Pierre du Calvet (1735 – 1786) emigrated to New France in 1758. He settled in Montréal shortly before the conquest of New France by the British, where he would be appointed a justice of the peace. Du Calvet was critical of the province’s legal system, and he was imprisoned without trial for three years on suspicion of treasonously supporting the United States. He penned his most significant philosophical work, Appel à la justice de l’État (1784), in order to proclaim his innocence and condemn the despotism of the Québec. du Calvet would travel to Europe seeking legal action against Governor Frederick Haldimand in response to his imprisonment, but during a trip to England was lost at sea.
Publications:
● Mémoire sur la forme judiciaire actuelle de la Province de Québec (1770)
● Mémoire en réponse à l’écrit public (1779)
● Appel à la justice de l’État (1784)
● The Case of Peter Du Calvet, Esq. (1784)
Select Secondary Literature:
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