The Louis Mailloux AffairOther names used to describe the events include the Caraquet riots, the Caraquet revolt, etc. It is customary to refer to the events by the full name of Louis Mailloux. was a series of violent events similar to a jacquerie that occurred in the town of Caraquet, New Brunswick (Canada), in January 1875.
In 1871 Law 87 was enacted to reform the public education system in the province and enhanced its funding. This legislation sparked the New Brunswick Schools Question, leading to political turmoil in the province and throughout Canada for four years.
Caraquet was one of the cities where opposition to the school issue was strongest. The precarious situation of a portion of the population, worsened by the control of a minority of Anglophone merchants, escalated in January 1875. Several riots and demonstrations occurred; some were related to the school issue, others were not. The police, supported by a militia and later by the army, intervened. On January 27, a shootout took place at André Albert's house, resulting in the deaths of two individuals, John Gifford and Louis Mailloux.
After a rushed investigation, multiple judicial trials were conducted to address the riots and the death of John Gifford, while overlooking that of Louis Mailloux. In the end, all charges in the case were dropped, and the accused were set free; nevertheless, the events had deeply divided the province.
More than a century later opinions on these events are still divided and continue to provoke controversies. The Louis Mailloux Affair remains a prominent part of Acadian culture and has inspired numerous musical and theatrical works.
Background
Political context
State of Education in New Brunswick
Public education in New Brunswick has evolved slowly since its establishment in 1819. The system has faced challenges related to funding, access, and quality, as well as a lack of interest from the population. The Parish Schools Act of 1858 aimed to address these issues by making education more accessible and improving its quality. It also introduced the election of three school trustees (commissioners) at the parish level. However, ambiguities in the law led to the proliferation of denominational schools in the province. Additionally, school funding remained the responsibility of parents, resulting in poorer populations receiving a lower-quality education. Canadian Confederation, the Intercolonial Railway, the end of the Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty, and the Fenian raids dominated New Brunswick politics, which diverted attention from education for several years.
Common Schools Act
In 1869, Premier George Edwin King proposed a bill to reform the province's education system. Faced with opposition from prominent Catholic newspapers, Le Moniteur Acadien and The Morning Freeman, and to maintain power, King withdrew the bill just before the 1870 election and was re-elected. The bill was reintroduced to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in 1871. Law 87, also known as the Common Schools Act, established school boards and a school tax, mandated non-denominational schools, and prohibited religious symbols. Despite opposition from some members of parliament and a media campaign, the bill was passed on May 5, 1871.
New Brunswick Schools Question
A movement was formed to protect Catholic schools, led by bishops Sweeney and Rogers. The issue was brought to the House of Commons of Canada, where Prime Minister John A. Macdonald declined to defend Catholics, citing the division of powers that granted control of education to the provinces. MPs were divided on the matter, with a proposed constitutional amendment and the New Brunswick government hinting at leaving Confederation if the debate persisted. A motion of censure against Macdonald had no impact, as Quebec Conservative MPs, members of the Prime Minister's party, supported him. In the 1872 election, the Conservatives lost 7 seats in Quebec, including George-Étienne Cartier, but Macdonald remained in power. This election reflected Quebec nationalism, with the victory of Honoré Mercier. Mercier delivered a patriotic speech on May 14, 1873, in support of New Brunswick Catholics, garnering the support of most French Canadian MPs. A motion by John Costigan proposed referring the matter to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, which was voted on May 15, 1873. This, along with the Pacific Scandal, led to Macdonald handing power to Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal Party. In the 1874 election, Honoré Mercier was not allowed to run as a Liberal candidate, despite his defense of Catholics. Mackenzie's government won the election and appointed Anglin as Speaker of the House of Commons, sidelining him from the debate. No Catholic from New Brunswick was included in the cabinet, and the Throne Speech did not address the Schools Question. On July 17, 1874, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council declared they had no jurisdiction over the enforcement of Law 87.
In the meantime, Catholic opposition in New Brunswick was suppressed.
Socioeconomic Context
Caraquet society
Caraquet is a town founded by two main pioneer groups: The first group consisted of Acadians who survived the Great Upheaval and settled west of the town from 1757 onwards. They primarily practiced agriculture, a vocation encouraged by the clergy. The second group settled to the east of the town and comprised survivors of the Battle of the Restigouche, individuals from Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent, predominantly of Norman descent, and some Micmacs. They were primarily involved in fishing and played a significant role in the town's food supply.
For fifty years, the two founding family groups harbored mutual animosity, refraining from intermarriage. In the early 19th century, a new group of English-speaking, Protestant inhabitants arrived in Caraquet from the UK and Jersey, attracted by the presence of fishermen. Their numbers swelled with the establishment of the Charles Robin Company in 1837. Merchants flocked to the town center, constructing stores, warehouses, grand residences, docks, and port facilities. By 1871, amidst the school controversy, Caraquet's population stood at 3,111 with 79 English speakers.
