Canada in the Making.  The Rebellions of 1837 and 1838.  "The rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada in 1837 and 1838 remain controversial to this day. Did they contribute to the winning of responsible government, or did they slow down this process? Were the rebels heroes or demagogues? This page will look at the historical context of these events, and allow you to read some primary sources to make up your own mind"  (Note:  Make sure to explore the side navigation, especially sections in the Constitutional History Theme for the appropriate dates.)

Rebellions of 1837 from Historica Canadian Youth Encyclopedia.   Short summaries with photos and maps, comparing and contrasting the two rebellions, and describing key characters of Papineau and MacKenzie. (Multipage site.  Click next page links at bottom of page)

Britannica:  National growth in the early 19th century » The rebellions of 1837–38
Overview of the Rebellions including reference to effects of War of 1812.

Historica Peace and Conflict: The Rebellions of 1837-1838.  Short summary of events, but with links for more detailed explanations, and a handy glossary of key concepts and people involved.  Also includes key images, texts and maps.

Wikipedia entry for the Lower Canada Rebellion and the Upper Canada Rebellion.

The “Canadien” liberal nationalism of the period of 1791 to 1840 by Claude Belanger
" Four factors were to lead to the rise of nationalism in Lower Canada in this period. The first was the emergence of the French Canadian professional class.[...]  The second factor that contributed to the rise of nationalism was the agricultural crisis that emerged in the St. Lawrence Valley at this time [...] A third element contributing to the crisis, one common with other colonies, was the lack of responsibility in government. [...] The last element to contribute to the nationalist cause was the increasing sense among the French inhabitants that they were not in control of their province."

Rebel Leaders mini- biographies, from EduNET 1837 Rebellions  page

John Locke
John Lock, and others, influence the revolutionaries in the United States.    Quotes from his Wikipedia entry.  "His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. T his influence is reflected in the American Declaration of Independence."  [...] "Locke also advocated governmental checks and balances and believed that revolution is not only a right but an obligation in some circumstances.  These ideas would come to have profound influence on the Constitution of the United States and its Declaration of Independence"

• Locke "argued a government could only be legitimate if it received the consent of the governed and protected the natural rights of life, liberty, and estate. If such a consent was not achieved, Locke argued in favor of a right of rebellion."  Source and additional quotes by the philosopher himself on Locke's page at Wikiquote.org
• Works by Locke are available online at Project Gutenburg

Voltaire
Voltaire (click for more), also of great influence to the American revolutionaries, was "known for his wit, philosophical sport, and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial."  

• For some samples of his wit, browse some quotes attributed to Voltaire here. 
  
• For pics and more serious quotes view Voltaire's page at Wikiquote.org.)

Pierre du Calvet: 
Some additional players are indicated in Wikipedia's Constitutional History of Canada entry, including:  "In July 1784, Pierre du Calvet, a rich French merchant established in Montreal, published a pamphlet entitled Appel à la justice de l'État (Call to the Justice of the State) in London. Printed in French, the document is the first plea in favour of a constitutional reform in Canada."

John Stewart Mill
John Stewart Mill (Click for more info):   "After the rebellion in 1837 in Canada he defended Lord Durham's recommendations for internal responsible self-government in the colonies, free on the whole from interference from the colonial power. But, where Lord Durham recommended a central government and the assimilation of the French population to the English, Mill defended the cultural interests of the French minority, and recommended a form of federal government as an institutional means to protect those interests."


Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (Click for more info).  "Paine's vast influence is due in large measure to his luminous literary style, noted for its striking metaphors, colloquial vigor, and rational directness. From a long-range perspective, the importance of Common Sense lies in its insistence that America adopt a new system of republican government rather than simply rejecting British rule."

Calls for freedom and democracy were forming in Germany, and " unrest in the face of heavy taxation and political censorship" led to large democratic gatherings such as the Hambacher Fest.  Eventually Germany experienced a full-blown revolution in 1848.  (Source:  Wikipedia on Revolutions of 1848 and the Hambacher Fest of 1832)

After the Revolution and later after the war of 1812, Americans loyal to Britain arrived in Canada bringing new needs and spreading new ideas based on liberty and more democratic representation. 

Loyalist Resources page
Many useful links about loyalists on this resources page in the Loyalist Feature section on LEARN.

