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His Majesty’s Subjects: Political Legitimacy in Quebec, 1764-1791
| Type of resource | |
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| Author/collaborator |
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| Title |
His Majesty’s Subjects: Political Legitimacy in Quebec, 1764-1791
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| Abstract |
In order to establish a stable and legitimate civil administration in Quebec following the Conquest, London-based politicians and Quebec-based governors sought to establish a familiar hierarchical social and political order in the colony based on deference and obligation. The political order they sought to create was patterned after their view of the British constitution – monarchical, in that authority derived from the King; aristocratic, in that power relations were based on status; and religious, in that the sanction of God’s ordination ratified and enforced the political order. The author argues, however, that the Quebec reality posed significant challenges to this conservative Protestant ideal. The seigneurs, whom the governors believed should have filled the leadership roles according to their status as a landed aristocracy, were excluded from public life by their religion. Meanwhile, newly arrived English-speaking merchants clamoured for a legislative assembly, excluding Catholics. These English Quebecers saw legitimate authority derived from their participation in government. The result was conflict that tested the legitimacy of the governors’ authority and the institutions of civil administration.
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| Type |
PhD dissertation
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| University |
University of Alberta
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| Place |
Edmonton, AB
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| Date |
1996
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| # of Pages |
viii-228p.
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| Language |
en
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| Citation |
Pollock, Carolee Ruth. “His Majesty’s Subjects: Political Legitimacy in Quebec, 1764-1791.” PhD dissertation, University of Alberta, 1996.
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