The Makers of Canada: Champlain

by N.-E. Dionne

David Kirke was much dissatisfied with the agreement, which he believed was due to the action of Sir Isaac Wake, to whom he wrote, accusing him of not having followed the instructions of the English company. His letter concluded with these words: "I understand that the conduct of this affair has been absolutely irregular, as it is evident that you have only resorted to the French testimony, having no care for the English evidence."

In the same memorandum the Kirke family complained of the fact that the Company of English Adventurers had been compelled to plead in France, while the French were not subject to the same conditions. This accusation was not correct, as Guillaume de Caën had been obliged not only to live in London in order to vindicate his goods, but also to watch them and prevent damage.

Kirke had no other claim than compensation for losses, and de Caën, who had apparently no responsibility for the conflict of 1629, could not reasonably be expected to pay the amount of Kirke's claim. The contents of the storehouse at Quebec were the property of the de Caëns, and in visiting Quebec Emery de Caën had no other object in view than to secure his goods and take them to France. He had nothing to do with the war, and believed that he was sailing in times of peace. Thomas Kirke, by whom he was taken prisoner, treated him as a pirate, illegally, and in spite of the Treaty of Suze. It is true that the Kirkes ignored the existence of this treaty when they sailed for America, but this was only an excuse for their attitude as belligerents.

As soon as the provisions of the negotiations were determined upon between the two countries, the claims had to be sent to the king, if they considered that they had any grievance under the privileges conferred upon them by letters of marque. The royal commission took a correct stand in demanding from them in the name of Charles I an indemnity for France. All these differences were at length terminated through the energetic interference of Richelieu. These disputes had lasted for more than two years, and constantly occupied the attention of the ambassadors. The king of France, therefore, empowered Bullion and Bouthillier on January 25th, 1632, to act. Charles I had already sent Burlamachi to France with letters in favour of the restoration of Canada and Acadia, and had also given instructions to Sir Isaac Wake, his ambassador extraordinary. On March 5th, Louis XIII granted an audience to the ambassadors, and the basis of a treaty was agreed upon. Sir Isaac Wake represented Charles I, and Bullion and Bouthillier represented the king of France.

The commissioners took up the question of seizures, which was the most difficult. The king of France agreed to pay the sum of sixty-four thousand two hundred and forty-six pounds to Lumagne and Vanelly for the goods seized on the Jacques, and sixty-nine thousand eight hundred and sixty-six pounds for the goods seized on the Bénédiction, and to restore these two vessels to their owners within fifteen days. This agreement included the effects taken from the Bride, and sold at Calais, the property of Lumagne and Vanelly. The king of England promised to render and restore all the places occupied by the subjects of His Majesty of Great Britain in New France, Canada and Acadia, and to enjoin all those who commanded at Port Royal, at the fort of Quebec and at Cape Breton, to put these places in the hands of those whom it shall please His Majesty, eight days after notice given to the officers named by the king of France.

Under this agreement, de Caën was obliged to pay for the equipment of a vessel of two hundred to two hundred and fifty tons, and for the repatriation of the English subjects established in New France. The forts and places occupied by the English were to be restored as they were before their capture, with all arms and ammunition, according to the detailed list which Champlain had given. Burlamachi was authorized to pay for everything that was missing, and also to place Emery de Caën in possession of the ship Hélène, which had been taken from him, together with all goods abandoned at Quebec during his voyage of 1631. Burlamachi was also instructed to pay to Guillaume de Caën the sum of eighty-two thousand seven hundred pounds within two months. The sum of sixty thousand six hundred and two pounds tournois was also to be paid by Burlamachi to whomever it might belong, for the vessels Gabriel of St. Gilles, Sainte-Anne, of Havre de Grâce, Trinité, of Sables d'Olonne, St. Laurent, of St. Malo, and Cap du Ciel, of Calais, seized by the English after the signing of the Treaty of Suze.

After this was agreed to, the commissioners embodied in eight articles the conditions of free trade between the two countries. The whole was signed by Wake, Bullion and Bouthillier, at St. Germain-en-Laye, on March 29th, 1632.

Thus terminated this quarrel between England and France, but it was only the precursor of a far more serious conflict which was to arise. From time to time, however, these differences were adjusted temporarily by treaties, only to lead to further complications. The principal difficulty arose regarding the boundaries of New France, the limits of which were not clearly defined in the treaty. Some adjacent parts were claimed by the English as their territory. The king of France had granted to the Hundred Associates "in all property, justice and seigniory, the fort and habitation of Quebec, together with the country of New France, or Canada, along the coasts ... coasting along the sea to the Arctic circle for latitude, and from the Island of Newfoundland for longitude, going to the west to the great lake called Mer Douce (Lake Huron), and farther within the lands and along the rivers which passed through them and emptied in the river called St. Lawrence, otherwise the great river of Canada, etc."

Quebec was considered as the centre of these immense possessions of the king of France, and included the islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton and St. John (Prince Edward).

The king of England had granted to Sir Thomas Gates and others, in 1606, three years after the date of de Monts' letters patent, "this part of America commonly called Virginia, and the territories between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees of latitude, and the islands situated within a space of one hundred miles from the coasts of the said countries."