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50-746: The British Government established two oligarchic governments, or councils, to rule what is today Quebec and Ontario, then called Lower and Upper Canada . Upper Canada was ruled by the Family Compact and Lower Canada by the Chateau Clique . Both groups exerted monopolistic , uncontested rule over economic and political life. The councils were corrupt in their nature by strengthening their dominance by personal use of funds which eventually led to infrastructural problems around Upper and Lower Canada, including land distribution, poor road conditions, and lack of education funding. Continuous frustration between

100-456: A Lockean justification was given for the prisoners' condemnation, and not a Burkean one: the Crown, as protector of the lives, liberty and prosperity of its subjects, could "legitimately demand allegiance to its authority." Robinson went on to say that those who preferred republicanism over monarchism were free to emigrate, and thus the participants in the uprisings were guilty of treason . After

150-555: A Reform opposition that demanded a radically more democratic government than existed in each colony. The governments in both provinces were viewed by the Reformers as illegitimate. In Lower Canada acute conflict between the elected and appointed elements of the legislature brought all legislation to a halt, leaving the Tories to impose Lord John Russell 's Ten Resolutions, allowing them to rule without accountability to electors. In Upper Canada

200-635: A basis on the principle of " mixed monarchy "—a balance of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. The colonies, however, lacked the aristocratic element, and found their non-elective Legislative Councils dominated by local oligarchies that controlled local trade and the institutions of state and religion. In Lower Canada they were known as the Château Clique ; in Upper Canada they were known as the Family Compact . Both office-holding oligarchies were affiliated with more broadly based " Tory parties" and opposed by

250-618: A comment published in Le Canadien . In 1811, James Stuart became leader of the Parti canadien in the assembly and, in 1815, reformer Louis-Joseph Papineau was elected Assembly Speaker. Papineau's reformist ideas gained in authority and popularity as he led the party in its fight against the union of the Canada's proposal in 1822, until the suspension of the Constitutional Act in 1837. In 1826,

300-605: A consequence, it was sharper than–indeed fundamentally different from—the milder strife that disturbed 'English' Upper Canada." Despite being true, this interpretation understates the republicanism of the Patriots. The Lower Canada rebellion was widely supported by the populace, due to economic and political subordination of the French Canadians, resulting in mass actions over an extended period of time, such as boycotts, strikes and sabotage. These drew harsh punitive reprisals such as

350-399: A small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility , fame , wealth , education , or corporate , religious , political , or military control. Throughout history, power structures considered to be oligarchies have often been viewed as coercive, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. Aristotle pioneered

400-639: The Ayalas and Manny Pangilinan , corporate figures allied with Duterte, including Dennis Uy of Udenna Corporation , benefitted during his administration. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent privatization of state-owned assets, a class of Russian oligarchs emerged. These oligarchs gained control of significant portions of the economy, especially in the energy, metals, and natural resources sectors. Many of these individuals maintained close ties with government officials, particularly

450-528: The Russel Resolutions , while rejecting all proposed ninety-two resolutions made by Papineau and his party. These resolutions allowed the colony governor to obtain budgetary estimates without vote of the assembly, which brought about verbal and physical violence, and eventually led to the Rebellions of 1837 . After the rebellions, many patriotes were exiled, hanged, or had their houses set ablaze, which marked

500-564: The president , leading some to characterize modern Russia as an oligarchy intertwined with the state. The Islamic Republic of Iran , established after the 1979 Iranian Revolution , is sometimes described as a clerical oligarchy. Its ruling system, known as Velayat-e-Faqih (Governance of the Jurist), places power in the hands of a small group of high-ranking Shia clerics, led by the Supreme Leader . This group holds significant influence over

550-526: The 1836 elections had been marred by political violence and fraud organized by the new Lt. Governor, Sir Francis Bond Head . William Lyon Mackenzie and Samuel Lount lost their seats in the result. The Tories passed a bill allowing them to continue to sit in disregard of the established practice of dissolving the House on the death of a monarch ( William IV died in June 1837). In the midst of this crisis of legitimacy,

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600-701: The 2010 Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision, which removed limits on donations to political campaigns. In 2014, a study by political scientists Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University argued that the United States' political system does not primarily reflect the preferences of its average citizens. Their analysis of policy outcomes between 1981 and 2002 suggested that wealthy individuals and business groups held substantial influence over political decisions, often sidelining

