Little or no effort was made to colonize any part of Canada for nearly
fifty years after the loss of Roberval; but the Huguenots of France did
not forget that hope of a refuge from religious persecution which their
great leader, Coligni, had excited in their breasts. Several of the
leaders of subsequent expeditions of trade and discovery to Canada and
Acadia were Calvinists, until 1627, when Champlain, zealous for the
Romish faith, procured a decree forbidding the free exercise of the
Reformed religion in French America.
Although the French seemed to have renounced all plan of settlement in
America by the evacuation of Florida, the fishermen of Normandy and
Brittany still plied their calling on the Great Bank and along the
stormy shores of Newfoundland, and up the Gulf and River of St.
Lawrence. By degrees they began to trade with the natives, and soon the
greater gains and easier life of this new pursuit transformed many of
these hardy sailors into merchants.
When, after fifty years of civil strife, the strong and wise sway of
Henry IV. restored rest to troubled France, the spirit of discovery
again arose. The Marquis de la Roche, a Breton gentleman, obtained from
the king, in 1598, a patent granting the same powers that Roberval had
possessed. He speedily armed a vessel, and sailed for Nova Scotia in the
same year, accompanied by a skillful Norman pilot named Chedotel. He
first reached Sable Island, where he left forty miserable wretches,
convicts drawn from the prisons of France, till he might discover some
favorable situation for the intended settlement, and make a survey of
the neighboring coasts. When La Roche ever reached the Continent of
America remains unknown; but he certainly returned to France, leaving
the unhappy prisoners upon Sable Island to a fate more dreadful than
even the dungeons or galleys of France could threaten. After seven years
of dire suffering, twelve of these unfortunates were found alive, an
expedition having been tardily sent to seek them by the king. When they
arrived in France, they became objects of great curiosity; in
consideration of such unheard-of suffering, their former crimes were
pardoned, a sum of money was given to each, and the valuable furs
collected during their dreary imprisonment, but fraudulently seized by
the captain of the ship in which they were brought home, were allowed to
their use. In the mean time, the Marquis de la Roche, who had so cruelly
abandoned these men to their fate, harassed by lawsuits, overwhelmed
with vexations, and ruined in fortune by the failure of his expedition,
died miserably of a broken heart.
The misfortunes and ruin of the Marquis de la Roche did not stifle the
spirit of commercial enterprise which the success of the fur trade had
excited. Private adventurers, unprotected by any especial privilege,
began to barter for the rich peltries of the Canadian hunters. (1600.) A
wealthy merchant of St. Malo, named Pontgrave, was the boldest and most
successful of these traders; he made several voyages to Tadoussac, at
the mouth of the Saguenay, bringing back each time a rich cargo of rare
and valuable furs. He saw that this commerce would open to him a field
of vast wealth, could he succeed in obtaining an exclusive privilege to
enjoy its advantages, and managed to induce Chauvin, a captain in the
navy, to apply to the king for powers such as De la Roche had possessed:
the application was successful, a patent was granted to Chauvin, and
Pontgrave admitted to partnership. (1602.) It was, however, in vain that
they attempted to establish a trading post at Tadoussac:[98] after
having made two voyages thither without realizing their sanguine
expectations of gain, Chauvin died while once more preparing to try his
fortune.
At this time the great object of colonization was completely forgotten
in the eager pursuit of the fur trade, till De Chatte, the governor of
Dieppe, who succeeded to the privileges of Chauvin, founded a company of
merchants at Rouen, for the further development of the resources of
Canada. (1603.) An armament was fitted out under the command of the
experienced Pontgrave; he was commissioned by the king to make further
discoveries in the St. Lawrence, and to establish a settlement upon some
suitable position on the coast. Samuel de Champlain, a captain in the
navy, accepted a command in this expedition at the request of De
Chatte; he was a native of Saintonge, and had lately returned to France
from the West Indies, where he had gained a high name for boldness and
skill. Under the direction of this wise and energetic man the first
successful efforts were made to found a permanent settlement in the
magnificent province of Canada, and the stain of the errors and
disasters of more than seventy years was at length wiped away.
Pontgrave and Champlain sailed for the St. Lawrence in 1603. They
remained a short time at Tadoussac, where they left their ships; then,
trusting themselves to a small, open boat, with only five sailors, they
boldly pushed up the Great River to the sault St. Louis, where Jacques
Cartier had reached many years before. By this time Hochelaga, the
ancient Indian city, had, from some unknown cause, sunk into such
insignificance that the adventurers did not even notice it, nor deem it
worthy of a visit; but they anchored for a time under the shade of the
magnificent headland of Quebec. On the return of the expedition to
France, Champlain found, to his deep regret, that De Chatte, the worthy
and powerful patron of the undertaking, had died during his absence.
Pierre du Guast, sieur de Monts, had succeeded to the powers and
privileges of the deceased, with even a more extensive commission.
De Monts was a Calvinist, and had obtained from the king the freedom of
religious faith for himself and his followers in America, but under the
engagement that the Roman Catholic worship should be established among
the natives. Even his opponents admitted the honesty and patriotism of
his character,[99] and bore witness to his courage and ability; he was,
nevertheless, unsuccessful; many of those under his command failed in
their duty, and the jealousy excited by his exclusive privileges and
obnoxious doctrines[100] involved him in ruinous embarrassments.