Loyalists given province and control, encourage Canadiens to think the same
" The primary reason for this had been the desire to accommodate the Loyalists who had arrived in Quebec following the American Revolution. Until this point, there had not been manifestations of nationalism in Quebec despite the fact that the people of Quebec had been conquered by a foreign power. However, as the Loyalists poured into Quebec, and created in this process a viable English Canada besides the already existing French Canada, there rapidly arose a need to separate the province into two parts so that each could be accorded the institutions and rules that it would support. So, when the British government created Lower Canada in 1791, it was natural for the French speaking inhabitants to consider that they had been given a province where presumably, while still under the British crown, they might do as they please. Lower Canada was to be “their” province. In this perception, they were mistaken."  (Source: The “Canadien” liberal nationalism of the period of 1791 to 1840 by Claude Belanger )

Loyalists as Conservative and fond of British Constitution,  but with grievances and wanting reform through legal means and natural political evolution.  " They were, indeed, mainly conservatives by temperament, people who rejected the violence of revolution. [,,,]  Loyalism also drew widely on old Americans, established since early Virginia or New England, who did not want to overturn the ordered liberties of the British Constitution under Crown and parliament just to suit the demands of radical fanatics and self-seeking demagogues. " However, " Many of them had indeed shared colonial grievances and looked earnestly for reforms and remedies." (Source: Canadian Heritage on American Revolution)

Loyalists as republican and not "liberal" in our modern sense of the word
"With respect to the Loyalists, Smith presents compelling evidence that they were not overwhelmingly liberal and that they were certainly not tory or feudal in outlook. Likewise, Harvey's examination of the political discourse in Lower Canada reveals that republicanism decisively shaped political thinking in the period leading up to the Rebellion of 1837."  (Source:  Liberty or Citizenship book review)

The Economy and the domination of English Capitalists
CBC A people's history summary pages for the Rebellion and Reform episode also contains descriptions of the The Economic Situation.  Timber had become the "dominant staple commodity" (see Wikipedia reference here.)  Some merchants in Montreal, such has James McGill, who had profited from the fur trade, expanded into these new industries.  Montreal was dominated by a few rich merchants, many of which were English:
 
"In banking, the timber trade, and transportation, Anglophones were seen as disproportionately represented. However, the Roman Catholic church discouraged French-Canadians from commercial activities, asserting it was God's will that they remain an agrarian society. (Out of 775 identified rebels from Lower Canada, 388 were farmers.) At the same time, some among the Anglophone business elite were advocating for a union of Upper and Lower Canada in order to ensure competitiveness on a national scale with the increasingly large and powerful economy of the United States."  (Source:  Wikipedia on Lower Canada Rebellion.)

French Exceptions to the rule:
The Baby Family:  "Some French-speaking merchants did re-establish themselves in the fur trade, often in partnership with the new Anglo-American merchants moving into Montreal [...].  Members of the Baby Family, for example, had considerable success repositioning themselves as the leading figures in the Great Lakes fur trade after 1763."  Excerpt from the book "he Fur Trade in Canada: An Illustrated History By Michael Payne" available for browsing online via Google Book Search here.

François Baby (1733-1820) : "From France, François endeavoured to ensure the supply of trade goods to his brothers and maintained contacts with British and French trading houses. When it became clear that the conquered colony would remain a British possession, he liquidated most of the family’s French assets and oversaw the transfer of commercial relations to London in order to be of consequence in the reconstituted trade."  [...] "Like most merchants in the highly unstable commercial context of the 1760s, Baby sought security through diversification. He added to his items of commerce such products as planks, peas, oats, apples, silverware, cottons, helmet plumes, and maidenhair ferns, valued for their medicinal properties."
(Source: Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online entry on Baby here)

Agricultural Difficulties in a changing world
Land was harder and harder to come and crop failures in the 1830s only increased tensions.   Various agricultural difficulties are described in this History of Agriculture entry on the Canadian Encyclopedia site.  In Robin Neill's detailed look on Francophone Quebec in the Canal Era, many economic consequences of the Conquest, including problems arising from the agrarian nature of the society, are presented which also caused tensions before and after the Rebellions. 

For an image of Montreal in 1816, including the first trains, the canals, and what items were traded,  read Dorwin Remembers Montreal in 1816