650-463: The American government on the other. Both nations were dedicated to a peace policy due to a budding financial crisis and to a sense of perceived disadvantage which both felt equally. Both were legitimately concerned about the disruption in relations which radical ideas might foment through further rebellion and raids. An unprecedented level of cooperation occurred in diplomatic and military circles. Far from

700-432: The American members of the radical Equal Rights Party (or " Locofocos "). This organization launched the " Patriot War ", which was suppressed only with the help of the American government. The raids did not end until the rebels and Hunters were defeated at the decisive Battle of Windsor , nearly a year after the first defeat near Montgomery's Tavern. The constitutions of Upper and Lower Canada differed greatly, but shared

750-581: The Atlantic economy was thrown into recession, with the greatest impact being on farmers. These farmers barely survived widespread crop failures in 1836–37, and now faced lawsuits from merchants trying to collect old debts. The collapse of the international financial system imperiled trade and local banks, leaving large numbers in abject poverty. In response, Reformers in each province organized radical democratic "political unions". The Political Union movement in Britain

800-630: The British concentrated their troops there, making it apparent that they planned on using armed force against the Patriots. With no troops left in Upper Canada, an opportunity for a sympathetic revolt was opened. Since the time of Lord Durham's Report on the Rebellions, the Lower Canada Rebellion has been attributed to tensions between the British and the French, that the conflict was "'racial' and, as

850-401: The Crown remains a subject for historical debate. Great Britain's Chartists sought the same democratic goals. Historians have tended to view the two Canadian rebellions and the subsequent US Patriot War in isolation, without reference to each other, and without reference to the republican impetus they shared. Recent reconsiderations have emphasized that this was a purposeful forgetfulness by

900-514: The English language and culture. In fact, the merging of the Upper and Lower Canada was intended to take any form of self-government away from the French Canadians, forcing them into becoming a smaller part of the new, larger, political unit. In geopolitical terms the Rebellions and the subsequent Patriot War altered the landscape of relations between Britain and British colonial authorities on one hand, and

950-578: The English of Upper Canada. Under the leadership of Pierre-Stanislas Bédard , the party campaigned for ministerial responsibility and a responsible government in which the members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada would be appointed by the Legislative Assembly's majority party. Although the party controlled the assembly in Lower Canada, at that time the council, which held most of

1000-515: The French Civil Code was in action, and thus infuriating the French people of Lower Canada even more. In July 1830, word of a liberal revolution in France sparked the youth of Lower Canada as liberalism was non-existent in Canada at the time. Upper and Lower Canada governments tried and failed to resolve the recent uprising and tension, even further-distancing the French people of Lower Canada from

1050-617: The Rebellions being entirely domestic events, the administration of American president Martin Van Buren had little choice but to implement mitigating measures on US soil to prevent escalation. As they evolved into the Patriot War, the Rebellions contributed to the construction of more recent Anglo-American and Canada-US relations. In 1937, exactly one century after the Rebellion, the names of William Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau were applied to

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1100-569: The Reformers after the Rebellions, as they attempted to repudiate the bold republicanism of William Lyon Mackenzie , yet steer an acceptable course to national independence under the guise of responsible government . Ducharme (2006) puts the rebellion in 1837 in the context of the Atlantic Revolutions. He argues that Canadian reformers took their inspiration from the republicanism of the American Revolution . The rebels believed that

1150-493: The United States an outright oligarchy, they found substantial evidence of economic elites dominating certain areas of policy-making. Rebellions of 1837 Government victory The Rebellions of 1837–1838 ( French : Rébellions de 1837 ), were two armed uprisings that took place in Lower and Upper Canada in 1837 and 1838. Both rebellions were motivated by frustrations with lack of political reform. A key shared goal

1200-649: The United States as oligarchies. During the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos from 1965 to 1986, several monopolies arose in the Philippines, primarily linked to the Marcos family and their close associates. Analysts have described this period, and even subsequent decades, as an era of oligarchy in the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte , elected in 2016, promised to dismantle the oligarchy during his presidency. However, corporate oligarchy persisted throughout his tenure. While Duterte criticized prominent tycoons such as