The trading company established by De Chatte was continued and increased
by his successor. With this additional aid De Monts was enabled to fit
out a more complete armament than had ever hitherto been engaged in
Canadian commerce. He sailed from Havre on the 7th of March, 1604, with
four vessels. Of these, two under his immediate command were destined
for Acadia. Champlain, Poutrincourt, and many other volunteers, embarked
their fortunes with him, purposing to cast their future lot in the New
World. A third vessel was dispatched under Pontgrave to the Strait of
Canso, to protect the exclusive trading privileges of the company. The
fourth steered for Tadoussac, to barter for the rich furs brought by the
Indian hunters from the dreary wilds of the Saguenay.
On the 6th of May De Monts reached a harbor on the coast of Acadia,
where he seized and confiscated an English vessel, in vindication of his
exclusive privileges. Thence he sailed to the Island of St. Croix, where
he landed his people, and established himself for the winter. In the
spring of 1605 he hastened to leave this settlement, where the want of
wood and fresh water, and the terrible ravages of the scurvy, had
disheartened and diminished the number of his followers. In the mean
time Champlain had discovered and named Port Royal, now Annapolis, a
situation which presented many natural advantages. De Monts removed the
establishment thither, and erected a fort, appointing Pontgrave to its
command. Soon afterward he bestowed Port Royal and a large extent of the
neighboring country upon De Poutrincourt, and the grant was ultimately
confirmed by letters patent from the king. This was the first concession
of land made in North America since its discovery.
When De Monts returned to France in 1605, he found that enemies had been
busily and successfully at work in destroying his influence at court.
Complaints of the injustice of his exclusive privileges poured in from
all the ports in the kingdom. It was urged that he had interfered with
and thwarted the fisheries, under the pretense of securing the sole
right of trading with the Indian hunters. These statements were
hearkened to by the king, and all the Sieur's privileges were revoked.
De Monts bore up bravely against this disaster. He entered into a new
engagement with De Poutrincourt, who had followed him to France, and
dispatched a vessel from Rochelle on the 13th of May to succor the
colony in Acadia. The voyage was unusually protracted, and the settlers
at Port Royal, at length reduced to great extremities, feared that they
had been abandoned to their fate. The wise and energetic Pontgrave did
all that man could do to reassure them; but, finally, their supplies
being completely exhausted, he was constrained to yield to the general
wish, and embark his people for France. He had scarcely sailed, however,
when he heard of the arrival of Poutrincourt and the long-desired
supplies. He then immediately returned to Port Royal, where he found his
chief already landed. Under able and judicious management,[101] the
colony increased and prospered until 1614, when it was attacked and
broken up by Sir Samuel Argall with a Virginian force.[102]
The enemies of De Monts did not relax in their efforts till he was
deprived of his high commission. A very insufficient indemnity was
granted for the great expenses he had incurred. Still he was not
disheartened: in the following year, 1607, he obtained a renewal of his
privileges for one year, on condition that he should plant a colony upon
the banks of the St. Lawrence. The trading company did not lose
confidence in their principal, although his courtly influence had been
destroyed; but their object was confined to the prosecution of the
lucrative commerce in furs, for which reason they ceased to interest
themselves in Acadia, and turned their thoughts to the Great River of
Canada, where they hoped to find a better field for their undertaking.
They equipped two ships at Honfleur, under the command of Champlain and
Pontgrave, to establish the fur trade at Tadoussac. De Monts remained in
France, vainly endeavoring to obtain an extension of his patent. Despite
his disappointments, he fitted out some vessels in the spring of 1608,
with the assistance of the company, and dispatched them to the River
St. Lawrence on the 13th of April, under the same command as before.
Champlain reached Tadoussac on the 3d of June; his views were far more
extended than those of a mere merchant; even honest fame for himself,
and increase of glory and power for his country, were, in his eyes,
objects subordinate to the extension of the Catholic faith. After a
brief stay, he ascended the Great River, examining the shore with minute
care, to seek the most fitting place where the first foundation of
French empire might be laid. On the 3d of July he reached QUEBEC, where,
nearly three quarters of a century before, Jacques Cartier had passed
the winter. This magnificent position was at once chosen by Champlain as
the site of the future capital of Canada: centuries of experience have
proved the wisdom of the selection; admirably situated for purposes of
war or commerce, and completely commanding the navigation of the Great
River, it stands the center of a scene of beauty that can nowhere be
surpassed.
On the bold headland overlooking the waters of the basin, he commenced
his work by felling the trees, and rooting up the wild vines and tangled
underwood from the virgin soil. Some rude huts were speedily erected for
shelter; spots around them were cultivated to test the fertility of the
land: this labor was repaid by abundant production. The first permanent
work undertaken in the new settlement was the erection of a solid
building as a magazine for their provisions. A temporary barrack on the
highest point of the position, for the officers and men, was
subsequently constructed. These preparations occupied the remainder of
the summer. The first snow fell on the 18th of November, but only
remained on the ground for two days: in December it again returned, and
the face of nature was covered till the end of April, 1609. From the
time of Jacques Cartier to the establishment of Champlain, and even to
the present day, there has been no very decided amelioration of the
severity of the climate; indeed, some of the earliest records notice
seasons milder than many of modern days.
