Quebec Act
However, French Canadians continued to protest even that, particularly by continuing to use notaries to handle their legal affairs, as it had been done under the Custom of Paris. In 1774, wary of the rebellion brewing in the Thirteen Colonies, the British sought to appease French Canadians and co-opt their support by the provisions of the Quebec Act, which reinstated French private law pertaining to property and civil rights (the Custom of Paris) by allowing "Canadians" to cite the "laws and customs of Canada". The Quebec Act thereby contributed to the survival in Canada of French civil law under the Custom of Paris while affirming the overarching influence of English common law and its hegemony in criminal matters.