Secondary III • 3yr.
Hi! I wanted to know what exactly the Test Oath is, and why didn't it work?
Hi! I wanted to know what exactly the Test Oath is, and why didn't it work?
Explanation from Alloprof
This Explanation was submitted by a member of the Alloprof team.
Hi,
The Test Oath was put in place during the Royal Proclamation (1763) under the governance of James Murray.
To be able to access an administrative position in the colony of the Province of Quebec, one had to pass this test, that is to swear loyalty to the King of Great Britain, renounce the Catholic religion and reject the authority of the pope. This therefore goes along with the main objective of the Royal Proclamation: the assimilation of French Canadians.
Even if the objective was to assimilate the French Canadians, in reality, the governors granted them several concessions since the Canadians were very numerous and it was feared that they would revolt. The Test Oath , for example, was only obligatory to access certain positions.
In order to be even more conciliatory, this test was replaced by an oath of allegiance to the king during the Act of Quebec in 1774.
I hope that this answers your question well, do not hesitate to contact us again if you have any other questions!