During Macdonald’s terms as Prime Minister, Louis Riel was one individual who continuously opposed the government in defense of Métis and First Nation rights. Riel’s actions aided in preserving Métis rights and establishing Manitoba, but that is not the sum of Riel’s involvement in Canadian history. In 1885 Riel returned to Canada from exile in the United States to again prevent Métis territory in Saskatchewan, and this time First Nations land as well, from being claimed by European settlers. However, Riel’s rebellion was in vain, and he eventually submitted himself to the North West Mounted Police and was sentenced to death for treason. At the time, the Métis hailed him as an advocator of Metis rights, while the English viewed him as a traitor
Was Louis Riel a hero or a traitor? Well, some individuals say that he was a hero, and others say that he was a traitor. Individually I believe that Louis Riel was a hero because he was the forefather of Manitoba, which is a province of Canada. The fact that he was a persuasive politician and spiritual leader made him a hero as well. Lastly, he stood up for Native rights. Others like the British had thought of him mostly as a traitor, because they were not able to understand that Louis Riel had just needed the Canadian government to treat his people fairly, and that he was willing to do everything for his people. Instead the government had thought that he was violent and evil, so a threat to them. Most people who had seen him as a traitor had realized that he did everything for his people…after his hanging.
The story of Louis Riel began on October 28th 1844. He was born in a log cabin beside Seine Lake. The same priest who married his parents one year earlier baptized Louis on his day of birth. Many people view Louis Riel as the biggest pioneer of Metis in Canadian history. They base their decision on the fortresses he took and his position in Metis organizations. Others call him a joke and despise him. They base this on him being taken to trial for treason and eventually convicted and sentenced to death. As well as him betraying his country and fleeing when the land's owners were switched ruining a chance for a rebellion and having the nerve to return and restart a rebellion only before being arrested tried and hung. Everybody has his or her own view as what to make of Louis Riel. What's yours…? Hero or Villain?
To begin Sprague argues that the Canadian Government disingenuously mismanaged Metis land organization. Sprague states that evidence of this can be seen in the Canadian government not allowing the Lieutenant Governor Adams G. Archibald to make changes to Section 31 and 32 of the Manitoba Act. Archibald proposed the government grant outlined in Section 31 should allocate each person of Aboriginal ancestry an allotment of “140 acres” (pg.75) of land. Archibald also suggested that the location of these allotments be in close proximity so as to “not disperse families throughout the province” (Pg. 75). Lastly Archibald proposed a suggestion in carrying out Section 32 which insured that land owned was not jeopardized during the process of confederacy. He recommended that Manitoba be recognized as an independent province such that affairs including land ownership would be dealt with on a provincial level. Therefore as Sprague argues Archibald’s words were not taken into consideration by both the governments of John A. Macdonald and Alexa...
Napoleon did not always follow through with his theories and ideas about the well being of France with actions, making him very hypocritical; there are however some contrasting points to suggest that not all his choices were insincere. Therefore his initial claims and theories were not completed, his actions contradicted his preliminary ideas. Consequently, Napoleon betrayed the ideas of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
The notion of Quebec nationalism is far from a new concept and is ever present in Quebec. Yet, one can argue the modern push for independence had been sparked by the Richard Riots in 1955. Michael Farber recounts the hockey based events leading up to the infamous riot, stating that at the time from a cultural perspective that French and English relationships had deteriorated preceding the events and they have never been worse. Farber further suggests that one of the major factors in the rioting was due to Richard’s iconic significance to French Canadians. He elaborates that nationalist feelings were amplified by Richard’s suspension, as it was given by an Anglophone Commissioner, known for his anti-French sentiment, only reinforced the fans' feeling of victimization. (Farber,
Across the winter of 1782-1783, the Continental Army huddled in its huts at Newburgh, New York. For all intents and purposes, the war was over. All that remained was for the diplomats to agree on the details. An army of farmers, artisans, and mechanics had achieved victory in its struggle against Great Britain. The Continental Army's growing prowess as well the international nature of the conflict had finally exhausted Britain's will to continue. There would be no victory parade for Washington's army. Officers and men would wait in vain for pay and allowances from the Continental Congress. In the end, Washington would send his men home on furlough, knowing that they would never return to Newburgh. In victory, his army disintegrated because
This paper will look into the historical factors and circumstances that led to the Red River Resistance. The Red River Resistance were the major conflict happened from 1869 to 1871, right after the confederation of Canada. The two parties that had conflict of interests were the Canadian government and the Metis. The Metis were the decedents of English and French and Aboriginal people. Over the years, they had developed their own social code and culture, in some level, isolated them from the mainstream Caucasian society. The Canadian government considered the Metis “violent, uncivilized, and a major deterrent to European settlement”, which meant that they had no intention to treat the Metis with
Napoleon Betrayed the Revolution In order to investigate the claim that ‘Napoleon betrayed the revolution’, it has to be determined what is the French revolution? And what are the revolutionary ideals that Napoleon allegedly betrayed? If Napoleon betrayed the Revolution, then he betrayed the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. However, if Napoleon did not betray the revolution, he consolidated the revolutionary ideals.
