Posts

Showing posts with the label John Colborne

The Arrest of Etienne Parent - Part V

The news of Etienne Parent and Jean - Baptiste's arrest travelled quickly and soon there was a small entourage of friends accompanying them to the Quebec Citadelle. It is stated who those friends but I would say that among them were Napoleon Aubin, the owner and editor or the journal, Le Fantasque, Stanislas Drapeau, journalist, printer, and publisher, who at the time of this event was a typographer for Le Fantasque, among others. Etienne Parent was well known and widely admired not only throughout lower Canada but throughout all of North America including the United States.  When the group arrived at the Citadelle the chief of police informed them that he had received orders from his superiors in Montreal to prevent all visitors from seeing Etienne Parent and Jean - Baptiste Frechette unless they members of their direct family. It would be an understatement to say that the arrest of Etienne Parent and Jean - Baptiste Frechette caused a significant stir in the lower Canada. Not the...

Etienne Parent (1802 - 1874) - Part II

On Monday, December 24, 1838, (Christmas Eve), Etienne Parent, the editor of Le Canadien, one of the most popular and political French language newspapers in Lower Canada wrote an inflammatory editorial to protest the treatment of patriotes who participated in the uprising in Lower Canada. It was an denunciation of the John Colborne's (the governor of Lower Canada) arbitrary measures. After the rebellion in Lower Canada was put down in 1837 the British government suspended the constitution that was created in 1791, dissolved the Legislative Assembly and created the the Special Council which effectively became the government of Lower Canada. The Special Council had all of the authority of the Legislative assembly. Their mandate was to re-establish peace and order in Lower Canada. Since there was no political process in Lower Canada, no elections or elected assembly, the Special Council could do whatever they wanted without having to worry about the wishes of the local population. ...