Episode 1 - Benjamin Lett: "The Rob Roy of Upper Canada"
The Irish in Canada Podcast
English - March 07, 2024 07:00 - 20 minutes - 14.1 MBEducation history irish canada irish-canadian canadian Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Episode 6 - The Body of Mary Boyd
Next Episode: Episode 2 - 1847: The Doctor and the Priest
When the Brock Monument exploded at Queenston Heights on 17 April 1840, the colonial authorities quickly decided upon the identity of the guilty culprit: the notorious Irishman, Benjamin Lett. A follower of William Lyon Mackenzie, Ben Lett unleashed a campaign of terror and violence in the years following the failed 1837 Upper Canadian Rebellion. To some, he was a Robin Hood figure, “the Rob Roy of Upper Canada” who continually evaded capture; to others, he was a dangerous rebel who needed to be stopped.