Louis-Joseph Papineau (; October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together wit ...

of 1837–1838. His father was

Joseph Papineau Joseph Papineau (; October 16, 1752 – July 8, 1841) was a civil law notary, notary, seigneurial system of New France, seigneur, and political figure in Lower Canada. Between 1773 and 1775, he worked as a surveyor. Papineau was also a hort ...

, also a politician in Quebec. Papineau was the eldest of eight children and was the grandfather of the journalist

Henri Bourassa Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the Government of the United Kingdom, British government's request for Cana ...

, founder of the newspaper ''

Le Devoir (, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...

''.

Childhood and education

Papineau was described as an energetic child. He first studied in Montreal, at the Collège Saint-Raphaël from 1796 onwards, then at the Petit Séminaire de Québec, from 1802 to 1804."Louis-Joseph Papineau", 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 cousin

Denis-Benjamin Viger Denis-Benjamin Viger (; August 19, 1774 – February 13, 1861) was a 19th-century politician, lawyer, and newspaper publisher in Lower Canada, who served as joint premier of the Province of Canada for over two years. A leader in the Patri ...

. 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." 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. 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.

Jérôme Demers Jérôme Demers (August 1, 1774 – May 17, 1853) was a Québécois Roman Catholic priest, author, architect, educator, and ecclesiastical administrator. He was perhaps best known as a teacher of philosophy (along with literature, architecture, and ...

was among his teachers. In 1808 Papineau was elected member of parliament for Kent (now

Chambly, Quebec Chambly () is an Greater Montreal, off-island suburb of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located in the Montérégie region, inland from the South Shore (Montreal), South Shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It was formed from the m ...

) before being admitted to the Bar of Lower Canada in 1810. Later, he served as a militia officer in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. In 1822, he was sent to London with John Neilson to present a petition of 60,000 signatures against the Union project. While in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, he was replaced by

Joseph-Rémi Vallières de Saint-Réal Joseph-Rémi Vallières de Saint-Réal (October 1, 1787 – February 17, 1847) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born Joseph-Rémi Vallière at Carleton, Quebec, on the Bay of Chaleur, in 1787, the son of bl ...

as Speaker. In 1826, he was chosen leader of the Patriotes, a reformed and more radical ''Parti Canadien''. In 1831, he sponsored a law which granted full equivalent political rights to

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s, 27 years before anywhere else in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. 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 one

Ezekiel Hart Ezekiel Hart (15 May 1770 – 16 September 1843) was an entrepreneur and politician in British North America. He is often said to be the first Jew to be elected to Public administration, public office in the British Empire. He was elected twice ...

, 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 against

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

invasion from the south. Papineau was part of the committee that wrote the

Ninety-Two Resolutions The Ninety-Two Resolutions were drafted by Louis-Joseph Papineau and other members of the '' Parti patriote'' of Lower Canada in 1834. The resolutions were a long series of demands for political reforms in the British-governed colony. Papineau ha ...

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.

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly

Papineau was elected Speaker of the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of e ...

on January 21, 1815. The same year, he replaced

Pierre-Stanislas Bédard Pierre-Stanislas Bédard (September 13, 1762 – April 26, 1829) was a lawyer, judge, journalist and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Charlesbourg in 1762, descended from French ancestors who had first arrived in New Franc ...

as leader of the ''

Parti Canadien The () or () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal professionals and small-scale ...

''. Under his leadership, the party worked for the reform of Lower Canada's political institutions and strongly opposed the abuses of the appointed

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. In 1820, he refused a position on the Legislative Council offered by governor Dalhousie.

Leader of the Patriotes

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 John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 186 ...

). 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 the ''Conseil des Patriotes'' with

Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, (probably 27 February 1797 – 29 May 1880) was an Irish doctor, historian and journalist. Career Born in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland, he studied medicine in Paris and immigrated to Lower Canada in 1823 where he ...

. He and O'Callaghan fled Montreal for Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu on November 16, after governor Lord Gosford ordered their arrest and that of 25 other Patriot leaders. Papineau and O'Callaghan went to the home of

Wolfred Nelson Wolfred Nelson (10 July 1791 – 17 June 1863) was the mayor of Montreal, Quebec, from 1854 to 1856. Biography Nelson was born in Montreal. His father, William Nelson, was an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire, Eng ...

. He crossed the United States border on November 25.

In exile

On February 8, 1839, he departed to leave

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he hoped to get France involved. In May, he published the ''Histoire de l'insurrection du Canada'' (History of the insurrection in Canada) in the magazine ''Progrès''. Despite meeting with influential politicians such as

Alphonse de Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...

and Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais, the France of

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

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". His role in the 1837 rebellions against British rule forced him into a period of exile, during which he visited

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In 1845, three years after he was granted amnesty by the colonial government, he returned to Montreal in what was now the united

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

Return to politics

In 1848, he was elected member of the new united

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

in the riding of Saint-Maurice. In severe disagreement with the emerging French Canadian Liberal Party, he sat as an independent member. A convinced republican after a long exile in the United States and France, Papineau supported the Montreal Annexation Manifesto that called for Canada to join the United States of America. Papineau, along with John Molson Jr., the son of

John Molson John Molson (28 December 1763 – 11 January 1836) was an English people, English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Province of Quebec (1763–91), Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada. In addition to founding Molson Brewe ...

