Louis Joseph Papineau | |
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| Born | (1786-10-07)October 7, 1786 |
| Died | September 23, 1871(1871-09-23) (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, Member of Provincial Parliament, Speaker of the House of Assembly |
| Signature | |
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Louis-Joseph Papineau (French pronunciation:[lwiʒozɛfpapino]; October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born inMontreal,Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of theseigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformistPatriote movement before theLower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father wasJoseph Papineau, also a politician in Quebec. Papineau was the eldest of eight children[1] and was the grandfather of the journalistHenri Bourassa, founder of the newspaperLe Devoir.
Papineau was described as an energetic child. He first studied in Montreal, at theCollège Saint-Raphaël from 1796 onwards, then at the Petit Séminaire de Québec, from 1802 to 1804.[2] His arrival at the Petit Séminaire de Québec was highly anticipated, and his reputation preceding him. Upon graduation, he began an apprenticeship under his father with the goal of becoming a blacksmith, but this was quickly abandoned when the young Papineau turned to law, joining his cousinDenis-Benjamin Viger.[1] Viger "was for a time the assembly's agent in London and became one of Papineau's prominent supporters and close friends, but after the rebellion, he was to follow Lafontaine."[1]
Papineau's later childhood was mainly spent on the seigniory of la Petite Nation, located on the Ottawa river, which was purchased by his father in 1801 from the Quebec Seminary.[1] During his time spent at the seigniory of La Petite-Nation, Papineau was sent to study at the College Saint-Raphaël in Montreal, where he rebelled and was forced to leave college. He was then sent to study at the Petit Seminaire de Québec, where he completed his secondary studies.[3]Jérôme Demers was among his teachers.[4][5]
In 1808 Papineau was elected member of parliament for Kent (nowChambly, Quebec) before being admitted to the Bar of Lower Canada in 1810. Later, he served as a militia officer in theWar of 1812.[6]
In 1822, he was sent to London withJohn Neilson to present a petition of 60,000 signatures against the Union project. While in theUnited Kingdom, he was replaced byJoseph-Rémi Vallières de Saint-Réal as Speaker.
In 1826, he was chosen leader of the Patriotes, a reformed and more radicalParti Canadien. In 1831, he sponsored a law which granted full equivalent political rights toJews, 27 years before anywhere else in theBritish Empire. The events that led to Jews receiving full citizenship rights in Lower Canada in advance of other nations or territories in the British Dominion were due to the involvement of oneEzekiel Hart, a Jew who had proved his dedication to the burgeoning Canadian identity by raising money to support troops in Lower Canada to help in defence againstUnited States invasion from the south.
Papineau was part of the committee that wrote theNinety-Two Resolutions passed by the Legislative Assembly on February 21, 1834. The resolutions called for an elected Legislative Council and an Executive Council responsible before the house of the people's representatives.
Papineau was electedSpeaker of theLegislative Assembly of Lower Canada on January 21, 1815. The same year, he replacedPierre-Stanislas Bédard as leader of theParti Canadien. Under his leadership, the party worked for the reform of Lower Canada's political institutions and strongly opposed the abuses of the appointedLegislative Council.
In 1820, he refused a position on the Legislative Council offered by governorDalhousie.
The British government eventually responded to the 92 Resolutions by issuing ten resolutions of their own, the Russell Resolutions (named after the Home Secretary,Lord John Russell). The British government rejected all of the 92 Resolutions. After the arrival of the Russell Resolutions in Lower Canada on March 6, 1837, Papineau led the movement of protest and participated in numerous popular assemblies. He led the committee that organized the boycott of essentially all British imports to Lower Canada. On November 15, he created theConseil des Patriotes withEdmund Bailey O'Callaghan. He and O'Callaghan fled Montreal forSaint-Denis-sur-Richelieu on November 16, after governorLord Gosford ordered their arrest and that of 25 other Patriot leaders. Papineau and O'Callaghan went to the home ofWolfred Nelson. He crossed the United States border on November 25.
