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Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC (pronounced (:ʒɔʁʒ etjɛn kaʁˈtje); September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III. In the years leading up to Confederation, Cartier was a dominant figure in the politics of Canada East as leader of the Parti Bleu. In 1838 he returned to Montreal after a year in exile for his role in the anti-government rebellion. Cartier had several reasons for supporting Confederation, notably his fear of American expansion. He officially entered politics in 1848. During his long career he promoted the establishment of the Civil Code as the formal law of Canada East. He also promoted the introduction of primary education in the province. He died in London, England on May 20, 1873. ==Early career== George-Étienne Cartier was born on September but 1814 in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (then known as Lower Canada). Cartier was educated and was called to the bar in 1834 where he began to practise his profession. He was also involved in the railway business, and Grand Trunk Railway was one of his legal clients. Early in his career, Cartier was inspired by Louis-Joseph Papineau. Through this connection, Cartier became a member of the Société des Fils de la Liberté (“Sons of Liberty”) and took part in the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 at the Battle of St-Denis. For his part in the uprising, Cartier was exiled and he took temporary refuge in Vermont. However, he was allowed to return to Montreal in 1838 to resume his law practice. On his return to Lower Canada in 1839, which was now Canada East of the Province of Canada, Cartier resumed his law practice. He was a member of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society and became active in politics as campaign manager of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine. In 1848, Cartier gave up his law practice and ran for office as a Reformer and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. During his time in the Union parliament, Cartier introduced a bill in 1852 for the creation of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. In 1854 Cartier was appointed to cabinet. From 1857 to 1862 he served alongside John A. Macdonald as co-premier of the united province. Cartier was a loyal friend of Macdonald, with whom he created the Great Coalition with George Brown in 1864. The purpose of the Great Coalition was to end the political instability in the province, which had six governments in as many years. The Great Coalition was one of the first steps in the movement towards Confederation. He attended all three of the conferences convened for this purpose: Charlottetown, Quebec, and London. Cartier was largely responsible for gaining French-Canadian support for union. Cartier also played a leading role in pushing through legislative reform that effectively abolished the semi-feudal seigneurial system of land ownership in Lower Canada, turning its legislative council into an elected body of representatives, and pushed successfully for the adoption of the Civil Code within the province. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George-Étienne Cartier」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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