The Government of Canada had bought Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869 and appointed an English-speaking governor, William McDougall.

McDougall declared that the Hudson's Bay Company was no longer in control of the territory and that Canada had asked for the transfer of sovereignty to be postponed.

Outrage grew in Ontario over Scott's execution, and many there wanted Wolseley's expedition to arrest Riel for murder and to suppress what they considered to be rebellion.

Historically, the population was mainly francophone Métis, who developed a mixed ethnicity descended of First Nations and French descent and a unique culture during the decades of the fur trade.

In the 18th and the 19th centuries, they intermarried; established a tradition of men working as trappers, guides, and interpreters to fur traders; and developed farms.

In the late 18th century, English and Scottish men entered the fur trade and also married into the Ojibwe people and other First Nations in this region.

To forestall US expansionism and to bring law and order to the wild, the British and Canadian governments had been for some time negotiating the transfer of Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company to Canada.

In anticipation of the transfer, Public Works Minister William McDougall, who with George-Étienne Cartier had been instrumental in securing Rupert's Land for Canada, ordered a survey party to the Red River Colony.

[7] The Canadian government appointed a notorious francophobe, McDougall, as the designate of the Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories on September 28, 1869, in anticipation of a formal transfer to take effect on December 1.

Emerging as a leader, Louis Riel, who had been formally educated in European-style schools, denounced the survey in a speech delivered in late August from the steps of St. Boniface Cathedral.

When Riel returned to the West, it was apparent that MacDonald feared that the United States was negotiating with HBC for the transfer of Rupert's Land without consulting the Red River population and the Council of Assiniboia.

[10] Because the Hudson's Bay Company's Council of Assiniboia still had authority over the area, its representatives summoned Riel on October 25 to explain the actions of the committee.

On November 2, under the command of Ambroise-Dydime Lépine, the Métis turned back McDougall's party near the US border and forced it to retreat to Pembina, Dakota Territory.

[11] On the same day Riel led roughly 400 men recruited from fur-brigades recently returned to the settlement for the season to seize Fort Garry without bloodshed.

In a conciliatory gesture, Riel on November 6 asked the anglophones to select delegates from each of their parishes to attend a convention with the Métis representatives.

[13] On November 16, the Council of Assiniboia made a final attempt to assert its authority when Governor Mactavish issued a proclamation ordering the Métis to lay down their arms.

Instead, on November 23, Riel proposed the formation of a provisional government to replace the Council of Assiniboia to enter into direct negotiations with Canada.

Having received notification of the delay in the union until the British government of the HBC could guarantee a peaceful transfer, McDougall and Dennis departed for Ontario on December 18.

In Ottawa, Governor General Lord Lisgar had, at the behest of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, proclaimed an amnesty on December 6 for all in the Red River area who would lay down their arms.

He dispatched Abbé Jean-Baptiste Thibault and Charles-René d'Irumberry de Salaberry on a mission of reconciliation but failed to give them the authority to negotiate on behalf of the government.

With Riel acting as translator, Smith assured the large audiences of the Canadian government's goodwill, intention to grant representation, and willingness to extend concessions with respect to land claims.

With the settlement now solidly behind him, Riel proposed the formation of a new convention of 40 representatives, divided evenly between French- and English-speaking settlers, to consider Smith's instructions, which was accepted.

However, the prisoner Thomas Scott, an Orangeman, interpreted Boulton's pardon as weakness on the part of the Métis, whom he regarded with open contempt.

At his trial, which was overseen by Ambroise-Dydime Lépine, he was found guilty of insulting the president, defying the authority of the provisional government, and fighting with his guards.

On March 15, he read to the elected assembly a telegram from Joseph Howe indicating that the government found the demands in the list of rights to be "in the main satisfactory."

After the preparation of a final list of rights, which included new demands such as a general amnesty for all members of the provisional government and provisions for separate francophone schools, the delegates Abbé Joseph-Noël Ritchot, Judge John Black and Alfred Henry Scott departed for Ottawa on March 23 and 24.

Assisted by George Taylor Denison III, they immediately set about inflaming anti-Métis and anti-Catholic sentiment in the editorial pages of the Ontario press over the execution of Scott.

[7] A military expedition had in any case been decided on as a means of exercising Canadian authority in the Red River settlement and dissuading the Minnesota expansionists.

Knowing that he would be arrested and charged with criminal acts and believing that members of the Canadian militia in the expedition meant to lynch him, Riel and his followers fled hurriedly when the troops arrived unexpectedly at Fort Garry on August 24 during pouring rain.

The historian A. G. Morice suggests that the phrase Red River Rebellion owes its persistence to alliteration, a quality that made it attractive for publication in newspaper headlines.