1058 PERSONS
INCARCERATED
DURING THE 1837 REBELLION IN LOWER CANADA
During the 1837 rebellion and the following three years, 1058
Canadians, mostly French Canadians, were summarily arrested and incarcerated
without judgment on presumption of being rebels. The most common cause for
presumption was for having been seen attending a public rallye held by one of
the political orators or having signed, usually with an X mark, a petition for
changes to the government. The whistle blowers usually benefited by getting some
of the confiscated belongings of the incarcerated. Hence the incentive.
Many were liberated after a few weeks, returning to vandalized houses or no
house at all, but some were kept in jail for 3 or more years while others were
deported and twelve were hanged.
You can access the alphabetical listing by clicking on appropriate link
below.
The list was published by Rev. Johm Douglas Borthwick in 1886: "History of the Montreal Prison from AD 1784 to AD 1886, Containing a Complete Record of the Troubles of 1837 1838 Burning of Parliament Buildings in 1849, the St. Albans Raiders 1864, the Two Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870."
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