Louis-Joseph Papineau - Childhood and Education

Childhood and Education

As a child, Papineau was described as an excellent reader, a passionate student, and a well-cultured young man. His arrival at the Seminary of Quebec in 1802 was highly anticipated, and his reputation there preceded him. Upon graduation, he began an apprenticeship under his father with the goal of becoming a blacksmith, but this was quickly abandoned when the young Papineau turned to law, joining his cousin Denis-Benjamin Viger. Denis-Benjamin Vigier "was for a time the assembly's agent in London and became one of Papineau's prominent supporters and close friends; but after the rebellion he was to follow Lafontaine."

Papineau's later childhood was mainly spent on the seigniory of la Petite Nation, located on the Ottawa river, which was purchased by his father in 1801 from the Quebec Seminary. During his time spent at the seigniory of La petite Nation, Papineau was sent to study at the College of Montreal in which he rebelled and was forced to leave college. He was then sent to study at the Seminary of Quebec, where he completed his secondary studies.

In 1808 Papineau was elected member of parliament for Kent (now Chambly, Quebec) before being admitted to the Bar of Lower Canada in 1810. Later, he served as a militia officer in the War of 1812. He married Julie Bruneau, in Quebec City on April 29, 1818.

In 1822, he was sent to London with John Neilson to present a petition of 60,000 signatures against the Union project. While in the United Kingdom, he was replaced by Joseph-Rémi Vallières as Speaker.

In 1826, he was chosen leader of The Patriotes, a reformed and more radical Parti Canadien. In 1831, he sponsored a law which granted full equivalent political rights to Jews, 27 years before anywhere else in the British Empire. The events that lead to Jews receiving full citizenship rights in Lower Canada in advance of other nations or territories in the British Dominion were due to the involvement of one Ezekiel Hart, a Jew who had proved his dedication to the burgeoning Canadian identity by having raised money to support troops in the Lower Canada to help in defence against United States invasion from the south.

Louis-Joseph was part of the committee that wrote the Ninety-Two Resolutions passed by the Legislative Assembly on February 21, 1834. The resolutions called for an elected Legislative Council and an Executive Council responsible before the house of the people's representatives.