The town of Stadacona, like its prouder neighbor of Hochelaga, seems to
have dwindled into insignificance since the time when it had been an
object of such interest and suspicion to Jacques Cartier. Some Indians
still lived in huts around Quebec, but in a state of poverty and
destitution, very different from the condition of their ancestors.
During the winter of 1608, they suffered dire extremities of famine;
several came over from the southern shores of the river, miserably
reduced by starvation, and scarcely able to drag along their feeble
limbs, to seek aid from the strangers. Champlain relieved their
necessities and treated them with politic kindness. The French suffered
severely from the scurvy during the first winter of their residence.
On the 18th of April, 1609, Champlain, accompanied by two Frenchmen,
ascended the Great River with a war party of Canadian Indians. After a
time, turning southward up a tributary stream, he came to the shores of
a large and beautiful lake, abounding with fish; the shores and
neighboring forests sheltered, in their undisturbed solitude, countless
deer and other animals of the chase. To this splendid sheet of water he
gave his own name, which it still bears. To the south and west rose huge
snow-capped mountains, and in the fertile valleys below dwelt numbers of
the fierce and hostile Iroquois. Champlain and his savage allies pushed
on to the furthest extremity of the lake, descended a rapid, and entered
another smaller sheet of water, afterward named St. Sacrement. On the
shore they encountered two hundred of the Iroquois warriors; a battle
ensued; the skill and the astonishing weapons of the white men soon gave
their Canadian allies a complete victory. Many prisoners were taken,
and, in spite of Champlain's remonstrances, put to death with horrible
and protracted tortures. The brave Frenchman returned to Quebec, and
sailed for Europe in September, leaving Captain Pierre Chauvin, an
experienced officer, in charge of the infant settlement. Henry IV.
received Champlain with favor, and called him to an interview at
Fontainebleau:[103] the king listened attentively to the report of the
new colony, expressing great satisfaction at its successful foundation
and favorable promise. But the energetic De Monts, to whom so much of
this success was due, could find no courtly aid: the renewal of his
privilege was refused, and its duration had already expired. By the
assistance of the Merchant Company, he fitted out two vessels in the
spring of 1610, under the tried command of Champlain and Pontgrave: the
first was destined for Quebec, with some artisans, settlers, and
necessary supplies for the colony; the second was commissioned to carry
on the fur trade at Tadoussac. Champlain sailed from Honfleur on the 8th
of April, and reached the mouth of the Saguenay in eighteen days, a
passage which even all the modern improvements in navigation have rarely
enabled any one to surpass in rapidity. He soon hastened on to Quebec,
where, to his great joy, he found the colonists contented and
prosperous; the virgin soil had abundantly repaid the labors of
cultivation, and the natives had in no wise molested their dangerous
visitors. He joined the neighboring tribes of Algonquin and Montagnez
Indians, during the summer, in an expedition against the Iroquois.
Having penetrated the woody country beyond Sorel for some distance, they
came upon a place where their enemies were intrenched; this they took,
after a bloody resistance. Champlain and another Frenchman were slightly
wounded in the encounter.
In 1612 Champlain found it necessary to revisit France; some powerful
patron was wanted to forward the interests of the colony, and to provide
the supplies and resources required for its extension. The Count de
Soissons readily entered into his views, and delegated to him the
authority of viceroy, which had been conferred upon the count.[104]
Soissons died soon after, and the Prince of Conde became his successor.
Champlain was wisely continued in the command he had so long and ably
held, but was delayed in France for some time by difficulties on the
subject of commerce with the merchants of St. Malo.
Champlain sailed again from St. Malo on the 6th of March, 1613, in a
vessel commanded by Pontgrave, and anchored before Quebec on the 7th of
May. He found the state of affairs at the settlement so satisfactory
that his continued presence was unnecessary; he therefore proceeded at
once to Montreal, and, after a short stay at that island, explored for
some distance the course of the Ottawa, which there pours its vast flood
into the main stream of the St. Lawrence. The white men were filled with
wonder and admiration at the magnitude of this great tributary, the
richness and beauty of its shores, the broad lakes and deep rapids, and
the eternal forests, clothing mountain, plain, and valley for countless
leagues around. As they proceeded they found no diminution in the volume
of water; and when they inquired of the wandering Indian for its source,
he pointed to the northwest, and indicated that it lay in the unknown
solitudes of ice and snow, to which his people had never reached. After
this expedition Champlain returned with his companion Pontgrave to St.
Malo, where they arrived in the end of August.
Having engaged some wealthy merchants of St. Malo, Rouen, and Rochelle
in an association for the support of the colony, through the assistance
of the Prince of Conde, viceroy of New France, he obtained letters
patent of incorporation for the company (1614). The temporal welfare of
the settlement being thus placed upon a secure basis, Champlain, who was
a zealous Catholic, next devoted himself to obtain spiritual aid. By his
entreaties four Recollets were prevailed upon to undertake the mission.
