English speakers for the independence of Québec: Difference between revisions

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"Is ''Québécois'' who wants to be one." - René Lévesque (French: ''Est Québécois qui veut l'être.'')
"Is ''Québécois'' who wants to be one." - René Lévesque (French: ''Est Québécois qui veut l'être.'')


The prevalence of the English language being what it naturally is in Canada and North America, approximately 40% of the population of Quebec claims to be able to carry on a conversation in that language, despite the fact that only 8% speak it as their native tongues. That makes a lot of second language speakers. Within this climate, where English is often the only common denominator between citizens, about half of all language shifts are directed toward English, instead of French, the language of the majority and Quebec's sole official language since 1974. As a minority in Quebec but a considerable and organized majority in Canada, the comparison between the situation of anglophone Quebecers and the francophones minorities in the other provinces of Canada is dubious. Yet, the federal state of Canada choses to ignore this and even encourages people to believe that the efforts by the Quebec government to redress the situation of the French language are illegitimate as they step on the rights of the anglophone "minority".
Throughout history, a considerable number of native speakers of the English tongue have come to understand, love and identify to Quebec in the way the majority of Quebecers do. Often through assimilation, but not always, numerous Irish, Scots and English people have come to see themselves as full members of a French speaking society that has always, in spite of the colonization context, treated British immigrants with the respect all human beings deserve. Quebec nationalists are engaged in a battle that is directed not against individual English speakers, not against English speaking nations, but against the injustice of imperialism and colonialism.


English speakers by birth or adoption are mostly concentrated on the west end of the Montreal island, where they have a well established network of educational, social and cultural institutions built after the Conquest. Other important communities exist in the Quebec portion of the Ottawa-Hull region and the Eastern Townships. Historically, this community has given its loyalty to Great Britain and its Empire and gradually broke ties with this nation after the Second World War like the rest of English-speaking Canada. This separation from Great Britain allowed for a Coast-to-Coast Canadian nationalism to prevail among English speakers, clashing, on the territory of Quebec, with the much older nationalism of the francophone majority.
Among those people of foreign origin who joined Quebecers in their fight for independence, natives of the British isles and the various regions of the world colonized by the British account for a very important part. Below is a list of some of these courageous individuals who sided with the truth, justice and humanity in a difficult context.
 
Since the rise of Québec as a society mainly controlled by its French-speaking majority, the anglophone community is increasingly bilingual (English-French) and or trilingual in the case of allophones who adopted English. Many Quebec anglophones identify strongly with Quebec, however they in the majority think of it as a special province of Canada, not has the historical homeland of the Quebec people. There exists a major communication problem between Quebec Francophones and the Anglophones of Canada, including those native of Quebec.
 
Nevertheless, throughout history a considerable number of native speakers of the English tongue have come to understand, love and identify to Quebec in the way the majority of Quebecers do. Often through assimilation but not always, numerous Irish, Scots and English people have come to see themselves as full members of a society that has always, in spite of the colonization context, threated British immigrants with the respect all humans deserve. Quebec nationalists are engaged in a battle that is directed not against individual English speakers, not against English speaking nations, but against the injustice of imperialism and colonialism.
 
Among those people of foreign origin, natives of the British isles and the various regions of the world colonized by the British account for a very important portion of those men and women who joined Quebecers in their fight for independence. Below is a list of some of these courageous individuals who sided with the truth, justice and humanity.


==Contemporary supporters==
==Contemporary supporters==

Revision as of 15:49, 6 December 2006

"Is Québécois who wants to be one." - René Lévesque (French: Est Québécois qui veut l'être.)

Throughout history, a considerable number of native speakers of the English tongue have come to understand, love and identify to Quebec in the way the majority of Quebecers do. Often through assimilation, but not always, numerous Irish, Scots and English people have come to see themselves as full members of a French speaking society that has always, in spite of the colonization context, treated British immigrants with the respect all human beings deserve. Quebec nationalists are engaged in a battle that is directed not against individual English speakers, not against English speaking nations, but against the injustice of imperialism and colonialism.

