central third of the lands in British North America , formerly part of the Province of Quebec since 1763. Upper Canada included all of modern-day Southern Ontario and all those areas of Northern Ontario in

10750-601: The province. Mackenzie gathered reformers on July 28 and 31, 1837 to discuss their grievances with the government. The meeting created the Committee of Vigilance and signed a declaration urging every community to send delegates to a congress in Toronto and discuss remedies for their concerns. Mackenzie printed the declaration in his newspaper and toured communities north of Toronto to encourage citizens to make similar declarations. Farmers organised target practice sessions and forges in

10875-536: The province. The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada functioned as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lieutenant Governor, Executive Council, and Legislative Council. Local government in the province of Upper Canada was based on districts. Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester created four districts 24 July 1788. For militia and parliamentary purposes, Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in

11000-456: The rebel's march into Toronto and notified Fitzgibbon, who tried unsuccessfully to have officials take action. On December 4, Mackenzie and other rebels were patrolling the area and encountered Alderman John Powell and Archibald Macdonald . Mackenzie took both men prisoner but did not search them for weapons as they gave their word that they did not have any. As they were approaching Montgomery's Tavern Powell mortally shot Anthony Anderson in

11125-524: The rebellion hastened the changes Reformers advocated by drawing attention to the province from the Colonial Office and the production of the Durham Report . Paul Romney argued that the above assessments are a failure of historical imagination and the outcome of an explicit strategy adopted by reformers in the face of charges of disloyalty to Britain in the wake of the Rebellions of 1837. In recounting

11250-416: The rebellion in London , Upper Canada. Mackenzie also attacked other travellers and robbed them or questioned them about the revolt. The government organised a council of war and agreed to attack the rebels on December 7. Fitzgibbon was appointed commander of the government's forces. Although initially believing the government's position was untenable he was inspired by a company of men that formed to defend

11375-408: The rebellion was a reaction from the public of the government mismanagement of the minority ruling elite. Frederick Armstrong believed the rebellion was a reaction to patronage afforded to members of the Family Compact after winning the 1836 election. Dent wrote that the rebellion caused England to notice the concerns of Canadian reformers and reconsider their colonial rule of the province. He thought

11500-771: The rebellions in 1837 should be viewed in the wider context of the late-18th- and early-19th-century Atlantic Revolutions including the American Revolutionary War in 1776, the French Revolution of 1789–99, the Haitian Revolution of 1791–1804, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , and the independence struggles of Spanish America (1810–1825). While these rebellions differed in that they also struggled for republicanism , they were inspired by similar social problems stemming from poorly regulated oligarchies, and sought

11625-424: The rebels fired upon them. The rebels dispersed in a panic after the first round of firing thinking the rebel's front row had been killed when they were simply dropping to the ground to allow those behind them to fire. The government continued their march and at Montgomery's Tavern a cannon shot into the dining room window. The rebels fled north and the morale of the rebellion was irreparably broken. Bond Head ordered

11750-512: The rebels fled. Mackenzie went to the United States mainland where he was arrested for violating the Neutrality Act . The rebels continued their raids into Canada using the U.S. as a base of operations and, in cooperation with the U.S. Hunters' Lodges , dedicated themselves to the overthrow of British rule in Canada. The raids did not end until the rebels and Hunters were defeated at the Battle of

11875-459: The rebels who fled and found Mackenzie trying to convince the rebels to continue their path towards Toronto. The rebels refused to march until daylight. On Tuesday night MacNab arrived in Toronto with sixty men from the Hamilton area. Morrison was arrested and charged with treason while Rolph sent a letter encouraging Mackenzie to send the rebels home then fled to the United States. Mackenzie ignored

12000-561: The rebels. In November 1837, James Fitzgibbon was concerned about soldiers leaving Upper Canada going to quell the Lower Canada Rebellion and urged Bond Head to keep some troops for protection, which was refused. Fitzgibbon's call to arm a militia was also denied and he refused an armed guard at the Government's House and City Hall. After the Battle of Saint-Denis Fitzgibbon prepared a list of men that he could contact personally if

12125-550: The religious endowment were part of the Tory ruling class. Even Robert Baldwin , who was the leader of the struggle for Responsible Government did not advocate for complete abolition and chose to resign his seat rather than tackle the question. In 1867, the Municipalities Funds for Upper and Lower Canada were declared to be part of the joint property of the new provinces of Ontario and Quebec, subject to division and adjustment at

12250-420: The remainder all magistrates. Despite repeated attempts, the elected Legislature – which had chartered the bank – could not obtain details on the bank's workings. Politician and former journalist William Lyon Mackenzie saw the bank as a prop of the Government and demanded farmers withdraw the money they had deposited in the bank and public confidence in the bank decreased. The government of Upper Canada feared

