User:Veroniqueliard/sandbox

copied from Lower Canada Rebellion

The rebellion was preceded by nearly three decades of efforts at political reform in Lower Canada, led from the early 1800s by James Stuart and Louis-Joseph Papineau, who formed the Parti Patriote and sought accountability from the elected general assembly and appointed governor of the colony. In 1791, after the Constitutional Act, Lower Canada could elect a House of Assembly. It created the rise of two parties: the English and the Canadian party. The English party was mostly composed of the English Merchants bourgeoisie and had the support of bureaucrats and old seigneurial families. The Canadian party was formed by aristocrats, French or English. The Church didn’t participate for any political party, but they tended to support the British party. With the power in the hand of the population, the French-Canadian business class needed support from the population more than support from the British business bourgeoisie. The population being in majority French-Canadian in Lower Canada, the people elected at the House of Assembly were mostly French-speaking and supported the French-Canadian Business Class. The House of Assembly gave an illusion of power to the French population, but the Executive and Legislative Council were there to advise the governor who could veto all legislation. Both councils were made of people chosen in the British party. The appointed legislative council (a type of upper house) was dominated by a small group of businessmen known as the Château Clique, the equivalent of the Family Compact in Upper Canada.