Stealing from others: possessions, liberties, or time, is strongly frowned upon. However, since thievery in Unbroken can be seen as a theme, reading the novel by Laura Hillenbrand, one comes across this occurrence many times in many different forms. Louis Zamperini begins and ends his journey with theft. The whole book can be juxtaposed with the theme of stealing, whether metaphorically or literally. The robbed objects are sometimes physical, as in the case of Louis’ boyhood pilfering, the theft of cigarettes and alcohol from and by his fellow pilots, and the POW prisoners’ purloining of food and other necessary goods. Many of the other obvious connections to the overarching theme, however, are
From the year 1869 to 1870 a rebellion in the Red River colony began to happen. The rebellion was caused by the edition of the territory of Rupert's Land to the nation of Canada. The farmers and hunters, many Métis, used parts of Rupert's Land. These people were concerned that their culture and land rights would begin to be under Canadian control. This cause conflicts between Canada and the Metis because they did not like how canada was treating this land as their own even though the metis had lived on it for many years.
Many people saw Louis Riel as a hero because of his passion about preserving the Métis rights and culture. Riel was a great Métis leader because he risked his own life just to improve the Métis’ lives. His heroism began when he returned home to Red River in 1868 after his studies, and discovered that the settlement was alarmed by arrangements to transfer territorial rights from the Hudson’s Bay Company to the Dominion of Canada. This was because the Hudson’s Bay Company resigned its control of the Northwest, and sold Rupert’s Land to Canada. This caused the Métis (people of mixed Aboriginal and European heritage) to fear that they would lose control of their homeland and traditional rights. They we...
Napoleon as the Betrayer to the French Revolution Napoleon Bonaparte has remained one of history's most furiously debated characters. This is because there has been much speculation and many differing interpretations of his actions as leader of France from 1799-1815. Most historians tend to have been torn between the portraits of Napoleon as the heir of the Revolution or as the destroyer of the Revolution's most sacred principles. However, a third opinion has emerged that suggests that Napoleon made revolutionary ideas practical and therefore acted as a bridge between the Ancien Regime and the lofty ideals of the Revolution. Napoleon can be seen as the defender of the French Revolution for several reasons.
The government did also have their rights. Also if Luis Riel had wanted the situation could have been handled more strategically so that people would not be getting arrested and killed. Louis Riel and his followers did not understand that they were living under a government and that they should oblige to their rules and express their disagreement using more peaceful routes. Also rebelling against the government would not have left a good impression of him and the Metis people, whom he was representing. The government would not want consider the opinion of people that rebelled against them. Also in that time it would be an extreme offense to be challenging the government. This action would essentially be disobeying the law. By rebelling he would not be setting a good example to the people that considered him a hero and looked up to him for
The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) represents the Métis community in Manitoba in political, cultural, social and economic matters (Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), 2013). Manitoba Métis Federation, representing Métis in Manitoba, filed a claim asking for a declaration that the federal and provincial statutes, which affected the implementation of Manitoba Act provisions, were "constitutionally invalid” (Chartrand, p. 477, 1991). In Section 31 of Manitoba Act, 1870, it provided lands to the Métis people. Section 32 assured the settlers, Aboriginal or not, that their occupied lands in 1869 would not be “jeopardized” by the wave of newcomers (Sprague...
Was Napoleon Bonaparte the Saviour or the Destroyer of the Ideals of the French Revolution?