12375-749: The remaining crown and clergy reserves in the province. However, because of opposition from Strachan, the Company received 1,100,000 acres (4,452 km) in the Huron Tract , in substitution for the originally contemplated 829,430 acres (3,357 km) of clergy reserve lands. As the provincial policy of free land grants had come to an end, Strachan lobbied for and secured an Act from the British Parliament granting authority to sell up to one-fourth of all reserve lands, up to 100,000 acres (405 km) each year, from which there would be income sufficient to support 200–300 Anglican clergymen. In 1836, before Sir John Colborne

12500-491: The reserve lands was transferred to the Crown Lands Department , where it was handled in a more professional manner. Unlike the distribution of lots that was pursued by Simcoe in Upper Canada, Alured Clarke , lieutenant-governor of Lower Canada , instituted a policy of setting aside large blocks of land apart from either current or contiguous settlement. The Clergy Corporation in Lower Canada, more formally known as

12625-549: The rise of the Grit movement in 1850. Even as late as 1853, Strachan was still campaigning to ensure the Church of England's dominance in the matter. As he stated in a letter to Lord Newcastle : Can religious liberty be preserved in no other way than by putting all religions on a level, as equally entitled for support from public encouragement and protection? Are the Koran, the Vedas, the book of

12750-500: The rowdy democracy in the nearby United States. The Family Compact emerged from the War of 1812 and collapsed in the aftermath of the Rebellions of 1837 . There were many outstanding individual reform politicians in Upper Canada, including Robert Randal , Peter Perry , Marshall Spring Bidwell , William Ketchum and Dr. William Warren Baldwin ; however, organised collective reform activity began with Robert Fleming Gourlay . Gourlay

12875-510: The same democratic ideals, which were also shared by the United Kingdom's Chartists . The rebellion in Lower Canada, followed by its Upper Canada counterpart, led directly to Lord Durham 's Report on the Affairs of British North America , and to The British North America Act, 1840 , which partially reformed the British provinces into a unitary system, leading to the formation of Canada as

13000-407: The status of rebels who lived in Toronto. A loyalist named Robert Moodie saw the large gathering at Montgomery's Tavern and rode towards Toronto to warn the officials. The rebels set up a roadblock south of the tavern on Yonge Street that Moodie tried riding through. He was wounded in an ensuing battle and taken to the tavern, where he died several hours later in severe pain. Another horseman saw

13125-620: The supposed atrocities committed by Bond Head against all suspected reformers to help increase anti-government support. It is estimated that there were between 400 and 500 rebels who assembled under Duncombe. Colonel Allan MacNab , who had just finished leading Upper Canadian militiamen during the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, was sent to engage Duncombe's uprising. He left Hamilton, Ontario on December 12 and arrived in Brantford on December 13. Although many rebels, including Duncombe, had fled prior to

13250-537: The task of implementing those aspects of Durham's report that the colonial office approved of, municipal reform, and the union of the Canadas, with a "campaign of state violence and coercive institutional innovation ... empowered not just by the British state but also by his Benthamite certainties." Like governors Bond Head before him, and Metcalfe after, he was to turn to the Orange Order for often violent support. It

13375-419: The tavern to be burned down and the rebels arrested. News of the intended rebellion had reached London, Upper Canada and its surrounding townships by December 7. It was initially thought that the Toronto rebellion was successful, contributing to Charles Duncombe wanting to rise up as well. Upon hearing more details about the rebellion in Toronto, Duncombe convened a series of public meetings to spread news of

13500-449: The townships of Dunwich and Aldborough in 1803. According to his government agreement, he was entitled to 200 acres (80 ha) for every settler who received 50 acres (20 ha); in this way he gained an estate of 20,000 acres (8,000 ha). Talbot's administration was regarded as despotic. He was infamous for registering settlers' names on the local settlement map in pencil and if displeased, erasing their entry. Talbot's abuse of power

13625-459: The upcoming battle due to hearing about the failure of Mackenzie in Toronto and general disorganization, there were still some present in Scotland, Ontario and MacNab commenced his attack on Scotland on December 14, causing the remaining rebels to flee after only a few shots were fired. The victorious Tory supporters burned homes and farms of known rebels and suspected supporters. In the 1860s, some of

13750-548: The war ended with the situation unchanged. The government of the colony came to be dominated by a small group of persons, known as the " Family Compact ", who held most of the top positions in the Legislative Council and appointed officials. In 1837, an unsuccessful rebellion attempted to overthrow the undemocratic system. Representative government would be established in the 1840s. Upper Canada existed from its establishment on 26 December 1791 to 10 February 1841, when it

13875-407: The “myths of responsible government”, Romney opined that after the ascendancy of Loyalism as the dominant political ideology of Upper Canada any demand for democracy or for responsible government became a challenge to colonial sovereignty. In his view, the linkage of the "fight for responsible government" with disloyalty was solidified by the Rebellion of 1837, as reformers took up arms to finally break