These were the first[105] ministers of religion settled in Canada. They
reached Quebec in the beginning of April, 1615, accompanied by
Champlain, who, however, at once proceeded to Montreal.
On arriving at this island, he found the Huron and other allied tribes
again preparing for an expedition against the Iroquois. With a view of
gaining the friendship of the savages, and of acquiring a knowledge of
the country, he injudiciously offered himself to join a quarrel in which
he was in no wise concerned. The father Joseph Le Caron accompanied him,
in the view of preparing the way for religious instruction, by making
himself acquainted with the habits and language of the Indians.
Champlain was appointed chief by the allies, but his savage followers
rendered slight obedience to this authority. The expedition proved very
disastrous: the Iroquois were strongly intrenched, and protected by a
quantity of felled trees; their resistance proved successful; Champlain
was wounded, and the allies were forced to retreat with shame and with
heavy loss.
The respect of the Indians for the French was much diminished by this
untoward failure; they refused to furnish Champlain with a promised
guide to conduct him to Quebec, and he was obliged to pass the winter
among them as an unwilling guest. He, however, made the best use of his
time; he visited many of the principal Huron and Algonquin towns, even
those as distant as Lake Nipissing, and succeeded in reconciling several
neighboring nations. At the opening of the navigation, he gained over
some of the Indians to his cause, and, finding that another expedition
against the Iroquois was in preparation, embarked secretly and arrived
at Quebec on the 11th of July, 1616, when he found that he and the
father Joseph were supposed to have been dead long since. They both
sailed for France soon after their return from among the Hurons.
In the following year, a signal service was rendered to the colony by a
worthy priest named Duplessys: he had been engaged for some time at
Three Rivers in the instruction of the savages, and had happily so far
gained their esteem, that some of his pupils informed him of a
conspiracy among all the neighboring Indian tribes for the utter
destruction of the French; eight hundred chiefs and warriors had
assembled to arrange the plan of action. Duplessys contrived, with
consummate ability, to gain over some of the principal Indians to make
advances toward a reconciliation with the white men, and, by degrees,
succeeded in arranging a treaty, and in causing two chiefs to be given
up as hostages for its observance.
For several years Champlain was constantly obliged to visit France for
the purpose of urging on the tardily provided aids for the colony. The
court would not interest itself in the affairs of New France since a
company had undertaken their conduct, and the merchants, always limited
in their views to mere commercial objects, cared but little for the fate
of the settlers so long as their warehouses were stored with the
valuable furs brought by the Indian hunters. These difficulties would
doubtless have smothered the infant nation in its cradle, had it not
been for the untiring zeal and constancy of its great founder. At every
step he met with new trials from the indifference, caprice, or
contradiction of his associates, but, with his eye steadily fixed upon
the future, he devoted his fortune and the energies of his life to the
cause, and rose superior to every obstacle.
In 1620, the Prince of Conde sold the vice-royalty of New France to his
brother-in-law, the Marshal de Montmorenci, for eleven thousand crowns.
The marshal wisely continued Champlain as lieutenant governor, and
intrusted the management of colonial affairs in France to M. Dolu, a
gentleman of known zeal and probity. Champlain being hopeful that these
changes would favorably affect Canada, resolved now to establish his
family permanently in that country. Taking them with him, he sailed from
France in the above-named year, and arrived at Quebec in the end of May.
In passing by Tadoussac, he found that some adventurers of Rochelle had
opened a trade with the savages, in violation of the company's
privileges, and had given the fatal example of furnishing the hunters
with fire-arms in exchange for their peltries.
A great danger menaced the colony in the year 1621. The Iroquois sent
three large parties of warriors to attack the French settlements. This
savage tribe feared that if the white men obtained a footing in the
country, their alliance with the Hurons and Algonquins, of which the
effects had already been felt, might render them too powerful. The first
division marched upon Sault St. Louis, where a few Frenchmen were
established. Happily, there was warning of their approach; the
defenders, aided by some Indian allies, repulsed them with much loss,
and took several prisoners. The Iroquois had, however, seized Father
Guillaume Poulain, one of the Recollets, in their retreat; they tied him
to a stake, and were about to burn him alive, when they were persuaded
to exchange the good priest for one of their own chiefs, who had fallen
into the hands of the French. Another party of these fierce marauders
dropped down the river to Quebec in a fleet of thirty canoes, and
suddenly invested the Convent of the Recollets, where a small fort had
been erected; they did not venture to attack this little stronghold, but
fell upon some Huron villages near at hand, and massacred the helpless
inhabitants with frightful cruelty; they then retreated as suddenly as
they had come. Alarmed by this ferocious attack, which weakness and the
want of sufficient supplies prevented him from avenging, Champlain sent
Father Georges le Brebeuf as an agent, to represent to the king the
deplorable condition of the colony, from the criminal neglect of the
company. The appeal was successful; the company was suppressed, and the
exclusive privilege transferred to Guillaume and Emeric de Caen, uncle
and nephew.