Among those people of foreign origin who joined Quebecers in their fight for independence, natives of the British isles and the various regions of the world colonized by the British account for a very important part. Below is a list of some of these courageous individuals who sided with the truth, justice and humanity in a difficult context.

Contemporary supporters

Robin Philpot

Native of Thunder Bay in Ontario, historian and author. Lived in Africa where he was teaching and moved to Quebec in 1974. Is currently a Parti québécois candidate for the Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne riding.

Jane Jacobs

Biography in Wikipedia: Jane Jacobs

A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, urban planner and author.

David Levine

Biography in Wikipedia: David Levine

Native of Quebec, former PQ member of the National Assembly.

David Payne

Biography in Wikipedia: David Payne

Native of Quebec, political counsellor.

Calvin Veltman

Biography in Wikipedia: Calvin Veltman

Native of the United States, professor at

Robert Mckenzie

Biography in Wikipedia: Robert Mckenzie

retired journalist

Paul Unterberg

Biography in Wikipedia: Paul Unterberg

PQ candidate

19th supporters

Lower Canada

Wolfred Nelson

Biography in Wikipedia: Wolfred Nelson

Born in 1792 in Montreal, he studied medicine. In 1827, he was elected Member of Parliament, but gave up active politics in 1830, without disavowing his reformist allegiance. He became a patriot leader in the region of the Richelieu river valley, and supported the use of arms at the Assemblée des Six-Comtés in 1837. He lead the patriots of St-Denis to victory, and was arrested soon after. Exiled to the Bermudas in 1838, he came back to Montreal in 1842, and in 1844 was elected to the new Parliament of Canada. In 1854, he became mayor of Montreal. He died in June 1863.

Robert Nelson

Biography in Wikipedia: Robert Nelson

Born in 1794 in Montreal, brother of Wolfred. He also studied medicine, and obtained great fame as a surgeon. He was elected Member of Parliament in 1827, and although he did not take part in the 1837 rebellion, he was imprisoned for it, and released thereafter. He organized the invasions of 1838 from the United States and participated to both armed conflicts. In February, as provisional President of the Republic, he distributes a declaration of independence in Lower Canada. After the failure of the second rebellion he flees to the United States again, where he practised medicine. He died in New York in 1873.

Edmund-Bailey O'Callaghan

Biography in Wikipedia: Edmund-Bailey O'Callaghan

Born in Ireland in 1797, he studied in Paris and came to Canada in 1823. He began practicing medicine from 1827. A close friend of Papineau, he became the editor of the Montreal Vindicator in 1832, and showed to be an irreducible adversary of Lord Gosford and the status quo. In 1837, a mandate of arrest was emitted against him, and he sought refuge at St Denis, then crossed the American border with Papineau. Later, he became secretary-archivist of the State of New York, and died there in 1880.

Daniel Tracey

Biography in Wikipedia: Daniel Tracey

Born in Ireland in 1794, he studied at the Trinity College in Dublin, and later presumably at the Royal College of Surgeons. He practiced medecine and surgery in his home country. He arrived in Lower Canada in 1825 and settled in Montreal. On December 12, 1828, he founded the bi-weekly newspaper The Irish Vindicator and and Canada General Advertiser which later became the The Vindicator and Canada General Advertiser. In 1832, after writing that the Legislative Council was a public nuisance, he was arrested for diffamation along with Ludger Duvernay of La Minerve and was sent to prison from January 17 to February 25. He was elected in the Montréal-Ouest riding on May 22, 1832. He died in service on July 18, 1832 at the age of 38, during the cholera epidemic.

Thomas Storrow Brown

Biography in Wikipedia: Thomas Storrow Brown

Born in New Brunswick, speaker, journalist. He was General at the Battle of St-Charles. He was wounded during the street fight between the Fils de la liberté and the Doric Club.

John Neilson

Biography in Wikipedia: John Neilson

Great Britain

John Arthur Roebuck

Biography in Wikipedia: John Arthur Roebuck

Daniel O'Connell

Biography in Wikipedia: Daniel O'Connell

James Mackintosh

Biography in Wikipedia: James Mackintosh

Henry Brougham

Biography in Wikipedia: Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux

Joseph Hume

Biography in Wikipedia: Joseph Hume

See also

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