14000-455: Was Sydenham who played a critical role in transforming Compact Tories into Conservatives. Sydenham introduced a vast expansion of the state apparatus through the introduction of municipal government. Areas not already governed through civic corporations or police boards would be governed through centrally controlled District Councils with authority over roads, schools, and local policing. A strengthened Executive Council would further usurp much of

14125-495: Was a contributing factor in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. The Crown reserves, one seventh of all lands granted, were to provide the provincial executive with an independent source of revenue not under the control of the elected Assembly. The clergy reserves, also one seventh of all lands granted in the province, were created "for the support and maintenance of a Protestant clergy" in lieu of tithes. The revenue from

14250-401: Was a well-connected Scottish emigrant who arrived in 1817, hoping to encourage "assisted emigration" of the poor from Britain. He solicited information on the colony through township questionnaires, and soon became a critic of government mismanagement. When the local legislature ignored his call for an inquiry, he called for a petition to the British Parliament. He organised township meetings, and

14375-414: Was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the Family Compact in December 1837, led by William Lyon Mackenzie . Long term grievances included antagonism between Later Loyalists and British Loyalists, political corruption, the collapse of the international financial system and the resultant economic distress, and a growing republican sentiment. While public grievances had existed for years, it

14500-722: Was between the Seneca and the British in 1764, giving access to lands adjoining the Niagara River. During the American Revolutionary War most of the First Nations supported the British. After the Americans launched a campaign that burned the villages of the Iroquois in New York State in 1779 the refugees fled to Fort Niagara and other British posts, and remained permanently in Canada. Land

14625-627: Was characterized by its British way of life, including bicameral parliament and separate civil and criminal law, rather than mixed as in Lower Canada or elsewhere in the British Empire . The division was created to ensure the exercise of the same rights and privileges enjoyed by loyal subjects elsewhere in the North American colonies. In 1812, war broke out between Great Britain and the United States, leading to several battles in Upper Canada. The United States attempted to capture Upper Canada, but

14750-514: Was effected so that Loyalist American settlers and British immigrants in Upper Canada could have English laws and institutions, and the French-speaking population of Lower Canada could maintain French civil law and the Catholic religion. The first lieutenant-governor was John Graves Simcoe . The 1795 Jay Treaty officially set the borders between British North America and the United States north to

14875-516: Was eventually abandoned for another, to the west. The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Although modelled after the British House of Lords, Upper Canada had no aristocracy. Members of the Legislative council, appointed for life, formed the core of the oligarchic group, the Family Compact , that came to dominate government and economy in

15000-647: Was granted to these allied Six Nations who had served on the British side during the American Revolution by the Haldimand Proclamation (1784). Haldimand had purchased a tract of land from the Mississaugas . The nature of the grant and the administration of land sales by Upper Canada and Canada is a matter of dispute . Between 1783 and 1812, fifteen land surrender treaties were concluded in Upper Canada. These involved one-time payments of money or goods to

15125-536: Was managed by Peter Robinson , a member of the Family Compact and brother of the Attorney General. Scott's Plains was renamed Peterborough in his honour. Thomas Talbot emigrated in 1791, where he became personal secretary to John Graves Simcoe , Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. Talbot convinced the government to allow him to implement a land settlement scheme of 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) in Elgin County in

15250-563: Was said to be "the very image and transcript" of the British constitution, and based on the principle of " mixed monarchy " – a balance of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. The Executive arm of government in the colony consisted of a lieutenant-governor , his executive council , and the Officers of the Crown (equivalent to the Officers of the Parliament of Canada ): the Adjutant General of

15375-438: Was succeeded by Sir Francis Bond Head as lieutenant-governor, he created 57 rectories for the Church of England, with glebe land totalling 21,057 acres (85 km). This action created significant political dissent, and was subsequently declared illegal in 1837, but was later held in 1856 to have been lawful. In the interim, it became one of the issues in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 (and subsequently identified as such in

15500-419: Was the Lower Canada Rebellion (in present-day Quebec ) that emboldened rebels in Upper Canada to revolt openly soon after. The Upper Canada Rebellion was largely defeated shortly after it began, although resistance lingered until 1838 (and became more violent) – mainly through the support of the Hunters' Lodges , a secret anti-British American militia that emerged in states around the Great Lakes. They launched

15625-601: Was united with adjacent Lower Canada to form the Province of Canada . As part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris which ended the Seven Years' War global conflict and the French and Indian War in North America, Great Britain retained control over the former New France , which had been defeated in the French and Indian War. The British had won control after Fort Niagara had surrendered in 1759 and Montreal capitulated in 1760, and

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