The Red River Rebellion Concludes
The Provisional Government of Riel After capturing Fort Garry, the Metis created a provisional government Riel intended it to only hold power until Rupert’s Land officially transferred to Canada on December 1st, 1869 Riel feared that if William McDougall was allowed to take power, he would grant all power to the Ontarian settlers and leave the Metis powerless
Canada Responds In response, John A. MacDonald sent an HBC representative named Donald Smith to attempt to negotiate with the Metis Smith’s meeting with the Metis resulted in the Metis Bill of Rights, which three Metis took to Ottawa to begin negotiating for the creation of their own province However, MacDonald had no intention of recognizing the Metis demands in full at this point “Smith goes to carry an olive branch. We must not think of military force until peaceable means have been exhausted. Should these miserable half- breeds not disband, they must be put down.” What do these actions and this quote tell you about MacDonald’s point of view?
The Canadian Party John Christian Schultz and several other Canadian Party prisoners managed to escape Fort Garry They attempted to rescue the remaining prisoners, but the battle resulted in several Canadian Party members being recaptured The most significant of these was Thomas Scott How did the video describe him?
The Case of Thomas Scott While imprisoned, Scott repeatedly insulted and attacked his guards He frequently made anti-Metis statements, and most significantly he threatened to escape and kill Louis Riel Even his fellow Canadian Party prisoners asked to be moved to different cells due to his aggression Riel then appoints a tribunal to put Scott on trial He is convicted of insubordination, attacking his guards, and threatening Riel Scott is sentenced to death by firing squad, and is executed on March 4, 1870
Effects of Scott’s Execution The Metis believed the worst had passed; they believed that the party bringing their demands to Ottawa would result in the creation of a province where their rights would be respected; Manitoba However, after John Schultz had escaped, he had returned to Ontario and had begun to portray Scott as a Protestant martyr who the Metis had cruelly murdered In Ontario, this caused outrage amongst the English-speaking Protestant population, who called for his arrest and execution But in Quebec, Riel gained more sympathy because he was believed to be standing up for the rights of French-speakers
“The Tragedy at Fort Garry” Looking at this illustration, what stands out to you? Where do you think it was published? What do you think the artist is trying to say about what happened and how?
Manitoba joins Confederacy When the Metis delegation finally arrived in Ottawa, it was difficult for them to simply plead their case before the government; they initially arrested They were later released and pled their case in late April to the government Despite his earlier comments, MacDonald’s government ended up approving Manitoba's admission into Canada and many of the Metis demands Among these were both French and English as official languages and both Catholic and Protestant Public schools But they were unable to secure a pardon for Riel or the provincial control over public lands Why do you think the Metis could not secure a pardon for Riel or control of land?
Riel flees (for now) MacDonald could not afford to lose support in Ontario, so he organized a force of 1200 soldiers called the Wolseley Expedition The force was a mix of British soldiers and volunteers from Ontario and Quebec Officially, they were to keep order in Red River until the province could elect an official government But they were also there to put down any armed resistance that remained and capture Riel if possible Fearing for his life, Riel fled to the United States before the troops arrived, where he would remain for the next 15 years When the troops arrived, Fort Garry was already abandoned The British soldiers tried and keep order, but the Ontario volunteers harassed and attacked the local Metis