Pierre Dugua de Mons
In 1599, Pierre Dugua de Mons, Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnenuit and Samuel de Champlain traveled to North America on behalf of Henri IV, King of France and Navarre, also called le bon roi (the good King). Henri IV wanted France to harvest the rich pelts it could find in Northeastern America. Henri also asked Du Gua de Mons to create a settlement in what are now the Maritime provinces of Canada. Officially, Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal) is the first French settlement in North America. It was settled in 1604, four years before Champlain settled Quebec City. However, to be precise, Tonnetuit’s trading post was the first French settlement in North America, and it was located in the present-day Québec, one of the two provinces of New France. The other was Acadie. Henri IV had been a Protestant, a Huguenot, and so were the above-mentioned explorers.
Louis XIV in 1643, prior to becoming king, by Claude Deruet
Huguenots, a popular term used since 1560 to designate French Protestants, some of whom became involved in the Newfoundland fishery and Canadian fur trade, and in abortive colonization attempts in Canada (1541-42), Brazil (1555) and the Carolinas (1562-64).
Huguenots, The Canadian Encyclopedia
Champlain was a secretive Huguenot, but Pierre Dugua de Mon(t)s wasn’t. As for Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit, his occupation, fur trading, was that of a Huguenot. So, if his trading post was the first French settlement in the Americas, the very first French settlement in the Americas was a Huguenot settlement. In fact, although Champlain did not reveal his religious affiliation, he founded Quebec-City in New France’s Huguenot times. But matters changed in 1627. New France was governed by the Company of One Hundred Associates and its first shareholder was Cardinal Richelieu.
More permanent was the fur-trade. The French in Canada tended to their thirty acres, but many had to go to the countries above, les pays d’en haut. They were voyageurs or coureurs des bois. Coureurs des bois did not have a licence, so if caught, the pelts they had harvested were confiscated.
I love Pierre Chauvin’s trading post. New France would have its legendary voyageurs. They would be Catholics. But Pierre Chauvin’s trading post was a Huguenot settlement.
When Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnentuit returned to France, he left sixteen (16) men at Tadoussac. It was a settlement. Only six (6) survived.
Love to everyone 💕
Lucie Therrien chante À Saint-Malo
© Micheline Walker
4 September 2020
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More fascinating history to supplement my learning
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Quebec citizens are Catholics, but its first explorers, explorers to Acadia, were Protestants. Tadoussac was a Huguenot settlement and so was Quebec City, but Champlain didn’t talk. Everything changed when Richelieu started to rule France. The little house isn’t Versailles, but I like it. Stay safe. 🙂
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this is so interesting, i had no idea about this. so the term ‘acadians’ sprung from this area, no doubt, i’ve always wondered the connection. no worries about the block editor, it has not worked for me either, how i prefer to see it, rather than me not working for it.
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Yes Beth, this is quite the story. The term Acadian did spring from that area. In Louisiana, the term became Cajun. The Acadians were deported by the British in 1755. Some ships sailed down the Thirteen Colonies. Acadians were not allowed to leave the ships until they reached Georgia. Love and stay safe.
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The new editor is difficult. It puts up messages and edits. But the alternative, not blogging, is very sad.
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Dear Micheline,
I enjoy reading your posts on the french traditions in Canada. They are so « à propos » and full of information. Your devotion to Molière is incomparable.
Funnily enough, it compares with my devotion to Alexander Dumas ! Whose novels marked my mindset as a youth !
To the point where I decided to emulate his skills by writing a novel on the Renaissance ! As a pre-cursor to his trilogy on the Reine Margot and what follows: the decadence of the Valois during the religious wars.
I wanted to understand why from 1494 to 1595, bataille d’Ivry, France went from a pinnacle of cultural revival to a nadir of political cum cultural decadence.
I wanted also to understand the geo-politics of the age of Machiavelli and the cultural resurgence of the Italian Renaissance that so influenced French architecture and art works.
I wanted also to understand the geopolitics of the Franco-Ottoman alliance, the first great international treaty where politics dominated religious beliefs; very Machiavellian in that « the enemy of my enemy can be my best friend! »
Finally, I wanted to understand how Erasmus’s humanism and Luther/Calvin’s reformism influenced the downfall of the Latin apostolic church’s hold on christian ideology and European politics. To me Erasmus was the true precursor of the Enlightenment that followed. He pointed the way. Just like Copernicus did in science : no more flat earth !
So my novel tries to have a pluri-disciplinary and holistic view of that age to understand and explain the complex political games that transpired. All the time making my protagonist a romantic and adventurous D’Artagnan!
Unfortunately, my skills in french grammar do not match my passions for writing like a french novelist. My youth at the Alliance française was troubled by chatting up the Danish and Swedish girls more than devoting my attention to understanding « le subjonctif » or the « conjugation du participe passé ». I could never understand why the french nouns all were masculin or feminine, never neuter, and why we had to conjugate the adjectives and adverbs in the same configuration. « Les charmes de la langue française! »
So if you can suffer the slings and arrows of my assault on the french language and enjoy the recital of the adventures of my protagonist I would love to send you a copy of my novel in PDF format « for your eyes » only !
Very affectionately,
Tahir Athar
>
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Well Tahir, We are on the same path. Huguenots were persecuted and found a temporary home in New France. As for the alliance with the Ottoman it had to happen because nearly all of Louis XIV’s children died. His heir was a child. Louis felt that the Ottoman would help protect France. It’s fascinating. People at court did not want his “illegitimate” children to reign. In 1715, when Louis died, the only candidate to the throne of France was a child. As for d’Artagnan, he arrested Nicolas Fouquet whose castle was more beautiful than the Louvre. Louis wanted absolute power. I’m also using the both Dumas. Fouquet was in the same prison as the man with the iron mask. A few years ago, I contacted Britannica and asked that their scholars investigate Pierre Dugua de Mons. He was the father of Acadia, not Champlain. Champlain was with Dugas as a cartographer. But Dugua had been sent to settle Acadie, which he did: Port-Royal. Champlain, a discrete Huguenot, settled Quebec City. Until the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (the Edict of Fontainebleau [1685], Huguenots moved to Quebec. I am a Bourbeau, on my mother’s, side and my Bourbeau ancestors were Huguenots who fled France. They survived the Siege of La Rochelle, and went into hiding in Jersey and Guernsey. They left for Nouvelle-France. Britannica joined forces with the Canadian Encyclopedia. Their entries on Acadie are now perfectly clear and accurate. So, yes, the Ottoman-French alliance was Louis’s way of protecting himself against French nobility who were vying for the throne of France. I love Dumas.If one wants to know the 17th century, one reads Dumas père. Dumas fils is linked with the 19th century. Bonne continuation. I would be delighted to read your book. A big hug, Micheline
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Really interesting and well researched article.
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Thank you Kally,
It’s interesting news and the litte fur-trading post is a lovely building. At Tadoussac, one can see whales. People travel to Tadoussac to watch the whales. Have a good day.
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