Craig, Sir James Henry

Craig, Sir James Henry, 1748–1812, British soldier, governor of Canada (1807–11), b. Gibraltar. He served in the British army from 1763, fighting in the American Revolution and later holding posts in Africa and India. In 1807 he was appointed governor of Canada and lieutenant governor of Lower Canada (Quebec). His lack of sympathy with representative government and with the French Canadians found expression in his dissolution (1809) of the assembly of Lower Canada and in the imprisonment of the sponsors of the newly established journal Le Canadien. His arbitrary methods served only to consolidate the position of the French Canadians. Craig was replaced for reasons of health by Sir George Prevost.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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