Canadians Divided
Canadians Divided
After reading the Continental Congress Manifesto, with its threats, seductions and flattery most Canadians chose to stay out of the conflict.
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| Thomas Walker, an American merchant living in Canada, traveled the Quebec countryside trying to recruit Canadians to join the American cause. (As portrayed by Wayne Best in Canada: A People's History) |
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For them, the American Revolution was viewed as an argument between two brands of Englishmen.
While the manifesto from Congress contained unfortunate truths about Quebec's colonial rule, it was also true that those who had written it had denounced Catholic Canadians as satanic. An alliance with the Americans wouldn't necessarily produce the advertised happiness.
But some Americans living in Canada tried hard to convince their neighbours. The Boston merchant Thomas Walker, who'd come to Montreal in the early 1760s, was among them. A large, one-eared man with a face the colour of a brisket, he travelled the Quebec countryside with his enraged rhetoric, offering money and muskets to those who would join the Americans.
Others took up the cause.
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| Jean-Baptiste Badeaux, a young notary from Trois-Rivires, is portrayed by Stephane Blanchette in Canada: A People's History |
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Clement Gosselin, a carpenter from Sainte-Famille, recruited volunteers along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. Germain Dionne, a wealthy merchant from La Pocatière guaranteed clothing and supplies for the new recruits.
Where the Walkers and Gosselins preached rebellion, the Catholic Church promised damnation. From the Bishop came orders that anyone who took up arms against the King would be denied the sacraments and the right to Christian burial.
But young notary Jean-Baptiste Badeaux wondered if his fellow parishioners were listening. "All around us I can see very good Christians. But there are others here as well. As they were leaving Church I heard, with my own ears several people say that they came to pray for an American victory.
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