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On February 8, 1839, he departed to leaveNew York City forParis where he hoped to get France involved. In May, he published theHistoire de l'insurrection du Canada (History of the insurrection in Canada) in the magazineProgrès. Despite meeting with influential politicians such asAlphonse de Lamartine andHughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais, the France ofLouis-Philippe also remained neutral. After his wife left in 1843 "he spent a large part of his leisure in the main archival repositories in Paris, where he copied documents relating to French rule in Canada".[7]
His role in the1837 rebellions against British rule forced him into a period of exile, during which he visitedItaly andSwitzerland. In 1845, three years after he was granted amnesty by the colonial government, he returned to Montreal in what was now the unitedProvince of Canada.[7]
In 1848, he was elected member of the new unitedLegislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in the riding ofSaint-Maurice. In severe disagreement with the emerging French Canadian Liberal Party, he sat as an independent member. A convincedrepublican after a long exile in the United States and France, Papineau supported theMontreal Annexation Manifesto that called for Canada to join the United States of America.[8][9]
Papineau, along withJohn Molson Jr., the son ofJohn Molson, andHoratio Gates, served as the first Vice-Presidents of theMontreal Mechanics' Institute. He participated in the creation of theParti rouge. He was defeated in 1851 but elected in aby-election in 1852. He did not present himself again in the elections of 1854. He retired from public life and reappeared only once to hold a conference at theInstitut Canadien de Montréal in December 1867. He died at his manor inMontebello, Quebec near the modernChâteau Montebello on September 23, 1871.
Both Papineau's manor house in Montebello and his house in Montreal areNational Historic Sites,[10][11] and both are units of the national park system. The one in Montreal, designated in 1968, is closed to the public, but the Montebello property, designated in 1986, is open seasonally, from May to October. Papineau, himself, was named a National Historic Person in 1937.[12] A federal plaque reflecting that status was finally unveiled in 2022, with plans to install it at Montebello.
On October 21, 2012, a monument to his memory was unveiled at Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu by Quebec PremierPauline Marois.
Papineau is commemorated by a public artwork installed in the metro station,Papineau that serves the street named for his fatherJoseph Papineau.[13] L'École Secondaire Louis-Joseph Papineau in Montreal was named after him.[14][15]
Papineau married Julie Bruneau in Quebec City on April 29, 1818. Together, they had nine children .[16][17]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau,beau-père de l'artiste, 1858, 152 x 114,9 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[18]
Alfred Boisseau,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1871, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[19]
Charles Alexander Smith,L'Assemblée des six comtés à Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu en 1837, 1891, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[19]
Gerome Fassio, adapted fromAntoine Maurin,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1844, lithography, 37,8 x 30,7 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[20]
Louis-Philippe Hébert, adapted from Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1874, 28,8 x 14 x 11,5 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[21]
Louis-Philippe Hébert,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1887, 75 x 28 x 24 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[22]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1900, 72 x 60,4 x 13,1 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[23]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1900, 48 x 37 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[24]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1900, 48 x 37 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[25]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1900, 58 x 45,5 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[26]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1900, 58 x 45,5 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[27]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1900, 48 x 37 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[28]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1900, 47 x 36 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[29]
Thomas Coffin Doane,Louis-Joseph Papineau,Daguerréotype, c. 1852, Library and Archives Canada,reference #3195235
Jules-Isaïe Benoît, dit Livernois,Louis-Joseph Papineau. Photographie d'un tableau de Théophile Hamel, 1863, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[30]
Unknown,Louis-Joseph Papineau, de l'album Eugène-Hamel, circa 1865, 9,8 x 5,1 cm and; 7,8 x 4,6 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[31]
Henri-Napoléon Grenier,Louis-Joseph Papineau, de l'album de collection dit de Napoléon Garneau, 1870-1871, 10,2 x 6,3 cm; and 9,5 x 5,9 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[32]
Unknown,Le Musée du manoir Papineau, à Montebello, circa 1895, 25,3 x 30,3 cm and 16,3 x 21,3 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[33]
Napoléon Bourassa,Louis-Joseph Papineau, circa 1900, 13,5 x 9 cm and 38,1 x 29,2 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[34]
Jobson Paradis,La Chapelle funéraire Papineau, Montebello, circa 1900-1915, 23,4 x 28,6 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.[35]
The Art works section was copied and adapted from the French Wikipedia page ofLouis-Joseph Papineau . See that page's history for attribution.
There is a Papineau family collection atLibrary and Archives Canada.[36] There is also a Papineau familyfonds atBibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.[37]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | MPP, District of Kent 1809–1814 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | MPP, District of Montreal West 1814–1837 | Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by | MLA, District ofSaint-Maurice 1848–1851 | Succeeded by |
