In 1837, years of discontent among the citizens of British North America over the oligarchic government flared into open conflict, ultimately forcing the British to reexamine Canadian administration.
During the civil war, the manufacture of powder and explosives was often handled by the most vulnerable, young women and children, whose labor was needed when so many men had been sent off to war. On March 13, 1863, the confederacy experienced a munitions disaster, in the confederate capitol of Richmond.