What were the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838?

The Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 were two armed uprisings in Lower Canada (1837 to 1838) and Upper Canada (1837) against British colonial governments. Both rebellions sought responsible government (a ministry accountable to the elected assembly rather than the appointed Lieutenant-Governor), equal political rights, and (in Lower Canada) French Canadian self-determination. Although both rebellions were quickly crushed by British and loyal Canadian forces, they triggered Lord Durham's investigation and Report (1839), the Act of Union of 1840, and ultimately the achievement of responsible government in 1848.

The Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 to 1838 was led by Louis-Joseph Papineau and the Patriotes party, which dominated the elected Legislative Assembly. Papineau's 92 Resolutions of 1834 had demanded responsible government, an elected Legislative Council, and control over public revenues. When the British government rejected these demands through Lord Russell's Ten Resolutions of March 1837, tensions escalated to armed confrontation. Patriote forces won the Battle of Saint-Denis on November 23, 1837 but were decisively defeated at the Battle of Saint-Charles on November 25 and the Battle of Saint-Eustache on December 14, 1837. A second wave of fighting in November 1838 led by Robert Nelson was also crushed. About 325 Patriotes died, 99 were sentenced to death (12 hanged, 58 transported to Australia), and many fled to the United States.

The Upper Canada Rebellion of December 1837 was led by William Lyon Mackenzie, the Reformer leader and first mayor of Toronto. Mackenzie's grievances centred on the Family Compact (the conservative Anglican elite that controlled the appointed Legislative and Executive Councils), the Clergy Reserves, and the lack of responsible government. Mackenzie attempted to seize Toronto on December 5 to 7, 1837 with about 800 farmers and tradesmen but was repulsed at Montgomery's Tavern on Yonge Street. He fled to the United States, established the short-lived Republic of Canada on Navy Island in the Niagara River, and continued cross-border raids until December 1838.

The rebellions had profound political consequences. Britain dispatched John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham as Governor General with instructions to investigate. Durham's Report on the Affairs of British North America (February 1839) recommended the union of Upper and Lower Canada (achieved by the Act of Union of 1840) and a path to responsible government (achieved in 1848 under Lord Elgin). The rebellions also led to the assimilationist intentions of the Act of Union (which set out to eliminate French as a working language) and to the cultural-political reaction of French-Canadian nationalism. Mackenzie returned to Canada under amnesty in 1849; Papineau returned in 1845 and was elected to the new Legislative Assembly. The rebellions are commemorated annually by the National Patriots' Day in Quebec (replacing Victoria Day on the same date).