EDEE 280 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Mercantilism, Combination Act 1799, Compact Theory
23 Jun 2018
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Ch.4
-Social, political, religious, institutional, and cultural change accompanied the transition to industrial
capitalism in Quebec.
-Even though there was an elected assembly the power was still in the hands of the governor and
executive
-The rebellions and the consequent restructuring of Canadian public life were a watershed in Canadian
political development, ending the struggle between legislative and executive power in Quebec’s
constitutional history.
-Responsible government in upper and lower Canada were evidence that the legislature now asserted
power over the executive and that the main elements of the British cabinet system had been installed.
-First significant elements of federalism appeared in the political and administrative structure of
the united Canada’s
-John A Macdonald’s government confirmed that Quebec had only the status of a minority in the
Canadian state and that its provincial government was simply a local administration
-Justice, education, and the administration of crown lands, local railways, municipalities, and colonization
gave Quebec greatly expanded powers over isolated regions
-Elite used their political power to reshape preindustrial structures into forms that responded to its
economic and social interests
-Bourgeoisie aligned themselves with the RCC after the realignment of classes took place after the
rebellions. Had a common interest in French Canadian nationalism and the power that would result
from increased lower Canadian autonomy in social, educational, and moral matters.
-Realignment of elite groups produced vigorous state sponsorship of transportation and industrial
development, and also extended the church’s authority to shape social and educational institutions of the
working class.
-At the end of the preindustrial period the lower Canadian church was weak. Position and power of the
church changed dramatically with the focus moving from local and diocesan issues to Rome and doctrinal
questions affection Roman Catholicism around the world.
-Church had a particularly important role in defusing popular unrest.
*-Patriotes: a political group perceived as radical, anti establishment, and potentially anticlerical.
-The priests have unlimited influence over the lower classes of Irish and is exerted to secure the loyalty of
a part of the Irish during the winter troubles.
*-Ultramontanism: belief in the power of the pope over national churches.
-Influenced by events in Europe, Quebec church became more puritanical, more inventions in civil
society, and more critical of the differing liberal ideologies associated with both France and much of
English speaking north America. Church became confident in exercising authority across a broad
range of social and moral issues and was able to solidify its position as the most important
defender of the French Canadian nation.
-Seigneurialism and civil law were reformed in favour of freehold property and individual rights,
such as the freedom to contract and to sell one’s labour.
-New institutions were directed at controlling the rural and urban working classes.
-A universal education system, a province wide judicial fabric of courthouses, rural police, and
jails, new municipalities, and new forms of taxation subjugated the Quebecer’s minds and wallets
to a bureaucratized and centralized state
-Culture was important in the changing of structures
-The changing Quebec elite and its need to manage popular ideology
-Development of libraries, museums, and historical, natural history, and agricultural societies,
particularly among anglophones, was part of a growing interest in propagating ideas and
combatting what was perceived as ignorance of peasants and workers.
-Lay and clerical intellectuals formulated a unifying, conservative national ideology, which was rooted in
Catholicism, the french language, the preindustrial family, and an idealization of rural life.
*-Attempts to develop a system of universal education. Women were accorded a central place in
propagating these ideas in the home.
-In preindustrial society, the state provided little infrastructure for transportation or
communication (facilitates trade or industry)
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-Mercantilist favoured its friends with monopolies, army contracts, and protection on the high seas.
-Economic development changed as military and economic conditions evolved
-State began too invest its military budget in canals and roads (acted as military and trade routes)
-Communities and regions competed for rail service and access to trunk lines
-Taxation often took the form of labour or customs duties. Road construction was traditionally
accomplished by statute labour (the corvee)
-The crown began to subsidize total roads, while municipalities assumed responsibility for local roads.
Colonization roads gave access to timber regions which were subsidized by the state and statute labour
was replaced by tenders, toll roads, and taxes.
-Under the guarantee act and municipal act both the central government and the municipalities
helped to finance railways
-Took crown land to sponsor railway construction
-Political and social struggle between the preindustrial elite that controlled the executive and the
francophone professionals who dominated the assembly. Assembly challenged the executive for
control of patronage in the bureaucracy, militia, and judiciary.
-Robert Christie government official was accused of abusing judicial autonomy by dismissing hotel
magistrates at will
-Yvan Lamonde interprets the Parti Canadien as a movement of democratic challenge and an awakening
of conscience.
*-No taxation without representation: no real democracy without control of public expenses by
people’s representatives
-Military and canal construction represented the largest building projects of the period
-British patronage usually favoured well placed anglophones in what was known as the chateau clique
-Francophone professionals, politicians, and speculators resented the large anglophone land companies
which controlled the development in the Eastern townships
-Prominent francophone notaries, lawyers, surveyors and doctors found themselves far down the local
colonial pecking order
-Social precedence and the order used at official gatherings was that of England: royalty, clergy,
nobility, royal household officials, military, professional classes, artisans, labourers.
-Patriotes success was due to their ability to mobilize elements in the working class in the Montreal region
around principles of democracy, citizenship, and nationalism
-Political consensus of financial, regulatory, and developmental policy for projects such as roads, bridges,
canals, and railways (economic development)
-The future of the francophone bourgeoisie was tied to industrial capitalism: neither misfortune nor
revolution can destroy them.
