Conflict & Change Historical Figures

1. Conflict & ChangeHistorical Figures 1750-1850

2. Mathieu Da Costa • Mathieu Da Costa is one of the most fascinating (and elusive) figures in early Canadian history. We don't know a lot about him. But we do know enough to know that he qualifies as the first Black known to have visited Canada. • Da Costa was a free Black African who in the early 1600s was employed as a translator by French and Dutch traders and explorers.  http://www.blackhistorycanada.ca/events.php?themeid=21&id=1

3. Robert Baldwin1804-1858 • Canadian lawyer and politician who, with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, led the first responsible ministry in Canada. • "Responsible Government" marked the country's democratic independence, without a revolution, although not without violence.

4. Sir Isaac Brock 1769-1812 • “The Hero of Upper Canada” • a British Army officer and administrator. • responsible for defending Upper Canada against the United States. • When the War of 1812 broke out, he defeated American invasion efforts. • earned a knighthood, membership in the Order of the Bath, accolades and the sobriquet "The Hero of Upper Canada". • His name is often linked with that of the Native American leader Tecumseh, although the two men collaborated in person only for a few days.[2 • Battle of Queeenston Heights

5. Peter Jones1802 –1856 • an Ojibwa Methodist minister, translator, chief and author from Burlington Heights, Upper Canada. • bridge between the white and Indian communities • preached to the Indians of Upper Canada, • In 1847, Jones led the band to relocate to New Credit on land donated by the Six Nations, who were able to furnish the Mississaugas with title deeds. The Mississaugas of New Credit have since been able to retain title to the land, where they remain

6. William Lyon Mackenzie1795 –1861 • a Scottish-born Canadian and American journalist and politician. • The first mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada • a leader during the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion.

7. Grace Marks1828 –1873 • a Canadian maid who was convicted in 1843 of murder in the death of her employer Thomas Kinnear, and was suspected of murdering his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery. • Her conviction was controversial, and sparked much debate about whether Marks was actually instrumental in the murder, or merely an unwitting accessory. • In 1996, author Margaret Atwood published a novel about Marks, Alias Grace. In that novel's reviews, several critics[1][2] pointed out eerie similarities between Marks and a more recently controversial Canadian murder convict, Karla Homolka.

8. John Norton1760s – 1828+ • The Mohawk Major John Norton (Teyoninhokovrawen) • played a prominent role in the War of 1812, • he translated the Gospel of John into Mohawk. • lead Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) warriors from Grand River into battle against American invaders at Queenston Heights, Stoney Creek, and Chippawa.

9. Louis-Joseph Papineau1786 –1871 • born in Montreal, Quebec, • a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. • He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. • His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec.

10. Richard PierpointHero of 1812 • The man we know as Richard Pierpoint was born around 1745 in the landlocked West African kingdom called Bondu • Captured in his mid-teens by slave traders, he was forcibly transported to New England in 1760 and purchased by a British officer named Pierpoint. • His African name was discarded and he was given the Christian name Richard. Richard would have likely lived out the remainder of his life anonymously had not the American War of Independence intervened.

11. Marie-JosèphAngélique1734 • a Portuguese-born black slave in New France (later the province of Quebec in Canada). • the name given by her last owners[to She was tried and convicted of setting fire to her owner's home, burning much of what is now referred to as Old Montreal. 

12. Peter Russell / Peggy Pompadour • Peter Russell owned slaves. • At first, there were about fifteen slaves living in York (though there were ten more just outside town); the majority owned by Russell and his fellow corrupt administrator, William Jarvis. • Russell paid wages to a free man, Mr. Pompadour, but enslaved his wife Peggy and their children: Jupiter, Amy and Milly. • Russell and his sister, Elizabeth, weren’t happy with them — the Pompadours put up a fight.  • The Russells complained about them for years; called them “dirty,” “idle,” “insolent” and “pilfering”. • As part of her resistance, Peggy would disappear for stretches of time. In response, Russell had her sent to prison for a while, Elizabeth refused to let her back into the house, and Russell finally tried to split the family up.

13. Laura Secord1775-1868 • A Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. • She is known for having walked 20 miles (32 km) out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack. • Her contribution to the war was little known during her lifetime, but since her death she has been frequently honoured in Canada.

14. Tecumseh1768-1813 • a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy (known as Tecumseh's Confederacy) • opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812. • Tecumseh has become an iconic folk hero in American, Aboriginal and Canadian history.[1]

15. Catharine ParrTraill1802 –1899 • An English-Canadian author and naturalist who wrote about life as a settler in Canada. • She describes everyday life in the community, the relationship between Canadians, Americans, and natives, the climate, and local flora and fauna. • More observations were included in a novel, Canadian Crusoes (1851). • She also collected information concerning the skills necessary for a new settler, published in The Female Emigrant's Guide (1854), later retitled The Canadian Settler's Guide. • She wrote "Pearls and Pebbles" and "Cot and Cradle Stories"

16. Esther Brandeau1718-1738 • The first Jewish girl to set foot in Canada, or New France, in 1738. • Around that time, Canada was the only colony of the New World never reported to have been visited by a Jew. • Born in France, Brandeau was able to come to New France because she pretended she was a Roman Catholic boy.

