Lord Dorchester and George Washington

Previously published in Examiner

Part 4 of the Guy Carleton series

To learn more about Canadian or Quebec politics, both McGill University and Concordia University in Montreal offer wonderful political science degrees, that you may want to look into.

For further reading, Montreal's Concordia University has a wonderful women's studies program at the Simone do Beauvoir Institute

We now are setting the tone for the three female Governor Generals of Canada, two of which were from Montreal Quebec. The duties of a governor general is to represent the ruling British Monarch in Canada. The governor general carries out administrative duties and also celebratory or festive activities.

A history of the evolution of Canada is important to the understanding of the role of a governor general. We will look at four male governors at four different periods of Quebec and Canadian history. They mark the stage for governor generals. These men made decisions primarily on behalf of men. Women's issues were really not considered with any semblance of respect before the 20th century. The actions of these governors affected the lives of women and that is why they are chosen as a preamble before our women governor generals will be discussed.

Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester: First Governor General of the Canadas

Governors-in-Chief/Governors General of The Canadas, 1786-1840

Lord Dorchester Instrumental in Freeing American Slaves

Like his predecessors, Lord Dorchester was a military man. He lead the military commander in the American War of Independence and was also the leader during the invasion of Quebec by the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

"John Brown, an agent for the Boston Committee of Correspondence, arrived in Montreal in early 1775 as part of an effort to persuade the inhabitants to send delegates to the Second Continental Congress, scheduled to meet in May 1775. Carleton, while aware of this activity, did nothing to prevent it, beyond discouraging publication of the Congressional letter in the province's only newspaper. "

By 1776, he became the Commander and Chief of British North America. Lord Dorchester oversaw the evacuation of the British troops, British Loyalists, and freed slaves from New York. Carlton/Lord Dorchester, who was driven by the Treaty of Paris, 1783, refused to release the loyalist and former slaves in New York City and deliver them over to George Washington's Army. He was instrumental in evacuating New York City and bringing the loyalists to freedom.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Carleton,_1st_Baron_Dorchester