On This Day In History: Independence Of Lower Canada – Today Quebec – Proclaimed On Feb 28, 1838

AncientPages.com - On February 28, 1838, Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaimed the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec).

Nelson was born in Sorel (near Montreal) to William Nelson, an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire. He studied medicine in Montreal and later at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

Robert Nelson - leader of the Patriotes, proclaimed the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec). CC0 1.0

During the War of 1812, he was a surgeon for the Deschambault and Indian Braves Corps.

In 1827, Robert Nelson entered politics at the invitation of his brother, Wolfred Nelson, also a doctor and member of the Parti Patriote.

On November 24, 1837, Nelson was arrested with other politicians but was freed soon as not being involved with the rebels, unlike his brother, Wolfred. The latter participated in the Battle of Saint-Denis. His arrest, however, led him to join with the rebels who fled to the United States.

The leaders of the Patriotes voted for the quick establishment of a provisional government and the launch of an attack from the United States. Some important Patriots voted against this idea, including Louis-Joseph Papineau. Robert Nelson was made General of the army and elected future president of Lower Canada's Republic.

Nelson encamped at Alburg, Vermont, with some 300 men. He proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Lower Canada and distributed copies of a declaration of independence. Soon after, they were arrested by the U.S. Army for violation of the law of neutrality of the United States.

Sympathetic to the Patriots' cause, a jury acquitted him and others. After this failed attempt, Robert Nelson and other insurrectionists decided to take the time to organize a new strike.

A clandestine paramilitary association, known as the Frères chasseurs, was set up to overthrow the British colonial governments of Lower and Upper Canada and establish sovereign and democratic republics in their place. A second invasion started on November 3, 1838. Things didn't go as planned, and the invasion forces retreated.

Nelson and others were eventually granted amnesty by the British colonial government and returned home.

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