1250-646: The United States. Mackenzie established a short-lived " Republic of Canada " on Navy Island in the Niagara River, but withdrew from armed conflict soon thereafter. Charles Duncombe and Robert Nelson , in contrast, helped foment a largely American militia, the Hunters' Lodge / Frères chasseurs , which organized a convention in Cleveland in September 1838 to declare another Republic of Lower Canada . The Hunters' Lodges drew on

1300-510: The colonies, one of the rebels' original demands (although it was not achieved until 1849). Durham also recommended the merging of Upper and Lower Canada into a single political unit, the Province of Canada (established through the Act of Union 1840 ), which became the nucleus for modern-day Canada. More controversially, he recommended the government-sponsored cultural assimilation of French Canadians to

1350-461: The councils and the legislative assemblies over language differences and Lower Canada's discontent for treatment of French problems led to the beginning of the Parti Canadien. English merchants and politicians in Canada pushed for an assemblage of the Canada's, which would lead to the assimilation of the French. Louis-Joseph Papineau rallied the people of Lower Canada to sign a petition against

1400-411: The country's legislative, military, and economic affairs, and critics argue that this system concentrates power in a religious elite, marginalizing other voices within society. Since Ukraine's independence in 1991, a powerful class of business elites, known as Ukrainian oligarchs , has played a significant role in the country's politics and economy. These oligarchs gained control of state assets during

1450-444: The end of the party. However many party members became active members in politics of the new Province of Canada . Oligarchy List of forms of government Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία ( oligarkhía )  'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος ( olígos )  'few' and ἄρχω ( árkhō )  'to rule, command') is a form of power structure in which power rests with

1500-400: The following criteria: George Bernard Shaw coined the concept of an intellectual oligarchy in his play Major Barbara (1907). In the play, Shaw criticizes the control of society by intellectual elites and expresses a desire for the empowerment of the common people: I now want to give the common man weapons against the intellectual man. I love the common people. I want to arm them against

1550-542: The framework of existing colonial institutions. The British military crushed the rebellions, ending any possibility the two Canadas would become republics. Some historians see ties to the Chartist Newport Uprising of 1839 in Wales, suppressed by Sir Francis Bond Head 's cousin, Sir Edmund Walker Head . There were two types of rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada. Many of the rebels (including Mackenzie) fled to

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1600-450: The lawyer, the doctor, the priest, the literary man, the professor, the artist, and the politician, who, once in authority, is the most dangerous, disastrous, and tyrannical of all the fools, rascals, and impostors. I want a democratic power strong enough to force the intellectual oligarchy to use its genius for the general good or else perish. Jeffrey A. Winters and Benjamin I. Page have described Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore and

1650-447: The list of top (political party) donors. Economist Simon Johnson argued that the rise of an American financial oligarchy became particularly prominent following the 2008 financial crisis. This financial elite has been described as wielding significant power over both the economy and political decisions. Former President Jimmy Carter in 2015 characterized the United States as an "oligarchy with unlimited political bribery" following

1700-534: The majority of Americans. While the United States maintains democratic features such as regular elections, freedom of speech, and widespread suffrage, the study noted that policy decisions are disproportionately influenced by economic elites. However, the study received criticism from other scholars, who argued that the influence of average citizens should not be discounted and that the conclusions about oligarchic tendencies were overstated. Gilens and Page defended their research, reiterating that while they do not label

1750-420: The party took the name of Parti Patriote, reflecting a much stronger sense of French-Canadian nationalism and a change of strategy. The Patriotes largely favoured agriculture over commercialism and blocked many economic projects led by their adversaries. The party succeeded in delaying development of British capitalism within the colony. However, their positions were often seen as unclear. The party's new strategy

1800-512: The power, was chosen by an appointed British governor, whom the Parti canadien considered to be seriously corrupt and hostile to the interests of the majority of the population. In 1806, the Parti canadien imitated its political adversaries, the Tory Château Clique , in founding a newspaper named Le Canadien . In 1810, Governor Craig had Bédard and some of his colleagues at the newspaper arrested and imprisoned without trial for

1850-730: The proposition. Papineau later sailed to Britain to present the petition to the British Government and to rally for the rights of the people of Lower Canada, only to have the issue heard with little action to follow. Later, the British Parliament passed the Canada Land and Tenures Act which abolished the feudal and seigneurial systems in British North America . The act left property rights of many land owners in limbo and created much confusion and conflict in Lower Canada where

