Les rebellions de 1837-38.


The Rebellion began in November 1837. As with any conflict there were a number of flashpoints. The ethnic and religious differences between the French and the British from the early years continued as points of conflict in the Canadas. Failed crops brought hunger and discontent as farmers in Québec struggled to feed their families and provide their sons with work. The land around LaPrairie was poor, and through the generations the farms in the area had been divided for the heirs into ever smaller plots. The farmers' resistance to the use of fertilizer and of improved seed contributed to poor harvests.

This was a rural uprising, perhaps stoked by the utter disdain later expressed by Lord Durham, Governor of all British North America who in his report stated Canada was "two nations warring in the bosom of a single state… a struggle, not of principles, but of races." He remarked on French Canadian culture, "They are a people with no history and no literature."

The skirmishes were close to the Petelle family. In nearby La Tortue, a farmer named Walker was killed as he helped defend a neighbor's home from rebel attack. It is unknown what role the Petelle's may have played with the Patriotes Canadiens, but whether or not they wore the red tuque in solidarity, these events were swirling around the family. (Narcisse was 13, his older brother Joseph was 24).

Outmanned and outgunned, the rebellion was quickly suppressed, and directly led to the British Parliament 1841 Act of the Union which abolished the governments in the British Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. A single entity was formed, the Province of Canada. Unofficially, the two parts were still regarded as Canada East (Québec) and Canada West (Ontario). Action was taken to dilute the French culture. Though the population in the east (ethnic French) was greater, both sides received the same number of seats in the legislature, and immigration from other than English speaking nations was severely limited contributing to a large influx of Irish settlers in the area.