| The Patriots and the People: The Rebellion of 1837 in Rural Lower Canada Contributor(s): Greer, Allan (Author) |
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ISBN: 0802069304 ISBN-13: 9780802069306 Publisher: University of Toronto Press OUR PRICE: $39.56 Product Type: Paperback Published: December 1993 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Canada - Pre-confederation (to 1867) - History | Revolutionary - History | Modern - 18th Century |
| Dewey: 971.038 |
| LCCN: 94178014 |
| Series: Social History of Canada |
| Physical Information: 1.21" H x 6.42" W x 8.64" (1.35 lbs) 412 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Canadian - Chronological Period - 18th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Lower Canadian Rebellion of 1837 has been called the most important event in pre-Confederation history. Previously, it has been explained as a response to economic distress or as the result of manipulation by middle-class politicians. Lord Durham believed it was an expression of racial conflict. The Patriots and the People is a fundamental reinterpretation of the Rebellion. Allan Greer argues that far being passive victims of events, the habitants were actively responding to democratic appeals because the language of popular sovereignty was in harmony with their experience and outlook. He finds that a certain form of popular republicanism, with roots deep in the French-Canadian past, drove the anti-government campaign. Institutions such as the militia and the parish played an important part in giving shape to the movement, and the customs of the maypole and charivari provided models for the collective actions against local representatives of the colonial regime. In looking closely into the actions, motives, and mentality of the rural plebeians who formed a majority of those involved in the insurrection, Allan Greer brings to light new causes for the revolutionary role of the normally peaceful French-Canadian peasant. By doing so he provides a social history with new dimensions. |
Contributor Bio(s): Greer, Allan: - Allan Greer is a Professor in the Department of History at McGill University. |