| February 15, 1839 is a sombre page in Quebec's history. Five patriots ascended the scaffold where they would be hanged, outside the Au Pied-du-Courant prison in Montreal. They were Chevalier DeLorimer, Charles Hindenlang, Pierre-Rémi Narbonne, Amable Daunais and François Nicolas, found guilty by the colonial government following the rebellions of 1837 and 1838. François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier De Lorimer: A notary, he was one of the most active leaders of the resistance in 1838. Having participated in the Battle of Saint-Eustache in 1837, he regrouped with the leaders of the patriots in exile in the United States. He was arrested on November 12, 1838 and was 35 years old when executed. Charles Hindenlang: Originally from France, Hindenlang was appointed as the general of the resistance's army. He was tried and sentenced on the same day, January 22, 1839. He was 29 years old when executed. Pierre-Rémi Narbonne: A bailiff, he was notable for his participation in the Battle of Odelltown as an officer, where he would be captured. He was 35 years old at the time of his execution. Amable Daunais: A farmer, he was a member of the war council which issued a death sentence for a spy by the name of Chartrand. He also participated in military engagements in 1838. He was 21 years old at the time of his execution. François Nicolas: A Quebec-born teacher, he participated in the Battle of Saint-Denis. Arrested in July 1838, then released, he went on to participate in the Battle of Odelltown. He was arrested January 18, 1839. He was 41 years old at the time of his execution. The 1837-38 uprising was crushed through brutal force, including the suspension of habeas corpus, mass arrests, burning of homes, the hanging of 12 patriots and forcing of 64 others into exile. More than 1,700 were imprisoned following the suspension of habeas corpus. In Montreal alone in 1838, 816 people were arrested out of a population of 30,000, which translates into 40,000 people out of Montreal's present-day population. Of that number, 108 were court-martialled. Hundreds were forced to flee to the U.S. to escape arrest, including 10 accused of "murder" who faced the death penalty if they ever returned. It was also in 1839 that Lord Durham's report was published in London, England. The report portrayed the matter of the Patriots as a conflict between two races which had then spread and become a conflict between the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council. Wanting to blame the people for organizing to defend their rights, it was the modus operandi of the British colonialists to divide the body politic on an ethnolinguistic basis so as to subjugate everyone. These events that culminated in the execution of the five Patriots on February 15, 1839 marked the suppression of a modern Quebec nation-state whose existence has been denied ever since by depriving the Quebec people, irrespective of their national origin, language or creed, of their right to self-determination as an independent legal entity with the right to form a free and equal union with the rest of Canada if they so decide of their own free will. Today, the memory of the Patriots is honoured by all those working to establish a modern and sovereign Quebec nation. Honour the Memory of the Patriots! |