Canada-US border management is regularly in the news. I propose to you today to go back to a time when this border was poorly defined, more precisely the segment that borders modern-day Quebec.
1. The Republic of Vermont (1777-1791): the revolution within the revolution
Woodcut, 1858, Library of Congress
Green Mountain Boys reunion.
As early as the American colonial era, the inhabitants of a strip of territory first developed by residents of New Hampshire and then connected to the colony of New York wanted to achieve independent status.
In 1777, what was initially called New Connecticut declared its independence from New York and Great Britain.
The small republic had a local militia, the Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen, the patriot who will team up with Benedict Arnold to capture Fort Ticonderoga. This event marked the first aggressive action by American settlers during the Revolutionary War.
The Republic of Vermont was never recognized by the Continental Congress (the legislative assembly of the thirteen colonies). After briefly considering joining the British in Canadian territory, Vermont became an American state instead in 1791.
2. The Republic of Madawaska (1827)
1783-1784, painting by Benjamin West, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library
Unfinished painting of the signing of the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The British commissioners refused to pose. Pictured left to right: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens and William Temple Franklin.
The founding of the “Republic of the Porcupine” (translation of the Micmac word Madawaska) resulted from an ambiguity in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which marked the end of the Thirteen Colonies’ War of Independence.
The claimed territory was at the junction of Maine, New Brunswick, and present-day Quebec. It was American settler John Baker who became the key activist, going so far as to write the equivalent of a constitution and hoist a flag.
Tensions were so great that the situation degenerated into the Aroostock War, the “hog and bean war” (the main part of the menu for the loggers who populated the region).
This confrontation, which the British and American leaders wished to avoid, was resolved through diplomatic channels and no fatalities were reported.
3. The Indian Power Republic (1832-1835)
Again, it is the vague character of the 1783 treaty that accounts for the birth of the Republic of India. After the Revolutionary War, both the British and the Americans claimed this area between Lower Canada (Quebec) and the state of New Hampshire.
Tired of being taxed by both sides, the small community declared its independence in 1832 without knowing who it was officially parting with! It is an occupation by the New Hampshire militia that will force residents to recognize American authority.
Crossing New Hampshire, this small community of just under 300 people is the birthplace of the city of Pittsburgh.
The Webster-Ashburton contract
National Archives, Washington
Ratification of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842.
The existence of these self-proclaimed republics was short-lived and it was the Webster-Ashburton Treaty that sealed their fate. This treaty not only distributed land to all parties involved, but was seen as a major improvement in relations between England and the United States. The old metropolis and the young republic had been at war between 1812 and 1814.
Once again, the only real losers from this agreement were the First Nations. Not only did we have to accept the benefits of the treaty, we never consulted them.