The king himself wrote to his worthy subject Champlain, expressing high
approval of his eminent services, and exhorting him to continue in the
same career. This high commendation served much to strengthen his hands
in the exercise of his difficult authority. He was embarrassed by
constant disputes between the servants of the suppressed company, and
those who acted for the De Caens; religious differences also served to
embitter these dissensions, as the new authorities were zealous
Huguenots.
This year Champlain discovered that his ancient allies, the Hurons,
purposed to detach themselves from his friendship, and unite with the
Iroquois for his destruction. To avert this danger, he sent among them
Father Joseph la Caron and two other priests, who appear to have
succeeded in their mission of reconciliation. The year after, he erected
a stone fort[108] at Quebec for the defense of the settlement, which
then only numbered fifty souls of all ages and sexes. As soon as the
defenses were finished, Champlain departed for France with his family,
to press for aid from the government for the distressed colony.
On his arrival, he found that Henri de Levi, duke de Ventadour, had
purchased the vice-royalty of New France from the Marshal de
Montmorenci, his uncle, with the view of promoting the spiritual welfare
of Canada, and the general conversion of the heathen Indians to the
Christian faith. He had himself long retired from the strife and
troubles of the world, and entered into holy orders. Being altogether
under the influence of the Jesuits, he considered them as the means
given by heaven for the accomplishment of his views. The pious and
exemplary Father Lallemant, with four other priests and laymen of the
Order of Jesus, undertook the mission, and sailed for Canada in 1625.
They were received without jealousy by their predecessors of the
Recollets, and admitted under their roof on their first arrival.[109]
The following year three other Jesuit fathers reached Quebec in a little
vessel provided by themselves; many artisans accompanied them. By the
aid of this re-enforcement, the new settlement soon assumed the
appearance of a town.
The Huguenot De Caens used their powerful influence to foment the
religious disputes now raging in the infant settlement;[110] they were
also far more interested in the profitable pursuit of the fur trade than
in promoting the progress of colonization; for these reasons, the
Cardinal de Richelieu judged that their rule was injurious to the
prosperity of the country; he revoked their privileges, and caused the
formation of a numerous company of wealthy and upright men; to this he
transferred the charge of the colony. This body was chartered under the
name of "The Company of One Hundred Associates:"[111] their capital was
100,000 crowns; their privileges as follows: To be proprietors of
Canada; to govern in peace and war; to enjoy the whole trade for
fifteen years (except the cod and whale fishery), and the fur trade in
perpetuity; untaxed imports and exports. The king gave them two ships of
300 tons burden each, and raised twelve of the principal members to the
rank of nobility. The company, on their part, undertook to introduce 200
or 300 settlers during the year 1628, and 16,000 more before 1643,
providing them with all necessaries for three years, and settling them
afterward on a sufficient extent of cleared land for their future
support. The articles of this agreement were signed by the Cardinal de
Richelieu on the 19th of April, 1627, and subsequently approved by the
king.
At this time the Indians were a constant terror to the settlers in
Canada: several Frenchmen had been assassinated by the ruthless savages,
and their countrymen were too feeble in numbers to demand the punishment
of the murderers. Conscious of their strength, the natives became daily
more insolent; no white man could venture beyond the settlement without
incurring great danger. Building languished, and much of the cleared
land remained uncultivated. Such was the disastrous state of the colony.
The commencement of the company's government was marked by heavy
misfortune. The first vessels sent by them to America fell into the
hands of the English, at the sudden breaking out of hostilities. In
1628, Sir David Kertk, a French Calvinist refugee in the British
service, reached Tadoussac with a squadron, burned the fur houses of the
free traders, and did other damage; thence he sent to Quebec, summoning
Champlain to surrender. The brave governor consulted with Pontgrave and
the inhabitants; they came to the resolution of attempting a defense,
although reduced to great extremities, and sent Kertk such a spirited
answer that he, ignorant of their weakness, did not advance upon the
town. He, however, captured a convoy under the charge of De Roquemont,
with several families on board, and a large supply of provisions for the
settlement. This expedition against Canada was said to have been planned
and instigated by De Caen, from a spirit of vengeance against those who
had succeeded to his lost privileges.
