Red River Rebellion
Schultz was initially on good terms with Red River's francophone community, but his unscrupulous business practices soon made him unpopular with most established settlers, anglophone and francophone alike. By 1869, he had emerged as the leader of a small, ultra-loyalist organization known as the Canadian Party. This group promoted the annexation of Red River by the Canadian government, and encouraged new anglophone/Protestant immigration from Ontario. Schultz and his followers were actively engaged in land speculation, and were viewed with extreme suspicion by most of Red River's Métis community.
During the Red River Rebellion of 1869 – 1870, Schultz emerged as one of the leading opponents of Louis Riel's provisional government (which was supported by most of the area's population). Schultz's followers engaged in a number of military skirmishes with the Riel government. Schultz and a number of his followers were taken prisoner by Riel. Schultz managed to escape, and tried to organize a group to liberate the remaining prisoners, but was forced to leave the region in February 1870. He arrived in Toronto in April.
Schultz made several speeches against the Riel government during his time in Toronto, and played a significant role in swaying Protestant opinion against the Métis leader. He frequently referred to Thomas Scott (an Ontario Orangeman executed by the Riel government for treason) as a Protestant hero, and called upon Ontario's Orangemen to avenge his death (both Schultz and Macdonald were also Orangemen, as were most of the Ontario militiamen).
Schultz returned to Red River (now renamed Manitoba) in September, after the Canadian government had taken the area with militia units from Ontario. These Ontario soldiers frequently engaged in violence against the Métis population; there can be little doubt that Schultz approved of and encouraged their actions.
Read more about this topic: John Christian Schultz
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