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Lower Canada

Coordinates:50°N69°W/ 50°N 69°W/50; -69
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Province of Lower Canada
Province du Bas-Canada(French)
1791–1841
Flag of Lower Canada
Union Flag(1801 version)[1][2]
of Lower Canada
Coat of arms
Anthem:"God Save the King/Queen"
StatusBritish colony
CapitalQuebec City
Common languagesFrench,English
GovernmentChâteau Cliqueoligarchy
under a
constitutional monarchy
Sovereign
• 1791–1820
George III
• 1820–1830
George IV
• 1830–1837
William IV
• 1837–1841
Victoria
Lieutenant-GovernorandExecutive Council of Lower Canada
LegislatureParliament of Lower Canada
•Upper house
Legislative Council
•Lower house
Legislative Assembly
Historical eraBritish Era
26 December 1791
10 February 1841
Area
1839[3]534,185 km2(206,250 sq mi)
Population
• 1839[3]
c.700,000
CurrencyCanadian pound
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
Province of Canada
Colony of Newfoundland
Today part of

Canada

TheProvince of Lower Canada(French:province du Bas-Canada) was aBritish colonyon the lowerSaint Lawrence Riverand the shores of theGulf of Saint Lawrence(1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the currentProvince of Quebecand theLabradorregion of the currentProvince of Newfoundland and Labrador(until the Labrador region was transferred to Newfoundland in 1809).[4]

Lower Canada consisted of part of the former colony ofCanadaofNew France,conquered by Great Britain in theSeven Years' Warending in 1763 (also called theFrench and Indian Warin the United States). Other parts of New France conquered by Britain became the Colonies ofNova Scotia,New Brunswick,andPrince Edward Island.

The Province of Lower Canada was created by theConstitutional Act 1791from the partition of the British colony of theProvince of Quebec(1763–1791)[5]into the Province of Lower Canada and theProvince of Upper Canada.The prefix "lower" in its name refers to its geographic position farther downriver from the headwaters of theSt. Lawrence Riverthan its contemporary Upper Canada, present-day southern Ontario.

Lower Canada was abolished in 1841 when it and adjacent Upper Canada wereunitedinto theProvince of Canada.[6]

Rebellion

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Main article:Lower Canada Rebellion

Like Upper Canada, there was significant political unrest. Twenty-two years after an invasion by theUnited Statesin theWar of 1812,a rebellion now challenged the British rule of the predominantly French population. After thePatriote Rebellionin theRebellions of 1837–1838[7]was suppressed by government troops andLoyal volunteers,the1791 Constitutionwas suspended on 27 March 1838 and aspecial councilwas appointed to administer the colony. An abortive attempt by revolutionaryRobert Nelsonto declare aRepublic of Lower Canadawas quickly thwarted.

The provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada were combined as theUnited Province of Canadain 1841, when theAct of Union 1840came into force. Their separate legislatures were combined into a single parliament with equal representation for both constituent parts, even though Lower Canada had a greater population.[8]

Constitution

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Constitutionof Lower Canada in 1791

The Province of Lower Canada inherited the mixed set of French and English institutions that existed in the Province of Quebec during the 1763–1791 period and which continued to exist later in Canada-East (1841–1867) and ultimately in the current Province of Quebec (since 1867).

Population

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Main article:Population of Canada

Lower Canada was populated mainly byCanadiens,anethnic groupwho trace their ancestry toFrenchcolonists who settled inCanadafrom the 17th century onward.

Population of Lower Canada, 1806 to 1841
Year Census estimate[11]
1806 250,000
1814 335,000
1822 427,465
1825 479,288
1827 473,475
1831 553,134
1841 650,000

Transportation

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Current route marker seen along theChemin

Travelling around Lower Canada was mainly by water along theSt. Lawrence River.On land the only long-distance route was theChemin du Royor King's Highway, built in the 1730s byNew France.[12]The King's Highway was, in addition to the mail route, the primary means of long-distance passenger travel until steamboats (1815) and railways (1850s) began to challenge the royal road.[12]The royal road's importance waned after the 1850s and would not re-emerge as a key means of transportation until thehighway system of Quebecwas created in the 20th century.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Early flags".Government of Canada.28 August 2017.Retrieved15 January2021.
  2. ^"Royal Union Flag".The Flags of Canada.Retrieved15 January2021.
  3. ^The emigrant's handbook of facts concerning Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Cape of Good Hope, &c.Open Library. pp. 2–3.ISBN978-0-665-95282-1.Retrieved22 December2013.
  4. ^"Labrador–Canada Boundary".marianopolis. 2007.Retrieved20 March2008.Labrador Act, 1809. – An imperial act (49 Geo. III, cap. 27), 1809, provided for the re-annexation to Newfoundland of 'such parts of the coast of Labrador from the River St John to Hudson's Streights, and the said Island of Anticosti, and all other smaller islands so annexed to the Government of Newfoundland by the said Proclamation of the seventh day of October one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three (except the said Islands of Madelaine) shall be separated from the said Government of Lower Canada, and be again re-annexed to the Government of Newfoundland.'
  5. ^Fernand Ouellet (4 March 2015)."Lower Canada".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Toronto: Historica Canada.Retrieved18 August2019.
  6. ^James Maurice Stockford Careless; Richard Foot (4 March 2015)."Province of Canada 1841–1867".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Toronto: Historica Canada.Retrieved18 August2019.
  7. ^David Mills; Richard Foot (20 March 2017)."Durham Report".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Toronto: Historica Canada.Retrieved18 August2019.
  8. ^Jacques Monet, SJ; Richard Foot (4 March 2015)."Act of Union".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Toronto: Historica Canada.Retrieved18 August2019.
  9. ^"Mackenzie, William Lyon".Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec.Retrieved19 November2018.
  10. ^Marsh, James H. (9 February 2017) [January 20, 2008]."Louis-Joseph Papineau".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Toronto: Historica Canada.Retrieved18 August2019.
  11. ^"Censuses of Canada 1665 to 1871: The 1800s (1806 to 1871)".Statistics Canada.26 August 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 17 December 2023.
  12. ^ab"History".Le Chemin du Roy.Archivedfrom the original on 17 August 2018.Retrieved19 November2018.

Further reading

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  • Robert Christie.A History of the Late Province of Lower Canada,Quebec City: T. Cary/R. Montreal: Worthington, 1848–1855 (Internet Archive:All 6 volumes)
  • François-Xavier Garneau.History of Canada: from the time of its discovery till the union year,Montreal: J. Lovell, 1860 (Internet Archive:All 3 Volumes)
  • Saul, John Ralston.Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin(2010)online
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50°N69°W/ 50°N 69°W/50; -69

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