Joseph Papineau
Encyclopedia
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
, seigneur
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
and political figure 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...
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Joseph Papineau was the father of Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...
who had the great distinction of being a fiery player in the history of the French dominated (except for Montreal) British colony called Lower Canada. His other son Denis-Benjamin
Denis-Benjamin Papineau
Denis-Benjamin Papineau was joint premier of the Province of Canada for Canada East from 1846 to 1848. His joint premiers for Canada West during this period were William Henry Draper and Henry Sherwood....
also played a significant though lesser role in politics of Canada East, serving as joint premier in the Legislative Assembly.
Joseph Père was also a horticulturalist whose estate home is a tourist attraction to this day in the province of Québec, Canada. His own contributions to the culture and history of this particular province are recognized to this day with streets, squares and monuments being dedicated to his memory.
His son Louis-Joseph was even more influential in creating a strong Québec identity due to his political activities. The involvement of Louis-Joseph Papineau and Ezekiel Hart is responsible for Jews being granted full citizen rights in any territory or nation several decades before many other countries followed suit. This may be among his most important contribution to pre-Confederation Canadian history. (The first Jewish synagogues had opened in Montreal after the British Conquest of 1760.)