Despite their small number, Anglo-Protestant merchants leveraged their connections to the Anglophone majority of the province to secure various government positions. These merchants also established a dual monopoly system with the fishermen, who were compensated with tokens that could only be redeemed at the company's stores. During the winter, when fishermen ran out of tokens, they resorted to buying on credit. Fishermen were limited to choosing between the Robin, Rive, Young, and Fruing families, all of whom employed the same method, creating a sense of dependency among the residents of the eastern part of the town. As a result, the clergy encouraged the population to engage in agriculture.
Caraquet elite
In the late 19th century, one of the most influential figures in Caraquet was Robert Young (1834–1904), who had been in the town since 1851 to oversee his father's company, James Young, based in Tracadie. Young married Sarah Hubbard on December 23, 1857. He was elected to the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in 1861 and re-elected in 1865 and 1866. However, he did not run in the 1870 election, where Théotime Blanchard and Napier emerged as winners. Young was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1867 and served as its president until 1883. He strongly opposed the Canadian Confederation and supported John Meahan over Timothy Anglin in Gloucester, with the latter being invited by Father Joseph Pelletier.
James G.C. Blackhall (1827–1910) was born in Caraquet to Scottish parents. After his father John's death in 1857, he inherited all of his civil duties and took on roles such as justice of the peace, postmaster, customs officer, and coroner.
Philippe Rive was born in Saint-Pierre, Jersey, in 1838. He immigrated to Caraquet to open a fishing business and also served as the Norwegian consul. On November 15, 1876, he married Catherine Dwyer, a schoolteacher from Rexton.
Joseph Pelletier was born in 1828 in Kamouraska, Quebec. He was ordained as a priest in 1853 and later settled in Caraquet in 1869. In 1874, he established a convent and entrusted its management to the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. Pelletier strongly opposed Law 87 and advocated for a separate school system for the Catholic minority, similar to the arrangement in Quebec for the Protestant minority.
Théotime Blanchard, born in Caraquet in 1844, was a schoolteacher elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1870. He aligned himself with Father Pelletier and urged the residents of his town to resist paying the school tax.
Riots of Caraquet
Formation of the school board In November 1874, a meeting was held by Théotime Blanchard to appoint officers to various public offices in the Caraquet parish, including the three school district positions as per Article 31 of the Common Schools Act. These appointments required approval from the Executive Council of the province, chaired by Caraquet resident Robert Young. The proceedings were set to begin on January 6, 1875. However, on January 4, a meeting was called by Young in Caraquet, attended only by members of the city's Anglophone minority. The nineteen attendees signed a petition informing the Executive Council that the November meeting was invalid and the appointed commissioners were disqualified under Article 31 of the Common Schools Act for not paying their school taxes. At the same meeting, a new school board was established with John Sewell, Philip Rive, and James G.C. Blackhall. Catherine Dwyer, who later married Philip Rive, was appointed as the teacher, and a school was rented. The teacher was instructed not to accept children from families who opposed this meeting. Robert Young personally presented the petition to the Executive Council.
Beginning of hostilities
A second meeting was called by Robert Young on January 14, 1875, to establish tax rates and collection methods. During the meeting, a motion was made to appoint Philip DuvalPhilip Duval (1840–1921), originally from Jersey and of the Methodist religion, settled in Caraquet, where he married Suzanne Cormier on October 18, 1866. as the chairman of the assembly. Despite most people voting against it, their choice was disregarded as they had not paid the school tax and lost their voting rights. Consequently, the chairman and Blackhall were promptly expelled from the meeting, which concluded without reaching any decisions.
The following day, on January 15, around thirty men who had attended the previous meeting went to the schoolLocated on Saint-Pierre Boulevard, near the current Tim Hortons restaurant, across from Place Caraquet. to organize another meeting, this time targeting Catholics. It was ten o'clock in the morning, and the door was locked. The men approached James Blackhall, who lived nearby, to request the keys. While some conversed with Blackhall, others went to Robin's store to fetch rum. Upon their return, influenced by alcohol, some were even singing La Marseillaise.Before Ave Maris Stella was adopted as the national anthem of Acadia in 1884, various patriotic songs, including La Marseillaise, were used. Their numbers had swelled to fifty, and they demanded Blackhall's resignation. The group proceeded to ransack the house, nearly causing a fire until Blackhall eventually agreed to sign his resignation. Subsequently, they visited Martin Haché and Stanislas Légère, two Acadians who had paid their taxes,They are nicknamed the Bourbons for this reason. demanding that they sign a letter expressing their opposition to the school law. Additionally, the rioters extorted money from Martin Haché and Mr. Ahier. Philip Rive preemptively resigned from the school board without waiting for a visit from the rioters.