, and

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He took credit for the Ameri ...

, served as the first Vice-Presidents of the Montreal Mechanics' Institute. He participated in the creation of the ''

Parti rouge The (, "Red Party"; or , "Democratic Party") was a political group that contested elections in the Canada East, Eastern section of the Province of Canada. It was formed around 1847 by radical French-Canadians; the party was inspired by the ideas ...

''. He was defeated in 1851 but elected in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

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 the '' Institut Canadien de Montréal'' in December 1867. He died at his manor in

Montebello, Quebec Montebello () is a Municipality (Quebec), municipality located in the Papineau Regional County Municipality of Western Quebec, Canada. At the 2021 census, there were 934 permanent residents. The village has a total area of , and is located at the ...

near the modern

Château Montebello The Fairmont Le Château Montebello, formerly and commonly known as the Château Montebello, is a historic hotel and resort complex in Montebello, Quebec, Montebello, Quebec, Canada. The resort complex includes a large game reserve and a large woo ...

on September 23, 1871.

Memorials

Both Papineau's manor house in Montebello and his house in Montreal are National Historic Sites, 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. 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 Premier

Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a Member of the National Assembly (Quebec), member of the National Assembly in various ridings ...

. Papineau is commemorated by a public artwork installed in the metro station, Papineau that serves the street named for his father

. L'École Secondaire Louis-Joseph Papineau in Montreal was named after him.

Family

Papineau married Julie Bruneau in Quebec City on April 29, 1818. Together, they had nine children . * Amédée Papineau (1819–1903) *Didier Papineau (1820–1821); *Lactance Papineau (1822–1862) *Arthur Papineau (1824–1825); *Aurelie Papineau (1826–1830); *Ézilda Papineau (1828–1894) – had dwarfism, did not have any children and stayed all her life in Quebec; *Gustave Papineau (1830–1851); *Charles Papineau (1833–1834); *Azélie Papineau (1834–1869) – married the painter and architect

Napoléon Bourassa Napoléon Bourassa (; October 21, 1827 – August 27, 1916) was a prominent Canadians, Canadian architect, painter and writer whose offices were located in Montreal, Quebec. Early life and training Born in L'Acadie, Quebec, he studied at Col ...

(1827–1916), mother of

, a famous journalist.

Artworks

Paintings

, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', ''beau-père de l'artiste'', 1858, 152 x 114,9 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.

Alfred Boisseau Alfred Boisseau (1823–1901) was an American/Canadian artist who was born in Paris, France. He was known as a painter and photographer, who specialized in paintings of North American Natives and the West. As a young man in his 20s, Boisseau immig ...

, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1871, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Charles Alexander Smith, ''L'Assemblée des six comtés à Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu en 1837'', 1891, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.

Lithography

Gerome Fassio, adapted from

Antoine Maurin Antoine Maurin (; 19 December 1771 – 4 October 1830) commanded a French cavalry division in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars and in 1815 led his troops against the Prussians at Ligny where he was wounded. His army service began in 1792 during t ...

, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1844, lithography, 37,8 x 30,7 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.

Sculptures

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. Louis-Philippe Hébert, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1887, 75 x 28 x 24 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Napoléon Bourassa, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1900, 72 x 60,4 x 13,1 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Napoléon Bourassa, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1900, 48 x 37 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Napoléon Bourassa, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1900, 48 x 37 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Napoléon Bourassa, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1900, 58 x 45,5 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Napoléon Bourassa, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1900, 58 x 45,5 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Napoléon Bourassa, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1900, 48 x 37 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec. Napoléon Bourassa, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'', 1900, 47 x 36 x 10 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.

Photography

Thomas Coffin Doane, ''Louis-Joseph Papineau'',

Daguerréotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photography, photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwid ...

, 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. 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. 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. 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.

Photo-engraving

, ''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.

Drawing

Jobson Paradis, ''La Chapelle funéraire Papineau, Montebello'', circa 1900-1915, 23,4 x 28,6 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec.

Note

The Art works section was copied and adapted from the French Wikipedia page of

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (; October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reform ...

. See that page's history for attribution.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * Without ISBN

External links

* *
Les 92 Résolutions
(PDF in French)

* (in French). * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080607054109/http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10131 Historica’s Heritage Minute video docudrama about “Hart and Papineau.”(

Adobe Flash Player Adobe Flash Player (known in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome as Shockwave Flash) is a discontinuedExcept in China, where it continues to be used, as well as Harman for enterprise users. computer program for viewing multimedia ...

)
''Louis-Joseph Papineau: The Demi-God''
a 1961

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

dramatization (

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Papineau, Louis-Joseph 1786 births 1871 deaths Canadian people of the War of 1812 Canadian republicans Canadian Roman Catholics Collège Saint-Raphaël alumni Lawyers in Quebec Lawyers from Montreal Lower Canada Rebellion people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Montreal City and District Savings Bank directors Papineau–Viger–Cherrier family Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Petit Séminaire de Québec alumni Politicians from Montreal Recipients of Canadian royal pardons Seigneurial owners