The Iroquois and the Lower-Canadian Rebellions, 1837-1838.

par Matthieu Sossoyan

Department of Anthropology McGill University,

Montréal juillet 1999

(c)Matthieu Sossoyan

[ Reproduit avec la permission de l'auteur ]

RÉSUMÉ

S'inspirant de sources archivistiques ainsi que de concepts théoriques tels que le groupe d'intérêt et l'identité collective, ce mémoire de maîtrise à pour objectif de mieux comprendre les raisons qui ont amené les Iroquois de Kahnawake à collaborer avec les autorités britanniques au cours des Rébellions de 1837-1838. La prise de décision des Iroquois semble avoir été basée sur leur propres interprétations des événements et de leurs relations avec les autorités coloniales, les villages voisins et les Patriotes. Une analyse des contextes culturels, sociaux, économiques et politiques suggère que l'intervention des Iroquois avait pour but de défendre des intérêts collectifs tels que les cadeaux annuels et le territoire. De tels intérêts avaient une valeur symbolique importante comme représentant une identité amérindienne et de Kahnawake , et ce, malgré la présence de factions internes dans la communauté. Enfin, nous proposons que les Iroquois de Kahnawake ont décidé d'intervenir au cours des Rébellions non seulement afin de protéger des intérêts d'ordre économiques mais, aussi, afin d'exprimer et de défendre une identité collective.

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CHAPTER THREE

THE KAHNAWAKE IROQUOIS AND THE PATRIOTES

It was during the troubled times of 1837-38 that the Indians of Caughnawaga achieved their bloodless victory, won by their resourcefulness, quickness of mind and cunning. Running through the whole affair is an element of humor that cannot be lost sight of, not withstanding the tragic ending for several [non-Native] participants (The Montreal Standard, 23/10/1926: 41).

The Lower-Canadian Rebellions of 1837-38: a general overview

In 1837, long-standing discontent with British colonial authorities erupted into armed insurrection, as people throughout the District of Montréal forced a stoppage in the province's legislative business and took up arms against the Crown (Greer 1993). Political tensions simmering for the past three decades led to a severe crisis over the issues of provincial revenues, government subsidies and elective representation: on one side, office-holding oligarchies of recent British immigrants; on the other, popular republicans such as Louis-Joseph Papineau and other members of the Parti Patriote guiding

a popular opposition to existing power structures marked by its origins as a French-Canadian ethnic or nationalist movement, with a rhetoric dwelling on the rights of the people -read propertied men-, the dangers of corruption, and the need to defend the independence and prerogatives of the colonial elected Assembly. (Greer 1995: 10)

On 6 March 1837, Lord Russell gave the governor of Lower-Canada power to spend funds without the approval of the Assembly. He also rejected the so-called 92 Resolutions, which were sent to London in 1834 by the Parti Patriote to obtain democratic constitutional reform. This provoked rapid anger throughout reform circles. Local committees were established, popular opposition grew in the countryside, para-military groups intensified propaganda and numerous rallies were organized (Bernard 1996; Greer 1995; Leclerc 1983). Despite initial uncertainties, the Catholic Church joined the anti-rebellion campaign as claims for contraband and revolt increased. On 24 October 1837, Bishop Lartigue of Montréal published the first of his two mandements claiming that insurrection equaled abjuration and atheism, and that the people had no legal and moral rights to rebel against established authorities (Brunet 1973: 83-90; Chabot 1975; Chaussée 1980; Lemieux 1989: 398-402; Majerus 1971). In November, troops led by John Colborne were mobilized to arrest leading agitators and armed confrontations occurred between soldiers and local rebels. In turn, the Patriotes were swiftly dispersed, hundreds of men were jailed and eight leaders were deported to Bermuda (Greer 1993: 137-142; Leclerc 1983: 108-22).

Beaten in 1837, the Patriote movement was reborn the following year with new leaders, a more advanced social program and the promise of American assistance. Blamed for the failure of the first rebellion, L.-J. Papineau was pushed aside by a new leader, Robert Nelson. However, because the former was still popular among the habitants and Patriote agitators, the new leadership used his name as a way of gaining support, a measure which was not opposed by Papineau himself (Ouellet 1979: 630). The summer witnessed the birth of the Société des Frères Chasseurs, whose purpose was to organize a system of secret lodges along military lines that could supply shock troops within the province in combination with...