The Republic of Canada was a declared government proclaimed by William Lyon Mackenzie on December 13, 1837. The self-proclaimed government was established on Navy Island in the Niagara River in the latter days of the Upper Canada Rebellion after Mackenzie and 200 of his followers retreated from Toronto.
On December 29, Royal Navy Commander Andrew Drew and seven boatloads of Canadian militiamen crossed the Niagara River to Fort Schlosser. They captured the American supply steamer Caroline used by William Lyon Mackenzie and his rebels on Navy Island (see Caroline Affair). Drew's forces set the ship alight and sent it adrift towards Niagara Falls, resulting in the death of one American.
On January 13, 1838, Mackenzie abandoned Navy Island under heavy fire from British troops. He fled to Buffalo, New York, and was sentenced in the U.S. to 18 months imprisonment for violating neutrality laws between the United States and the British Empire.
Famous quotes containing the words republic of, republic and/or canada:
“Paper is cheap, and authors need not now erase one book before they write another. Instead of cultivating the earth for wheat and potatoes, they cultivate literature, and fill a place in the Republic of Letters. Or they would fain write for fame merely, as others actually raise crops of grain to be distilled into brandy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Paper is cheap, and authors need not now erase one book before they write another. Instead of cultivating the earth for wheat and potatoes, they cultivate literature, and fill a place in the Republic of Letters. Or they would fain write for fame merely, as others actually raise crops of grain to be distilled into brandy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I do not consider divorce an evil by any means. It is just as much a refuge for women married to brutal men as Canada was to the slaves of brutal masters.”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)