Abstract
In 1869 the first attempt of the newly formed Dominion of Canada to expand westward met with the resolute resistance of the French Metis, or half-breed, population of the Red River region. The malcontents acted under the leadership of Louis Riel, a well educated and radical young Metis who felt the extension of Canadian control over Rupert's Land to be an unwarranted encroachment on the rights of the inhabitants of the area. A quick succession of incidents followed the beginning of opposition. Agents of the Canadian government were molested; the relatively ineffective government of the Hudson's Bay Company was superseded by a provisional government controlled by the Metis; and, finally, conciliatory moves and peaceful negotiations gave way to compulsion. An expeditionary force of Imperial and Canadian troops easily prepared the way for the establishment of the Province of Manitoba. It could not, however, create good will where none had existed. After the end of open hostilities many problems remained unsolved, but the misunderstanding concerning an amnesty to those involved in the rebellion did more than any other factor to delay the return of harmony. Discussion of an amnesty began with almost the earliest reports to reach Ottawa from the center of unrest. By the terms of the Queen's proclamation of December 6, 1869, leniency was promised the malcontents on condition of their immediate and peaceful dispersion. When Alexander Tach6, Catholic Bishop of St. Boniface, returned from Rome to Ottawa, in compliance with an urgent appeal from the Dominion authorities, he was told that this offer would still be respected by the Canadian government. Apparently, no specific reference was made to bloodshed, but before his arrival in Red River a
Published Version
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