Ambroise-Dydime Lépine

Ambroise-Dydime Lépine

Ambroise-Dydime Lépine (born May 18, 1840 in Saint-Boniface , Manitoba , † June 8, 1923 there ) was a Canadian rebel . During the Red River Rebellion of 1869/70 he was military commander of the provisional government of the Métis proclaimed by Louis Riel . In 1873 he was tried and sentenced to death for his involvement in the execution of Thomas Scott . The verdict sparked violent protests among French Canadians. Governor General Lord Dufferin reduced the sentence to two years in prison to avert political escalation.

biography

Lépine made a living farming, hunting, and hauling goods for the Hudson's Bay Company . At the end of October 1869, he joined the resistance movement around Louis Riel , who spoke out in favor of establishing the land rights of the Métis before the transfer of the Red River Colony to Canada. Lépine led a group that on November 2nd prevented Governor- elect William McDougall from crossing the border and formally taking possession of the colony. On December 8th, he captured Canadian Party supporters holed up in the home of John Christian Schultz .

The Provisional Government, led by Louis Riel, appointed Lépine as military commander on January 8, 1870. On February 17, he arrested Charles Arkoll Boulton and other supporters of the Canadian Party who had since escaped captivity and prepared for the retake of Fort Garry . Lépine headed a tribunal that sentenced the fanatical Orange Thomas Scott to death. His execution caused an uproar among the population in Ontario, not least because of Schultz's agitation. When the expeditionary force of Garnet Wolseley in August 1870 in the newly created province of Manitoba arrived, fled Riel and Lépine in the Dakota Territory .

In 1873 Lépine returned to Manitoba, where he was arrested on September 17th and charged with the murder of Thomas Scott. Due to disputes over competence, the process had to be postponed several times. Finally Lépine was sentenced to death by hanging on November 4, 1874. The verdict sparked violent protests in Québec, and the provincial parliament there unanimously demanded amnesty. Eventually, Governor General Lord Dufferin took the matter up and reduced the sentence to two years in prison to prevent further political escalation.

Lépine was released from prison on October 26, 1876. He ran agriculture again and was involved in a charity organization of the Roman Catholic Church . He stayed out of politics, however, because the governor general had withdrawn his civil rights for life. In 1909 he founded the historical committee of the Union Nationale Métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba , which dealt with the history of the Métis. In 1935, the Union published the Histoire de la nation métisse dans l'Ouest canadien by Auguste-Henri de Trémaudan. Shortly before his death, he received his civil rights back. He was buried in front of the Saint-Boniface cathedral next to Riel's grave.

Web links

• Ambroise-Dydime Lépine . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).