The Report on the Affairs of British North America, commonly known as Lord Durham's Report, is an important document in the history of Quebec, Canada and the British Empire. Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Official languages French Government - Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault - Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 75 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area Ranked 2nd - Total 1,542,056 km² - Water... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

The notable British Whig politician John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, was sent to the Canadas in 1838 to investigate and report on the causes of the rebellions of 1837-38. Durham arrived in Quebec City on May 27. He had just been appointed Governor General and given special powers as high commissioner of British North America. The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid 19th centuries. ... John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham (12 April 1792 - 28 July 1840), was a British Whig statesman and colonial administrator, Governor-General and high commissioner of British North America. ... The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 and 1838 in response to frustrations in political reform and ethnic conflict. ... Motto: Don de Dieu feray valoir (I shall put Gods gift to good use) Site in the province of Quebec Coordinates: Country  Canada Province  Quebec Agglomeration Quebec City Statute of the city Capitale-Nationale Administrative Region Capitale-Nationale Founded 1608 by Samuel de Champlain Constitution date 1833 Government  - Mayor... May 27 is the 147th day of the year (148th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Governor General of Canada (French: Gouverneure générale du Canada or Gouverneur général du Canada) is the vice-regal representative in Canada of the Canadian Monarch, who is Canadas Head of State; Canada is one of sixteen Commonwealth realms, all of which share a single... British North America was an informal term first used in 1783, but uncommon before the Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839), called the Durham Report. ...

Durham had spoken to merchants in Britain who wanted greater British control over the Canadas, as they felt the French Canadians' presence in Lower Canada undermined their economic interests. Map of Lower Canada (green) Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791-1841). ...

Enquiry

In Canada, he formed numerous committees consisting of essentially all the opponents of the Patriotes and made many personal observations of life in the colonies. He also visited the United States. Durham wrote that he had assumed he would find that the rebellions were based on liberalism and economics, but he eventually concluded that the real problem was the ethnic conflict between French and English. According to Durham, the French culture in Canada had changed little in 200 years, and showed no sign of progress like British culture had. His report contains the famous assessment that Canada consisted of "two nations warring within the bosom of a single state." (1838) Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... Social progress is defined as a progress of society, which makes the society better in the general view of its members. ...

Recommendations

Durham recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be united into one province, which would give British Canadians a slight advantage in population. He also encouraged immigration to Canada from Britain, to further marginalize the supposedly backwards French Canadians and hopefully assimilate them into British culture.^[1] The freedoms granted to the French Canadians under the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 should also be rescinded; according to Lord Durham this would eliminate the possibility of future rebellions. The French Canadians did not necessarily have to give up their religion and language entirely, but it could not be protected at the expense of what Durham considered a more progressive British culture.

The proposed merger would also benefit Upper Canada as the construction of canals led to a considerable debt load; while access to the former Lower Canada fiscal surplus would allow that debt to be to erased.

He also recommended responsible government, in which the governor general would be a figurehead and the legislative assembly would hold a great deal of power. In the responsible government, the legislative assembly would be elected by the people. The party with majority would hold power and as long as they held support, they would keep power. Flag Map of Upper Canada (orange) Capital Newark 1792 - 1797 York 1797 - 1841 Language(s) English Religion Anglican Government Constitutional monarchy Sovereign  - 1791-1820 George III  - 1837-1841 Victoria Lieutenant-Governor See list of Lieutenant-Governors Legislature Parliament of Upper Canada  - Upper house Legislative Council  - Lower house Legislative Assembly Historical... Map of Lower Canada (green) Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791-1841). ... A portion of eastern North America; the 1763 Proclamation line is the border between the red and the pink areas. ... The Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 14 Geo. ...

Reactions

In exile in France, Louis-Joseph Papineau published the Histoire de l'insurrection du Canada (History of the insurrection in Canada) in the magazine Progrès in May. In June, it appeared in Canada in Ludger Duvernay's La Revue canadienne as Histoire de l'insurrection du Canada en réfutation du Rapport de Lord Durham (History of the insurrection of Canada in refutation of the Report of Lord Durham). Portrait of Louis-Joseph Papineau. ... Ludger Duvernay (January 22, 1799 - November 28, 1852) was born in Verchères, Quebec. ...

The assertion that the so-called "French" Canadians had no history and no culture and that the conflict was primarily that of two ethnic groups evidently outraged Papineau. It was pointed out that many of the Patriote leaders were of British or British Canadian origin, including among others Wolfred Nelson, hero of the Battle of Saint-Denis; Robert Nelson, author of the Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada, who would have become President of Lower Canada had the second insurrection succeeded; journalist Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan; and Thomas Storrow Brown, general during the Battle of St-Charles. It was also pointed out that an uprising had occurred in Upper Canada where there was only one "race". According to Papineau and other Patriotes, the analysis of the economic situation of French Canadians was biased. Indeed, from 1791 to the rebellions, the elected representatives of Lower Canada had been demanding the control over the budget of the colony. Wolfred Nelson, (July 10, 1791 – June 17, 1863) was from 1854 – 1856 the mayor of Montreal, Quebec. ... Combatants United Kingdom Canadian Patriotes Commanders Charles Stephen Gore Wolfred Nelson Strength 300 regulars 1 gun 200 militia 600 unarmed civilians Casualties 6–54 dead 10 wounded 6 missing 12 dead 7 wounded The Battle of St. ... Robert Nelson - Lopinion publique, Vol. ... The Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada was written in French by the patriot rebel Robert Nelson on February 22, 1838, while in exile in the United States, after the first rebellion of 1837. ... Edmund Bailey OCallaghan, (probably 27 February 1797 – 29 May 1880) born in Mallow, Ireland, was a doctor and journalist. ... Thomas Storrow Brown (born July 7, 1803 - died November 26, 1888) was a Canadian journalist, writer, orator, and revolutionary. ... Combatants United Kingdom Lower Canada Patriotes Commanders George Augustus Wetherall Thomas Storrow Brown Strength 420 regulars 2 guns 200 militia Casualties 3 dead 18 wounded 150 dead The Battle of Saint-Charles was fought on November 25, 1837 between Great Britain and Lower Canada rebels. ...

Conclusion

Durham resigned on September 29 and was soon replaced by Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham, who was responsible for implementing the Union of the Canadas. The report of Durham was published in London in February 1839. September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham (1799 - September 19, 1841) was the first Governor of the united Province of Canada. ... Note: for information about Canadas present-day provinces, see Provinces and territories of Canada. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Notes

1. ^ David Mills. Durham Report. Historica Foundation of Canada. Retrieved on 2006-05-18.

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See Also

• Rebellions of 1837
• Charles Buller
• Edward Gibbon Wakefield
• Richard Hanson (Australian politician)

The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 and 1838 in response to frustrations in political reform and ethnic conflict. ... Charles Buller (August 6, 1806 - November 28, 1848), English politician, son of Charles Buller (d. ... Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 1796 – May 16, 1862) was the driving force behind much of the early colonization of South Australia, and later New Zealand. ... Sir Richard Davies Hanson (December 6, 1805, London - March 4, 1876), was the fourth Premier of South Australia, from 30 September 1857 until 8 May 1860, and chief justice of South Australia. ...

External links

• Lord Durham's Report on the Affairs of British North America
• Excerpt of Histoire de l'insurrection du Canada en réfutation du Rapport de Lord Durham (in French)