1900-414: The rapid privatization that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. By 2021, Ukraine passed a law aimed at curbing oligarchic influence on politics and the economy. Several commentators and scholars have suggested that the United States demonstrates characteristics of an oligarchy, particularly in relation to the concentration of wealth and political influence among a small elite, as exemplified by

1950-428: The rebellions died down, more moderate reformers, such as the political partners Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine , gained credibility as an alternative voice to the radicals. They proved to be influential when the British government sent Lord Durham , a prominent reformer, to investigate the cause of the troubles. Among the recommendations in his report was the establishment of responsible government for

2000-661: The rebellions in 1837 ought to be viewed in the wider context of the late-18th- and early-19th-century Atlantic Revolutions . The American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, the French Revolution of 1789–99, the Haitian Revolution of 1791–1804, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the rebellions in Spanish America (1810–1825) were inspired by republican ideals, but whether the rebels would have gone so far as to usurp

2050-502: The rebels took place in Court House Square, in between Toronto's new jail and courthouse. The Foreman of Public Works, Joseph Sheard , was expected to share in the work of building the scaffold for Lount's and Matthews' execution. However, he claimed the men had done nothing that he wouldn't have and refused to assist. The Orange militia stood guard during the execution to deter a rescue. The root cause of resentment in Upper Canada

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2100-467: The restriction of civil liberties, the burning of entire villages, and imprisonment or exile of hundreds of men by government troops and militias, which had been concentrated in Lower Canada to deal with the crisis. By contrast, the Upper Canada Rebellion was not as broadly supported by local populations, was quickly quelled by relatively small numbers of pro-government militias and volunteers and

2150-408: The right of citizens to participate in the political process through the election of representatives was the most important right, and they sought to make the legislative council elective rather than appointed. Rebellion in Upper Canada (and Lower Canada also) broke out after the 1836 Legislative Assembly elections were corrupted. It seemed then that the reformers' struggles could only be settled outside

2200-472: The use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, contrasting it with aristocracy , arguing that oligarchy was the perverted form of aristocracy. The consolidation of power by a dominant religious or ethnic minority can be considered a form of oligarchy. Examples include South Africa during apartheid , Liberia under Americo-Liberians , the Sultanate of Zanzibar , and Rhodesia . In these cases, oligarchic rule

2250-613: Was responsible government , which was eventually achieved in the incidents' aftermath. The rebellions led directly to Lord Durham 's Report on the Affairs of British North America and to the Act of Union 1840 which partially reformed the British provinces into a unitary system and eventually led to the British North America Act, 1867 , which created the contemporary Canadian federation and its government . Some historians contend that

2300-472: Was consequently less widespread and brutal by comparison. Those rebels who were arrested in Upper Canada following the 1837 uprisings were put on trial, and most were found guilty of insurrection against the Crown. One of the most severe punishments was the sentencing of 100 Canadian rebels and American sympathizers to life in Britain's Australian prison colonies . Many were publicly hanged, most notably Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews. The public hangings of

2350-582: Was considered too radical even by some of its members, most notably John Neilson , who eventually left the party in 1830. In 1834, Papineau and the Parti Patriote created the Ninety-Two Resolutions ; an extensive list of demands for political reform which was sent to the British government. The British government ignored the resolutions for over three years until in 1837 it countered the Parti Patriote's requests with ten resolutions of its own, called

2400-624: Was largely credited with the passing of the Great Reform Bill of 1832. In Lower Canada the Patriots organized the Société des Fils de la Liberté ("Sons of Liberty"). William Lyon Mackenzie helped organize the Toronto Political Union in July 1837. Both organizations became the vehicles for politically organizing protests, and eventually rebellion. As the situation in Lower Canada approached crisis

2450-555: Was not so much against distant rulers in Britain, but rather against the corruption and injustice by local politicians—the so-called "Family Compact". However, the rebels were not really convicted because their views aligned with the liberalism of the US, and thus caused some kind of offence to the Tory values of the Canadian colonies. Rather, as revealed in the ruling of Chief Justice Sir John Robinson ,

2500-412: Was often tied to the legacy of colonialism. In the early 20th century, Robert Michels expanded on this idea in his Iron Law of Oligarchy He argued that even democracies, like all large organizations, tend to become oligarchic due to the necessity of dividing labor, which ultimately results in a ruling class focused on maintaining its power. Business groups may be considered oligarchies if they meet

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