Description
Book SynopsisIn December 1837 assemblyman Dr Charles Duncombe of Burford led a rebellion in south-western Upper Canada, gathering 500 men near Brantford. Historians have assumed that Duncombe acted in concert with William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the revolt near Toronto. Professor Read finds this supposition wrong, though acknowledging that Duncombe was induced to promote rebellion by the erroneous report that Mackenzie and his men had taken Toronto.
To better define the events of the period, Read examines the states of society in the western ear of the Gore district and much of the London district, including settlement and the national and religious backgrounds of the inhabitants, and the types of society and economy they evolved. He looks at their political culture and its development, clearly indicating the battle lines drawn between Reformers and Tories in the pre-rebellion period – lines which grew increasingly rigid as the rebellion neared, hardened by a number of issues, so
