Doric Club
Encyclopedia
The Doric Club was an association of Loyals
set up in Lower Canada
by Adam Thom
, a lawyer and journalist, in March 1836. A noted opponent of the Patriotes, the group was both a social club and a paramilitary
organization. It was used as the armed faction of the Constitutional Party and many of its members took part in the Lower Canada Rebellion
s of 1837 and 1838 on the British side.
radicals who had been forced to leave the British Rifle Corps after its dissolution by Lord Gosford in January 1836. Gosford affirmed that British subjects were not in danger, being adequately protected by the army, and that such groupings were useless. Believing them to be about 2,000 in number, he judged them to be troublemakers.
On March 16, 1836, the Club published its manifesto, calling all loyal British men to unite against what it had called the "French domination" in Lower Canada. "If we are deserted by the British government and the British people, rather than submit to the degradation of being subject of a French-Canadian republic, we are determined by our own right arms to work out our deliverance", read the document.
Despite the opposition of Lord Gosford, the Doric Club was tolerated by General John Colborne, as were many other Loyal armed groups. On November 6, 1837, after an assembly of the Société des fils de la liberté
, a group of young Patriote supporters, a violent skirmish erupted between the latter and the Club. Finally, during the Lower Canada Rebellions, Colborne recruited several of its members as volunteers to quell the rebels.
Loyal (Lower Canada)
The Loyals were opponents of the Patriotes during the Lower Canada Rebellion in 1837 and 1838.Loyal volunteers, such as those recruited from the Doric Club, were instrumental in quelling the uprising...
set up in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
by Adam Thom
Adam Thom
Adam Thom was a teacher, journalist, lawyer, public servant, and recorder.- Biography :Adam Thom was born in Brechin, in the Tayside region in Scotland. His father was Andrew Thom, a merchant, and his mother Elizabeth Bisset.He entered the King's College in 1819 and obtained a Master of Arts in 1824...
, a lawyer and journalist, in March 1836. A noted opponent of the Patriotes, the group was both a social club and a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
organization. It was used as the armed faction of the Constitutional Party and many of its members took part in the Lower Canada Rebellion
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
s of 1837 and 1838 on the British side.
History
The members of the Club were mostly young anglophoneEnglish Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
radicals who had been forced to leave the British Rifle Corps after its dissolution by Lord Gosford in January 1836. Gosford affirmed that British subjects were not in danger, being adequately protected by the army, and that such groupings were useless. Believing them to be about 2,000 in number, he judged them to be troublemakers.
On March 16, 1836, the Club published its manifesto, calling all loyal British men to unite against what it had called the "French domination" in Lower Canada. "If we are deserted by the British government and the British people, rather than submit to the degradation of being subject of a French-Canadian republic, we are determined by our own right arms to work out our deliverance", read the document.
Despite the opposition of Lord Gosford, the Doric Club was tolerated by General John Colborne, as were many other Loyal armed groups. On November 6, 1837, after an assembly of the Société des fils de la liberté
Société des Fils de la Liberté
The Société des Fils de la Liberté was a paramilitary organization founded in August of 1837 in Lower Canada by young supporters of the Parti patriote who became impatient with the pace of progress of the movement for constitutional and parliamentary reforms...
, a group of young Patriote supporters, a violent skirmish erupted between the latter and the Club. Finally, during the Lower Canada Rebellions, Colborne recruited several of its members as volunteers to quell the rebels.