Thomas Spence declares the Republic of Manitobah

Background. In the mid-19th century, the area that would become Manitoba was part of Rupert's Land, owned by the Hudson's Bay Company. By 1858, the Portage la Prairie community had grown enough to require municipal governance, yet it lacked formal government, laws, or taxation. This administrative vacuum prompted local settlers to organize their own provisional authority.

Establishment. Thomas Spence and a group of local settlers formed a provisional government in January 1868. Initially called the Republic of Caledonia, the entity was later renamed the Republic of Manitobah, derived from a local lake. Spence is credited as the first person to use the word Manitoba in reference to the lake and surrounding territory.

Collapse. The Republic of Manitobah was short-lived and unrecognized. In late spring 1868, the Colonial Office in London informed the republic that its government had no power. Consequently, the entity collapsed before it could establish lasting institutions, though the name Manitoba persisted in historical memory.