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[also First Riel Rebellion...]
When the Hudson Bay Company transferred land it owned in what is now southern
Manitoba to the Canadian government in 1869, French-Canadians of Indian
ancestry, called metis, feared they would lose their traditional rights to the
Red River settlements in the area. Louis Riel (1844-85), of French and metis
parentage, led an armed revolt and seized Fort Garry (Winnipeg) in November
1869. There the Metis set up a provisional government with Riel as president.
Fighting occurred between Riel's followers and the English settlers in the
region. British regulars under Colonel Garnet J. Wolseley (1833-1913) were
dispatched to suppress the rebels, who gave up Fort Garry without a fight on
August 24, 1870. Riel fled the country. The disputed area became part of the
province of Manitoba in 1870, and many of the rights Riel demanded, such as
separate French schools for the Metis, were guaranteed.
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