<P> By "responsible," the reformers meant that such a government would be ultimately responsible to the will of the subjects of the colonies, not to the British legislature or monarchy . The radical reformers, such as William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis - Joseph Papineau demanded equality or a complete break from British rule and the establishment of a republic . </P> <P> Louis - Joseph Papineau was elected speaker of the colonial assembly in 1815 . His attempts at reform were ignored by the British, and in 1834, the assembly passed The Ninety - Two Resolutions, outlining its grievances against the legislative council . Papineau organized boycotts and civil disobedience . The colonial government illegally ordered the arrest of Papineau . The Patriotes resorted to armed resistance and planned the Lower Canada Rebellion in the fall of 1837 . British troops in the colony quickly put down the rebellion and forced Papineau to flee to the United States . A second rebellion by the Frères chasseurs of Robert Nelson broke out one year later, but the British put it down as well, with much loss of life and destruction of property . </P> <P> William Lyon Mackenzie, a Scottish immigrant and reformist mayor of York (Toronto), organized the Upper Canada Rebellion in December 1837 after the Patriotes rebellion had begun . Upper Canadians had similar grievances; they were annoyed at the undemocratic governance of the colony, and especially by the corrupt and inefficient Bank of Upper Canada and the Canada Company . On December 4, the rebels assembled near Montgomery's Tavern, where the British troops stationed in the city met them on December 7 . The rebels were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, and were defeated in less than an hour . Mackenzie escaped to the United States . </P> <P> Also in December, a group of Irish immigrants attempted to seize southwestern Ontario by force in the Patriot War . They were defeated by government troops at Windsor . </P>

When was canada taken over by the british empire