The patriotes movement was a political movement that existed in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec ...

(present-day

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

) from the turn of the 19th century to the

Patriote Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

of 1837 and 1838 and the subsequent

Act of Union of 1840 The ''British North America Act, 1840'' (3 & 4 Victoria, c.35), also known as the ''Act of Union 1840'', (the ''Act'') was approved by Parliament in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, in Montreal. It abolished the legislatures of Lower ...

. The partisan embodiment of the movement was the

Parti patriote The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal pr ...

, which held many seats in the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of el ...

(the elected lower house of the Lower Canadian parliament ). The movement was at once a liberal and republican reaction against colonial control of the government of Lower Canada, and a more general nationalistic reaction against British presence and domination over what had previously been an exclusively French settler colony. It was inspired by the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

, the

decolonization of the Americas The decolonization of the Americas occurred over several centuries as most of the countries in the Americas gained their independence from European rule. The American Revolution was the first in the Americas, and the British defeat in the Am ...

, as well as the political philosophy of

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, e ...

and

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

. Among its leading figures were François Blanchet, Pierre-Stanislas Bédard, John Neilson, Jean-Thomas Taschereau, James Stuart, Louis Bourdages,

Denis-Benjamin Viger Denis-Benjamin Viger (; August 19, 1774 – February 13, 1861) was a 19th-century politician, lawyer, businessman in Lower Canada. He was a leader in the ''Patriote'' movement. Viger was part of the militia in the early 19th century and th ...

Daniel Tracey Daniel Tracey (probably 1794 – July 18, 1832) born in Roscrea, Tipperary County, Ireland, was a doctor, journalist and Canadian politician. He arrived in the Province of Lower Canada (today Quebec) with his younger siblings in 1825. Th ...

, Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, Andrew Stuart,

Wolfred Nelson Wolfred Nelson (10 July 1791 – 17 June 1863) was the mayor of Montreal, Quebec, from 1854 to 1856. Biography Nelson was born in Montreal. His father, William Nelson, was an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire, ...

, Robert Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown,

François Jalbert François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King ...

and

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lowe ...

. Its ideals were conveyed through the newspapers the ''

Montreal Vindicator Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

'', ''

Le Canadien ''Le Canadien'' () was a French language newspaper published in Lower Canada from November 22, 1806 to March 14, 1810. Its motto was: ''"Nos institutions, notre langue et nos droits"'' (Our institutions, our language, our rights). It was released ...

'', and '' La Minerve''. The movement demanded democratic reforms, such as an elected Legislative Council, as opposed to the contemporary council whose members were appointed for life by the British Crown. The Parti patriote also sought to place control of the colony's budget in the hands of the elected assembly, thus supporting Lower Canada's position as semi-autonomous within the Empire.Kyte, p. 6. In 1834, Louis-Joseph Papineau drafted the

Ninety-Two Resolutions The Ninety-Two Resolutions were drafted by Louis-Joseph Papineau and other members of the ''Parti patriote'' of Lower Canada in 1834. The resolutions were a long series of demands for political reforms in the British-governed colony. Papineau had ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to obtain these and other aims. The Resolutions were in great part denied by the Russell Resolutions, which resulted in a radicalization of the Patriotes and their moving closer to demands of outright

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

and a Lower Canada republic. Many of its followers ended up taking part in an armed insurrection known as the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

, which was put down by the British army and its volunteer

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

References

* Canada: A People's History, chapter 7 : Rebellion and Reform {{DEFAULTSORT:Patriote Movement Liberalism in Canada Defunct liberal political parties Political parties in Lower Canada Republicanism in Canada

See also

References