-Reformers favoured British parliamentary democracy
-Churchwardens’ law represented a compromise by the assembly. Gave them some secular
control over parish finances and over school construction. Separated education from local
clerical influence by entrusting school authority to civil officers
-Doctors and notaries became more radical and contested clerical power and parish priests began to
worry about their ability to control the peasantry
-Ideology of local professionals and merchants was rendered more dangerous by their growing numbers
in relation to the clergy
**-Bourgeoisie who controlled the assembly concentrated on three main demands: responsible
government, control of the civil list, and an elected legislative council
-Political reforms were demanded: attempts to impeach the chief justice, petitions to westminster, and
blockage of government bills.
-The riot act, the army and martial law were used to impose authority
*-Union bill: proposed to unite upper and lower Canada and to abolish french as a national
language. Bill was never passed but was a milestone in the evolution of what became the Patriote
movement.
-John Neilson: part of the reform movement.
-Papineau became more nationalist, republican and more critical of British constitutional practice
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-Rallies, marches, secret societies, riots and radical newspapers made it clear that the struggle of the
bourgeoisie in the assembly had large revolutionary potential
-Parti patriote or parti Canadien saw the arrest of leading reformers, various riots and a cholera epidemic.
The patriotes approved a tricolour flag of green, white and red.
-Patriote leaders represented the peasants in the legislative assembly. The peasants increasingly
questioned the power of local oligarchies in the magistracy and militia.
-Traditions in the form of maypole celebrations and charivaris became important symbols of
resistance to local authors as regains became increasingly dependent on wage labour
-Protests against seigneurial privilege for the evasion of seigneurial dues forming an integral part
of peasant culture
-Censitaires protested against the road work they were required to perform under seigneurial law.
Censitaires petitioned that seigneurs were violating seigneurial law by refusing to make concessions, by
stripping land of timber before conceding it, and by increasing the rates of seigneurial dues.
-Bourgeoisie tried to install more submissive attitudes in the peasantry
-Joseph François Perrault drew up rules for justices of the peace and a student manual for
criminal law. His rural code outlines civic and religious duties of peasants and shows the merging of
church and state in principles such as the civic duty to serve as churchwarden, to pay tithes, to educate
children, to serve in the militia, to repair roads, and to have all contracts drawn up by a notary. His support
of the church was clear.
-Imperial, provincial and municipal authorities took measures to control the working classes in both
countryside and city
-The British combination acts, master and servant laws, and provincial legislation concerning the
desertion of apprentices and worker sabotage impeded the formation of union and strikes
*-Special police regulations required workers to give 15 days notice before quitting their job
-Leisure time was perceived as a threat thus Montreal magistrates forbade charivaris, gaming at
city markets, and firing guns to celebrate birthdays, skating and sledding within the city.
-Struggle between the Patriotes (whose power was in the assembly) and the executive intensified.
Patriotes nominated Daniel Tracey for election who was editor of the vindicator which supported Irish and
Patriote measures. He had recently been released from jail (imprisoned for libel)
-After the riot act was read troops opened fire and three french Canadians were left sed on St. James
street. Patriotes renamed St James street the street of blood. Two days after his election victory Tracey
died of cholera.
-Patriotes fate was increasingly linked to Louis-Joseph Papineau’s leadership and ideology. His
father’s professional success as a notary and surveyor had improved the family fortunes and
enabled him to purchase a seigneury
-Papineau studied law but spent most of his life in politics. Many of his colleagues shared his ambiguity
over social, religious, and nationalist goals, shaping the first rebellion into an essentially socially
conservative and nationalist effort.
-Papineau concentrated his increasingly ethnic attacks on the great commercial capitalists, deflecting
Patriotes who wanted to stir latent lower class hostility into a common front against the church, seigneurs,
grant merchants, and British authoritarianism. He defended the church, Quebec civil law, and the
seigneurial system.
*-Social equilibrium rest upon two fundamental institutions: seigneurial tenure and french
common law
*-The assembly passed the 92 resolutions (Papineau). The resolutions threatened to impeach the
governor
-Papineau leaned towards militancy
-Patriotes formed a liaison with British reform groups such as the Chartists
*-Lord Russell rejected the 92 resolutions
-Bishop Latrigue’s pastoral letter urged people not to be seduced by those who want to entice you into
rebellion against established government
-Nelson declared lower Canada a republic and issued a proclamation of independence, calling for
separation of church and state
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Document Summary
Social, political, religious, institutional, and cultural change accompanied the transition to industrial capitalism in quebec. Even though there was an elected assembly the power was still in the hands of the governor and executive. The rebellions and the consequent restructuring of canadian public life were a watershed in canadian political development, ending the struggle between legislative and executive power in quebec"s constitutional history. Responsible government in upper and lower canada were evidence that the legislature now asserted power over the executive and that the main elements of the british cabinet system had been installed. First signi cant elements of federalism appeared in the political and administrative structure of the united canada"s. John a macdonald"s government con rmed that quebec had only the status of a minority in the. Canadian state and that its provincial government was simply a local administration.
