Louis Riel was a Canadian politician and leader of the Métis people of
western Canada. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian
government that sought to preserve Métis rights and culture as their
homelands came under the Canadian sphere of influence. During the
first, the Red River Rebellion, the provisional government established
by Riel ultimately negotiated the terms under which the modern
province of Manitoba entered the Canadian Confederation. He was forced
into exile as a result of the controversial execution of Thomas Scott,
but in 1884 he returned to what is now the province of Saskatchewan to
participate in the North-West Rebellion of 1885. It ended in his
arrest, trial and eventual execution for treason. Riel was viewed
sympathetically in francophone regions of Canada, and his execution
has had a lasting influence on relations between the province of
Quebec and English-speaking Canada. Whether he is seen as a de facto
Father of Confederation or as a traitor, he remains one of the most
complex, controversial and ultimately tragic figures in the history of
Canada.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1497:
Girolamo Savonarola of Florence was excommunicated by Pope Alexander
VI.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola)
1848:
Maamme, the national anthem of Finland, was performed for the first
time.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maamme)
1888:
The Lei Áurea (Golden Law) was passed, legally ending slavery in
Brazil.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/slavery)
1969:
The May 13 Incident: Chinese-Malay race riots left at least 184 people
dead in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_13_Incident)
1981:
Mehmet Ali A?ca shot and critically wounded Pope John Paul II in Saint
Peter's Square, Vatican City.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Ali_Agca)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"It behoved that there should be sin— but all shall be well, and all
shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." -- Julian of
Norwich
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich)