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The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 in response to frustrations in political reform and ethnic conflict. A key shared goal was the establishment of responsible government.

The rebellions occurred in two Canadian colonies:

• Patriotes Rebellion, also known as the Lower Canada Rebellion - A larger and more sustained conflict between French Canadian and English Canadian rebels and the British colonial government
• The Upper Canada Rebellion - An abortive uprising in Upper Canada against the ruling clique of the colony, known as the Family Compact

The rebellion in Lower Canada began first, in November of 1837, and was led by Louis-Joseph Papineau. This probably inspired the much shorter and much less effective rebellion in Upper Canada led by William Lyon Mackenzie in December.

Although both uprisings were eventually crushed, more moderate reformers like the political partners Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine gained more credibility as an alternative voice to the radicals. They proved to be influential when the BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly government sent Lord Durham to investigate the cause of the troubles. Among the recommendations in his reportThe Report on the Affairs of British North America commonly known as Lord Durham's Report is an important document in the history of Canada and the British Empire. The notable Whig politician John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, was sent to the Canada was the establishment of responsible government for the colonies, which meant that a key objective of the rebellions was achieved because of the incident despite the defeat.

1 Historical Debate about the Rebellions

A major point of debate among English Canadian historians is how closely linked the reform movements in Upper and Lower Canada were. The previously popular view, and the one expressed by Lord Durham, was that these two movements were unique and separate, simply coincidental in time. This view usually interprets the rebellion in Lower Canada largely in ethnic and cultural terms, suggesting that it was primarily a conflict between French Canadian nationalists and an English ruling class, while the less-successful rebellion in Upper Canada was a conflict between republican and monarchical ideology. Increasingly, this view has been questioned by historians such as John Ralston SaulHis Excellency John Ralston Saul (born June 19, 1947) is a Canadian author, essayist and philosopher. He is the husband and Vice Regal Consort to Canada's Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. Born in Ottawa, Saul studied at McGill University in Montreal an. Saul suggests the rebellions were both part of the same broad movement for democratic and republican reform, pointing to the extensive correspondence between the leaders of the rebellion, and the prominence of some English speakers in the rebellion in Lower Canada such as the brothers Wolfred Nelson and Robert Nelson. French Canadian historians often see the rebellions as part of the first international movement for decolonization, which also included the United States, HaitiHaiti is a country situated on the western third of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba; the Dominican Republic shares Hispaniola with Haiti. A former French colony, it was one of the first countries of the Americas, after the Unit, MexicoThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co, BrazilThis article is about Brazil, the country. For other article subjects named Brazil see Brazil (disambiguation). The Federative Republic of Brazil Republica Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America., and several other Central and South American colonies in the early 19th century, as well as independence movements in BelgiumFor alternate meanings, see Belgium (disambiguation). Belgian redirects here. For the horse breed commonly used as a draft horse, see Belgian. The Kingdom of Belgium ( Dutch: Belgi French: Belgique German: Belgien is a country in Western Europe, bordered and Greece.

See also: History of Canada