Montreal's career as the capital of the two Canadas, which started in 1844, came to an end with this disaster. The rioters were infuriated by the passing of a law to compensate the victims of the 1837-1838 rebellions.
This painting, attributed to Joseph LÄgarÄ (1795-1855), shows the Parliament engulfed in flames. It had previously been the old Sainte-Anne market which had been built by the city and converted to house the Assembly and the Legislative Council. It was located at the western end of the old town in what is now Youville Square. The flames were fuelled by gas escaping from the broken lighting system and the fire soon spread. It should be remembered that it was gas, much brighter and much more powerful than the candles it replaced, that brought about revolutionary changes in the lighting of homes and public places before the advent of electricity at the end of the century. It was said that the rioters had wrenched out and broken the gas pipes and the resulting leaks had fed the flames. Rioters also hindered the firemen's work by delaying their arrival on the scene and by sabotaging their equipment. The fireman in the foreground, for example, is trailing a firehose which has obviously been severed.
