LIFE IN LOWER CANADA

Lower Canada: Establishment Established in 1791 by British government Population increased from 250,000 in 1806 to 717,000 in 1841 Increase= high birth among French speaking people Maintained a French majority Male dominated society

Groups in Lower Canada 1. Habitants 2. Merchants 3. Professional Men 4. Chateau Clique

1. Habitants French speaking Tenant farmers Regarded as poor and lower class; majority of Lower Canada Paid rent to the seigneur Concerned over protecting their “French” way of life within a British controlled government and more non French immigrants

… Habitants 1790’s and early 1800’s saw many habitants accumulate surplus crops sold to merchants for export By 1815, crop failures became more frequent Farmers increasingly turned to peas, potatoes and barley to avoid starvation

Seigneurial System Land use system based from France Seigneurs - the land owners (French nobles, army officers, merchants, government officials, RC Church) – given large blocks of land Rented out long, rectangular strips of land to tenant farmers (habitants), who had to farm land, build a house, pay seigneur rent/taxes

Seigneurial System Idea was to get land settled as fast as possible Productivity only possible when people are on the land farming it Settlers pushed to start farming so that food could be produced to feed people Habitants resented being taken advantage of

2. Merchants English speaking Newcomers to Lower Canada (from Britain and US; Loyalists) Rich and powerful; made money from furs, timber and wheat Wanted improvements such as harbors, canals, roads Hoped to modernize Lower Canada from perceived ‘backwardness’ of the French

3. Professional Men… The newest of the prominent groups All the professional men wanted to be leaders High education was common (lawyers, doctors) Majority were French

…Professional Men Wanted to separate the French Canadian nation apart from British rule Preserve the French Canadian way of life French language, Roman Catholic religion and agricultural lifestyle Saw British and new immigrants as cultural threat They created a political party called “Parti Canadien” Louis-Joseph Papineau was their leader Able to get professional men to control Legislative Assembly

4. Chateau Clique Rich, powerful group in Lower Canada British and French-Canadians who supported British rule Had close ties to upper level of government Thus, able to control the affairs of Lower Canada Why was this a concern? The Chateau Clique had too much power in a French populated area John Molson James McGill

Classwork Questions- Individual work 1. Who were the 4 main groups, which were English and which were French? What did each group want? 2. Which political party was Louis Papineau part of? 3. What is the difference between Chateau Clique and Parti Canadien? 4. Why were the views and opinions of the people sitting on the Executive Council different than those on the Legislative Assembly and Voters? For those who were did not receive the “Life in Lower Canada” Handout- you must also finish the handout! When done, show me to receive the HW Check.