ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 11

Religion, Political Leadership, Charisma, and Mental Illness: The Strange Story of Louis Riel
Perr, IN
Professor of psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, NJ

(Received 7 June 1991; accepted 23 July 1991)

Abstract

Louis Riel, a French Canadian half-breed, was hanged for high treason in 1885 in perhaps the most famous criminal case in Canadian history, with ramifications still felt today. Depending on one's ethnic orientation, he has been viewed as a madman, a saint, or a martyr. Despite evidence of mental illness, a defense of insanity was rejected. The Riel phenomenon illustrates the interaction of charisma, religiosity, political leadership, and mental illness and exemplifies a circumstance under which a mentally ill individual can be accepted as a political leader and prophet. This paper (1) reviews the history of the case (excluding the trial itself), analyses from psychiatrists published as early as 1887, and succeeding historical commentary; (2) documents the nature of Riel's mental illness; and (3) discusses the issue of the charismatic mentally ill leader.

Keywords:
psychiatry, mental illness, insanity defense, megalomania, charisma, religiosity, bipolar disorder, Canadian history, Riel

Paper ID: JFS13264J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13264J
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