In July, 1629, Lewis and Thomas, brothers of Sir David Kertk, appeared
with an armament before Quebec. As soon as the fleet had anchored, a
white flag with a summons to capitulate was sent ashore. This time the
assailants were well informed of the defenders' distress, but offered
generous terms if Champlain would at once surrender the fort. He, having
no means of resistance, was fain to submit. The English took possession
the following day, and treated the inhabitants with such good faith and
humanity, that none of them left the country. Lewis Kertk remained in
command at Quebec; Champlain proceeded with Thomas to Tadoussac, where
they met the admiral, Sir David, with the remainder of the fleet. In
September they sailed for England, and Champlain was sent on to France,
according to treaty.[112]
When the French received the news of the loss of Canada, opinion was
much divided as to the wisdom of seeking to regain the captured
settlement.[113] Some thought its possession of little value in
proportion to the expense it caused, while others deemed that the fur
trade and fisheries were of great importance to the commerce of France,
as well as a useful nursery for experienced seamen. Champlain strongly
urged the government not to give up a country where they had already
overcome the principal difficulties of settlement, and where, through
their means, the light of religion was dawning upon the darkness of
heathen ignorance. His solicitations were successful, and Canada was
restored to France at the same time with Acadia and Cape Breton, by the
treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye[114] (1632). At this period the fort of
Quebec, surrounded by a score of hastily-built dwellings and barracks,
some poor huts on the island of Montreal, the like at Three Rivers and
Tadoussac, and a few fishermen's log-houses elsewhere on the banks of
the St. Lawrence, were the only fruits of the discoveries of Verazzano,
Jacques Cartier, Roberval, and Champlain, the great outlay of La Roche
and De Monts, and the toils and sufferings of their followers, for
nearly a century.[115]
By the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye the company were restored to all
their rights and privileges, and obtained compensation for the losses
they had sustained, but it was some time before the English could be
effectually excluded from the trade which they had established with the
Indians during their brief possession of the country. In 1633 Champlain
was reappointed governor of New France, and on his departure for the
colony took with him many respectable settlers: several Protestants were
anxious to join him; this, however, was not permitted. Two Jesuits,
Fathers de Brebeuf and Enemond Masse, accompanied the governor: they
purposed to devote themselves to the conversion of the Indians to
Christianity, and to the education of the youth of the colony. The
Recollets had made but little progress in proselytism; as yet, very few
of the natives had been baptized, nor were the Jesuits at first[116]
much more successful: these persevering men were, however, not to be
disheartened by difficulties, and they were supported by the hope that
when they became better acquainted with the language and manners of
their pupils, their instructions would yield a richer harvest.[117]
As New France advanced in population and prosperity, the sentiments of
religion became strengthened among the settlers. On the first arrival of
the Jesuits, Rene Rohault, the eldest son of the Marquis de Gamache, and
himself one of the order, adopted the idea of founding a college at
Quebec for the education of youth and the conversion of the Indians, and
offered 6000 crowns of gold as a donation to forward the object. The
capture of the settlement by the English had, for a time, interrupted
the execution of this plan; but Rohault at length succeeded in laying
the foundation of the building in December, 1635, to the great joy of
the French colonists.
In the same month, to the deep regret of all good men, death deprived
his country of the brave, high-minded, and wise Champlain. He was buried
in the city of which he was the founder, where, to this day, he is
fondly and gratefully remembered among the just and good. Gifted with
high ability, upright, active, and chivalrous, he was, at the same time,
eminent for his Christian zeal and humble piety. "The salvation of one
soul," he often said, "is of more value than the conquest of an empire."
To him belongs the glory of planting Christianity and civilization among
the snows of those northern forests; during his life, indeed, a feeble
germ, but, sheltered by his vigorous arm--nursed by his tender care--the
root struck deep. Little more than two centuries have passed since the
faithful servant went to rest upon the field of his noble toils. And now
a million and a half of Christian people dwell in peace and plenty upon
that magnificent territory, which his zeal and wisdom first redeemed
from the desolation of the wilderness.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 98: "Parceque les relations et les voyageurs parloient
beaucoup de Tadoussac, les Geographes ont suppose que e'etait une ville,
mais il n'y a jamais eu qu'une maison Francaise, et quelques cabannes de
sauvages, qui y venoient au tems de la traite, et qui emportoient
ensuite leurs cabannes; comme on fait les loges d'une foire. Il est vrai
que ce port a ete lontems l'abord de toutes les nations sauvages du
nord et de l'est; que les Francois s'y rendoient des que la navigation
etoit libre; soil de France, soil du Canada; que les missionnaires
profitoient de l'occasion, et y venoient negocier pour le ciel.... Au
reste Tadoussac est un bon port, et on m'a assure que vingt cinq
vaisseaux de guerre y pouvoient etre a l'abri de tous les vents, que
l'ancrage y est sur, et que l'entree en est facile."--Charlevoix, tom.
v., p. 96, 1721.
"Tadoussac, one hundred and forty miles below Quebec, is a post
belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, and is the residence of one of its
partners and an agent. They alone are allowed to trade with the Indians
in the interior. At Tadoussac is a Roman Catholic chapel, a store and
warehouse, and some eight or ten dwellings. Here is erected a
flag-staff, surrounded by several pieces of cannon, on an eminence
elevated about fifty feet, and overlooking the inner warehouse, where is
a sufficient depth of water to float the largest vessels. This place was
early settled by the French, who are said to have here erected the first
dwelling built of stone and mortar in Canada, and the remains of it are
still to be seen. The view is exceedingly picturesque from this point.
The southern shore of the St. Lawrence may be traced, even with the
naked eye, for many a league; the undulating line of snow-white cottages
stretching far away to the east and west; while the scene is rendered
gay and animated by the frequent passage of the merchant vessel plowing
its way toward the port of Quebec, or hurrying upon the descending tide
to the Gulf; while, from the summit of the hill upon which Tadoussac
stands, the sublime and impressive scenery of the Saguenay rises to
view."--_Picturesque Tourist_, p. 267 (New York, 1844).]
