The Gavazzi Riots were disturbances created in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in June 1853 by mobs which attacked halls in which ex-Catholic monk

Alessandro Gavazzi Alessandro Gavazzi (21 March 18099 January 1889) was an Italian preacher and patriot. He at first became a monk (1825), and attached himself to the Barnabites at Naples, where he afterwards (1829) acted as professor of rhetoric. He left the chur ...

was lecturing.

Overview

During the spring of 1853 Alessandro Gavazzi, an Italian patriot, visited North America. His lectures at

and

were strongly anti-

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

; and at both places soldiers had to be called out to restore order. The riots also caused political repercussions.

Riot in Quebec City

On the evening of the June 6th, pursuant to previous announcement, Gavazzi proceeded to deliver a discourse in the Free Presbyterian Church, in St. Ursule Street, on the subject of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. A large audience assembled to hear him. When he had been speaking for somewhat more than an hour he was interrupted by violent and abusive exclamations. The interruption was the signal for action on the part of other protestors outside. A volley of stones came crashing through the windows of the church, and immediately afterwards a crowd of persons armed with bludgeons made a forcible entrance into the building. The principal participants were Irish Catholics who reacted violently to Gavazzi's anti-Catholic sentiments. Gavazzi attributed the failure of the Italian national movement of 1848-49 to the defection of Pope Pius IX from the cause, and therefore rejected Catholicism. The Gavazzi Riot in Quebec was quelled by military forces. In February 1854, on acquittal of a Quebec rioter, Gavazzi was burned in effigy.

Riot in Montreal

On June 9, a much more serious affray occurred at Montreal, in consequence of the delivery of a lecture there by Gavazzi. The place of delivery was Zion Church, Haymarket Square. A strong body of police were stationed opposite the church. While the lecture was in progress there was an attempt on the part of a band of Roman Catholic Irish to force their way into the church. A few minutes afterwards the latter returned to the assault, and were again driven back. Charles Wilson, the mayor of the city, ordered the troops to fire upon the crowd. The order was obeyed, and five men fell dead. The firing by the troops put an end to aggression on the part of the mob. It is impossible even to approximate the number of the wounded. Investigation of the riot proceeds at Montreal on June 26. The coroner's report deflected blame from Mayor Wilson. Protestant journalists such as John Dougall of the ''

Montreal Witness ''The Montreal Witness'' was an English-language Protestant newspaper published in Montreal from 1845 to 1938. Mission and Purpose The ''Montreal Witness'' was founded in 1845, by John Dougall. In the December 15, 1845 edition of the ''Witne ...

'' persisted in accusing the mayor for the riots. The Montrealer painter James D. Duncan depicts the event in his work "Gavazzi riot" (1853).

Notes

External links

The Gavazzi Riots and their Consequences

{{MtlHist 1853 riots Riots and civil disorder in Canada History of Montreal History of Quebec City 1853 in Canada Sectarian violence 1853 in Quebec Anti-Protestantism 1850s crimes in Canada

Overview

Riot in Quebec City

Riot in Montreal

Notes

Further reading

External links