American revolution

[onslow1]

Why did the colonies in what is now Canada not join the rebellion along with those further south?

[Clanad]

In 1774 and again in 1775, The Continental Congress of the colonies later to become the 13 original colonies of the U.S., wrote letters to the those living in Quebec and the second was sent to the citizens of Canada at large, although limited in circulation mostly to the cities of Quebec and Montreal. These letters pleaded with the Canadiens to join in the rebellion and cited all the reasons they should. The Catholic Bishop of Quebec was, for whatever reasons, the primary force behind a document that nearly forbade the entry of anyone in Canada into the rebellion with those to the south.
The Catholic faith had been installed in that area of Canada by the Quebec Act of 1774 and the free choices of religious determination predominate to the south probably played a large part in this decision. Additionally, concessions by the British also made this choice less desirable.
Although some residents of Canada joined bordering militias, most did not...

[onslow1]

Thanks for the info. Ironic that the Catholic church may have saved Canada for the fiercely Protestant British Empire.

[mike b]

One of the major grievances of the 13 colonies was the taxation to pay for the earlier French & Indian Wars, while those in Canada could perhaps more easily see the gains from that conflict. In addition, the dumping of cheap tea on the Massachusetts market, which led to the Boston Tea party, ruined the highly profitable New England smuggling business but probably didn't affect those up north. Again, treaties which the British had made with Indian, oops, Native American tribes, to restrict inland settlement, were fiercely resented by New Englanders, while in Canada the pressure of Western expansion was much less, and didn't really result in inter-racial conflict until the Metis uprisings of the next century... In any case, support for the rebellion was pretty marginal, with even people like John Adams(?) reckoning that the split was one third for, one third against and a third just wanting to get on with their lives...