[Footnote 99: "The colony that was sent to Canada this year was among
the number of those things that had not my approbation; there was no
kind of riches to be expected from all those countries of the New World
which are beyond the fortieth degree of latitude. His majesty gave the
conduct of this expedition to the Sieur de Monts."--_Memoirs of Sully_,
b. xvi., p. 241, English translation.]
[Footnote 100: The pious Romanist, Champlain, thus details the
inconveniences caused by the different creeds of the Frenchmen composing
the expedition of De Monts: "Il se trouva quelque chose a redire en
cette entreprise, qui est en ce que deux religions contraires ne font
jamais un grand fruit pour la gloire de Dieu parmi les infideles que
l'on veut convertir. J'ai vu le ministre et notre cure s'entre battre a
coups de poing, sur le differend de la religion. Je ne scais pas qui
etoit le plus vaillant et qui donnoit le meilleur coup, mas je scais
tres bien que le ministre se plaignoit quelquefois au Sieur de Monts
d'avoir ete battue, et vuidoit en cette facon les points de
controversie. Je vous laisse a penser si cela etoit beau a voir; les
sauvages etoient tantot d'une partie, tantot d'une autre, et les
Francois meles selon leurs diverses croyances, disoit pis que pendre de
l'une et de l'autre religion, quoique le Sieur de Monts y apportat la
paix le plus qu'il pouvoit."--_Voyages de la Nouvelle France
Occidentale, dite Canada, faits par le Sieur de Champlain a Paris_,
1632.]
[Footnote 101: De Poutrincourt had been accompanied, in his last voyage
from France, by Marc Lescarbot, well known as one of the best historians
of the early French colonists. His memoirs and himself are thus
described by Charlevoix: "Un avocat de Paris, nomme Marc L'Escarbot,
homme d'esprit et fort attache a M. de Poutrincourt, avoit eu la
curiosite de voir le Nouveau Monde. Il animoit les uns, il piequoit les
autres d'honneur, il se faisoit aimer de tous, et ne s'epargnoit
lui-meme en rien. Il inventoit tous les jours quelque chose de nouveau
pour l'utilite publique, et jamais on ne comprit mieux de quelle
ressource peut etre dans un nouvel etablissement, un esprit cultive par
l'etude.... C'est a cet avocat, que nous sommes redevable des meilleurs
memoires que nous ayons de ce qui s'est passe sous ses yeux. On y voit
un auteur exact, judicieux, et un homme, qui eut ete aussi capable
d'etablir une colonie que d'en ecrire une histoire." (Charlevoix, vol.
i., p. 185.) The title of L'Escarbot's work is "Histoire de la Nouvelle
France, par Marc L'Escarbot, Avocat en Parlement, temoin oculaire d'une
partie des choses y recitees: a Paris, 1609."]
[Footnote 102: "Argall se fondait sur une concession de Jacques I., qui
avait permis a ses sujets de s'etablir jusqu'au quarante cinq degres, et
il crut pouvoir profiter de la foiblesse des Francais pour les traitre
en usurpateurs.... Si Poutrincourt avoit ete dans son fort avec trente
hommes bien armes, Argall n'auroit pas meme eu l'assurance de l'attaquer
... en deux heures de tems le fen consuma tout ce que les Francais
possedoient dans une colonie ou l'on avait deja depense plus de cent
mille ecus.... Celui qui y perdit davantage, fut M. de Poutrincourt qui,
depuis ce tems la ne songea plus a l'Amerique. Il rentra dans le
service, ou il s'etait deja par plusieurs belles actions et mourut au
lit d'honneur."--Jean de Laet.
In 1621, James I. conferred Acadia upon Sir William Alexander, who gave
it the name of Nova Scotia. At the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, in
1632, it was restored to the French; again taken by the English, it was
again restored to France by the treaty of Breda, in 1667. In 1710, when
Acadia was taken by General Nicholson, the English perceived its
importance for their commerce. They obtained its formal and final
cession at the treaty of Utrecht, 1713.]
[Footnote 103: "It was at this time that the name of New France was
first given to Canada."--Charlevoix. tom. i., p. 232.]
[Footnote 104: Champlain, part i., p. 231; Charlevoix, vol. i., p. 236.]
[Footnote 105: Seven or eight years before the arrival of the PP.
Recollets at Quebec, Roman Catholic missionaries had found their way to
Nova Scotia. They were Jesuits. It was remarkable that Henry IV., whose
life had been twice attempted by the Jesuits,[106] should have earnestly
urged their establishment in America. When Port Royal was ceded to
Poutrincourt by De Monts, the king intimated to him that it was time to
think of the conversion of the savages, and that it was _his desire_
that the Jesuits should be employed in this work. Charlevoix
acknowledges that De Poutrincourt was "un fort honnete homme, et
sincerement attache a la religion Catholique"--nevertheless, his
prejudices against Jesuits were so strong, that "il etoit bien resolu de
ne les point mene au Port Royal." On various pretexts he evaded obeying
the royal commands, and when, the year after, the Jesuits were sent out
to him, at the expense of Madame de Gruercheville, and by the orders of
the queen's mother, he rendered their stay at Port Royal as
uncomfortable as was consistent with his noble and generous character,
vigilantly guarding against their acquiring any dangerous influence. His
former prejudices could not have been lessened by the assassination of
Henry IV.[107] The two Jesuits selected by P. Cotton, Henry IV.'s
confessor, for missionary labors in Acadia, were P. Pierre Biast and P.