17. Elizabeth Simcoe1762-1850 • N artist and diaristin colonial Canada. • She was the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. • Elizabeth Simcoe left a diary that provides a valuable impression of life in colonial Ontario. • Her legacy also includes a series of 595 water-colour paintings that depict the town of York. 

18. John Parr1725-1791 • Governor Parr Lieutenant Governor of Nova Ascotia. • Events were to unfold in Nova Scotia during Parr's time as governor, including: • the settlement of the "black loyalists" (Parr was charged with "discriminatory practices and long delays"); • the attempted establishment of a whaling industry at Dartmouth ( • the "judges' affair" (certain members of the bar openly criticized certain of the judges of incompetence and partiality). • Biggest issues was between the complaining Loyalists on one side who wanted things and the governmental authorities on the other who were unwilling, for the sake of economy, to give the supplies and money needed to settle these destitute people. http://www.blupete.com/Hist/BiosNS/1764-00/Parr.htm

19. Adolphus Egerton Ryerson1803 – 882 • A Methodist minister, educator, politician, and public education advocate in early Ontario, Canada. • He was the leading opponent of the closed oligarchy that ran the province, calling it the "Family Compact."

20. Joseph Brant1743 –1807 • Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant • a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution.  • During the American Revolutionary War, Brant led Mohawk and colonialLoyalists against the rebels in a bitter partisan war on the New York frontier. • He was accused by the Americans of committing atrocities and given the name "Monster Brant", but the charges were later found to be false. • After the war, he relocated with most of his people to Canada to the Six Nations Reserve, where he remained a prominent leader.

21. Sir Frederick Haldimand, 1718 – 1791 • A military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. • From 1778 to 1786 he served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, during which time he oversaw military operations against the northern frontiers in the war, and engaged in ultimately fruitless negotiations to establish the independent Vermont Republic as a new British province. • His administration of Quebec was at times harsh, with the detention of numerous political dissidents and agitators.

22. George III of the United Kingdom1738–1820 • His life and reign, which were longer than any other British monarch before him, were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia. • Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. • American colonies were soon lost in the American Revolutionary War. • Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

23. William Henry Harrison1773–1841 • Theninth President of the United States (1841), an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when inaugurated, the oldest president to take office until Ronald Reagan in 1981. • Harrison died on his 32nd day in office of complications from pneumonia, serving the shortest tenure in United States presidential history. His death sparked a brief constitutional crisis, but its resolution settled many questions about presidential succession left unanswered by the Constitution until the passage of the 25th Amendment in 1967. • He was grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, who was elected as the 23rd President in 1888.

24. James Madison, Jr.1751 –1836) • an American statesman, political theorist and the fourth President of the United States(1809–1817). • He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for being instrumental in the drafting of the United States Constitution and as the key champion and author of the United States Bill of Rights.[2] • Madison believed the U.S. could easily seize Canada and thus cut off food supplies to the West Indies, making for a good bargaining chip at the peace talks. But the US invasion efforts all failed. • Madison had believed the state militias would rally to the flag and invade Canada, but the governors in the Northeast failed to cooperate..

25. John Graves Simcoe1752-1806 • A British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. • instrumental in introducing institutions such as the courts, trial by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and the abolition of slavery.

26. Alexander Mackenzie1822-1892 • a building contractor and newspaper editor, • the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.

27. Peter Robinson1785 – 1838 • Born in New Brunswick • By 1817 he had been elected to represent the east riding of York in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. • Starting in 1823 through to 1825 he administered the passage and settlement of over 2500 poor Catholic families mostly from County Cork, Ireland to settle in the hinterlands of Lanark County, Carleton County (today Ottawa) and Scott's Plains.

28. Sir James Lucas Yeo1782-1818 • a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812. • Yeo captured Oswego and then blockaded SackettsHarbour on May 6, 1814, when

29. Sir John CoapeSherbrooke1764 – 1830 • ) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, • he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811. • During the War of 1812, his policies and victory in conquest of present day Maine, renaming it the colony of New Ireland, led to significant prosperity in Nova Scotia.

30. Guy Carlton Dorchester1724-1808 • He commanded British troops in the American War of Independence, first leading the defence of Quebec during the 1775 rebel invasion and the 1776 counteroffensive that drove the rebels from the province. • In 1782 and 1783 he led as the commander-in-chief of all British forces in North America. In this capacity he was notable for carrying out the Crown's promise of freedom to slaves who joined the British, • he oversaw the evacuation of British forces, Loyalists and more than 3,000 freedmen from New York in 1783 to transport them to a British colony. • The military and political career of his younger brother Thomas Carleton was interwoven with his own, and Thomas served under him in Canada

31. Charles de Salaberry1778-1829 • as a French-speaking Canadian of the seigneurial class who served as an officer of the British army in Lower Canada (now Quebec). He won distinction for repelling the American advance on Montreal during the War of 1812. • De Salaberry's greatest claim to fame came at Chateauguay in October 1813, when he intercepted and turned the American troops advancing on Montreal under Gen. Hampton. 

32. Catherine Lundy