Société des Fils de la Liberté
The Société des Fils de la Liberté (French: [sɔsjete dɛ fis də la libɛʁte], Society of the Sons of Liberty) was a paramilitary organization founded in August 1837 in Lower Canada (modern-day Quebec).
History
The society was founded by young supporters of the
The Société des Fils de la Liberté held its first public assembly on September 5 and began to recruit men to form militias. A public assembly was held every Monday after its foundation. It published a manifesto on October 4 and adopted a national anthem for Canada. The organization had two sections: a civil one, led by André Ouimet, Louis-Joseph Papineau and Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan and a military one, led by Thomas Storrow Brown.
Amédée Papineau came up with the motto of the société En avant (French for "go forward").
Various organizations had already been formed who pressured the Governor
Following the November 16 order to arrest 26 Patriote leaders on charges of sedition, including Papineau, O'Callaghan, Brown and Ouimet, many members of the Société des Fils de la Liberté took part in the armed conflict of 1837 and the two invasion attempts of 1838.
See also
- Doric Club
- Lower Canada Rebellion
- History of Quebec
- Timeline of Quebec history
- Quebec independence movement
- United Scotsmen
- United Irishmen
- Sons of Liberty
Footnotes
Further reading
- Michel Ducharme, "Citizens, to Arms! The Rebellions of 1837–1838" in The Idea of Liberty in Canada during the Age of Atlantic Revolutions, 1776-1838. Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2014.
- Benjamin T. Jones, "1837:The Almost Revolution" in Republicanism and Responsible Government. Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2014.
External links
- Manifesto of the Fils de la liberté (in French)
- Manifesto of the Fils de la liberté (Unofficial English translation)