Enemond Masse. They were taken prisoners at the time of Argall's descent
on Acadia, 1614, and conveyed to England.--Charlevoix, tom. i., p. 189,
216.]
[Footnote 106: By Barriere in 1593; by Jean Chatel in 1594. He finally
perished by the hand of Ravaillac, in 1610. See Sully's Memoirs, b. vi.,
vii.; Cayet, Chron. Noven., b.v.; Pere de Chalons, tom. iii., p. 245,
quoted by Sully.]
[Footnote 107: Henri s' etait montre bienveillant pour les Jesuites,
encore que les parlemens et tous ceux qui tenoient, a la magistrature
ressentoient plus de prevention contre ces religieux que les Hugonots
eux-memes.... Henri IV. fit abattre la pyramide qui avait ete elevee en
memoire de l' attentat de Jean Chatel contre lui, parce que l'
inscription qu' elle portait inculpait les Jesuites d'avoir excite a cet
assassinat.--Sismondi: _Histoire des Francais_. See De Thou, tom. ix.,
p. 696, 704; tom. x., p. 26 a 30.]
[Footnote 108: When Champlain first laid the foundations of the fort in
1623, to which he gave the name of St. Louis, it is evident that he was
actuated by views, not of a political, but a commercial character. When
Montmagny rebuilt the fort in 1635, it covered about four acres of
ground, and formed nearly a parallelogram. Of these works only a few
vestiges remain, except the eastern wall, which is kept in solid
repair.--Bonchette.]
[Footnote 109: Charlevoix, tom. i., p. 247.]
[Footnote 110: "Ce fut Guillaume de Caen qui les conduisit (les
Jesuites) a Quebec. Il avoit donne sa parole au Duc de Ventadour qu'il
ne laisseroit les Jesuites manquer du rien; cependant, des qu'ils furent
debarques, il leur declara que, si les PP. Recollets ne vouloient pas
les recevoir et les loger chez eux, ils n'avoient point d'autre parti a
prendre que retourner en France. Ils s'apercurent meme bientot qu'on
avoit travaille a prevenir contre eux les habitans de Quebec, en leur
mettant entre les mains les ecrits les plus injurieux, que les
Calvinistes de France avoient publies contre leur compagnie. Mais leur
presence eut bientot efface tous ces prejuges."--Charlevoix, tom. i., p.
248.]
[Footnote 111: Charlevoix highly extols this brilliant conception of the
Cardinal de Richelieu, "et ne craint point d'avancer que la Nouvelle
France seroit aujourd'hui la plus puissante colonie de l'Amerique, si
l'execution avoit repondue a la beaute du projet, et si les membres de
ce grand corps eussent profite des dispositions favorables du souverain
et de son ministre a leur egard."--Charlevoix, tom. i., p. 250;
_Memoires des Commissaires_, vol. i., p. 346.]
[Footnote 112: Champlain's proposals of capitulation (Smith's Canada,
vol. i., p. 22) sufficiently prove that, down to 1629, France had
scarcely any permanent footing in the country. By stipulating for the
removal of "all the French" in Quebec, Champlain seems to consider that
the whole province was virtually lost to France, and "the single
vessel," which was to furnish the means of removal, reduces "all the
French" in Quebec to a very small number.]
[Footnote 113: Charlevoix.]
[Footnote 114: Charlevoix, tom. i., p. 273.]
[Footnote 115: "L'ile au Cap Breton (c'etoit bien peu de choses que
l'etablissement que nous avions alors dans cette ile) le fort de Quebec
environne de quelques mechantes maisons et de quelques baraques, deux ou
trois cabanes dans l'Ile de Montreal, autant peut-etre a Tadoussac, et
en quelques autres endroits sur le fleuve St. Laurent, pour la commodite
de la peche et de la Traite, un commencement d'habitation aux Trois
Rivieres et les rivieres de Port Royal, voila en quoi consistoit la
Nouvelle France et tout le fruit des decouvertes de Verazzani, de Jaques
Cartier, de M. de Roberval, de Champlain, des grandes depenses de
Marquis de la Roche, et de M. de Monts et de l'industrie d'un grand
nombre de Francais qui auroient pu y faire un grand etablissement, s'ils
eussent ete bien conduits."--Charlevoix, tom. i., p. 274.]
[Footnote 116: See Appendix, No. XVI. (see Vol II)]
[Footnote 117: The Jesuits always retained the superior position they
held from the first among the Roman Catholic missionaries of Canada.
There is a well-known Canadian proverb, "Pour faire un Recollet il faut
une hachette, pour un Pretre un ciseau, mais pour un Jesuite il faut un
pinceau." See Appendix, No. XVII., (see Vol II) for Professor Kalm's
account of these three classes.]