PAPINEAU, LOUIS JOSEPH Canadian rebel and politician, son of Joseph Papineau, royal notary and member of the house of Assembly of Lower Canada, was born at Montreal on Oct. 7, 1786. He was educated at the seminary of Quebec, where he developed the gift of declamatory and per suasive oratory. He was called to the bar of Lower Canada on May 19, 181o. On June 18, 1808 he was elected a member of the House of Assembly of the province of Lower Canada, for the county of Kent. In 1815 he became speaker of the house, being already recognized as the leader of the French Canadian party. At this time there were many grievances in the country demand ing redress. In Dec. 182o Lord Dalhousie, governor of Lower Canada, appointed Papineau a member of the executive council; but Papineau, finding himself without real influence on the council, resigned in Jan. 1823. In that year he went to England to protest on behalf of the French Canadians against the projected union of Upper and Lower Canada, a mission in which he was successful. Nevertheless, his opposition to the government became more and more pronounced, till in 1827 Lord Dalhousie refused to confirm his appointment to the speakership, and resigned his governorship when the house persisted in its choice. The aim of the French Canadian opposition at this time was to obtain financial and also constitutional reforms. Matters came to a head when the legis lative assembly of Lower Canada refused supplies and Papineau arranged for concerted action with William Lyon Mackenzie, the leader of the reform party in Upper Canada. In 1835 Lord Gos ford, the new governor of Lower Canada, was instructed by the cabinet in London to inquire into the alleged grievances of the French Canadians. But the attitude of the opposition remained no less hostile than before, and in March 1837 the governor was authorized to reject the demand for constitutional reform and to apply public funds in his control to the purposes of government. In June a warning proclamation by the governor was answered by a series of violent speeches by Papineau, who in August was deprived of his commission in the militia.
Papineau had formerly professed a deep reverence for British institutions, but as party strife became more bitter and real issues were lost sight of Papineau, falling in with the views of one O'Callaghan, who distrusted everything British, became an an nexationist. On Oct. 23, 1837 a meeting of delegates from the six
counties of Lower Canada was held at St. Charles, at which re sistance to the Government by force of arms was decided upon, and in which Papineau took part. In November preparations were made for a general stampede at Montreal, and on the 7th Papineau's house was sacked and a fight took place between the "constitutionals" and the "sons of liberty." Towards the middle of November Colonel Gore was instructed to arrest Papineau and his principal adherents on a charge of high treason. A few hundred armed men had assembled at Saint Denis to resist the troops, and on Nov. 22 hostilities occurred, which resulted in many casualties. On the eve of the fray Papineau sought safety in the United States. On Dec. 1, 1837 a proclamation was issued, declaring Papineau a rebel, and placing a price upon his head.
From 1839 till 1847 Papineau lived in Paris. In 1847 a general amnesty was granted; and, although in June 1838 Lord Durham had issued a proclamation threatening Papineau with death if he returned to Canada, he was now admitted to the benefit of the amnesty. On his return to Canada, when the two provinces were now united, he became a member of the lower house and con tinued to take part in public life, demanding "the independence of Canada, for the Canadians need never expect justice from England, and to submit to her would be an eternal disgrace." He unsuccessfully agitated for the re-division of Upper and Lower Canada, and in 1854 retired into private life. He died at Monte bello, in the province of Quebec, on Sept. 24, 1871.
See L. 0. David, Les Deux Papineau; Fennings Taylor, Louis Joseph Papineau (Montreal, 1865) ; Alfred De Celles, (Toronto, 1906) ; H. J. Morgan, Sketches of Celebrated Canadians (Quebec, 1862) ; Rose's Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography Annual Register (1836-37) ; Sir Spencer Walpole, History of England (5 vols., London, 1878-86), vol. iii.