The Makers of Canada: Champlain

by N.-E. Dionne

The other emigrants came to Canada at their own risk. The party numbered forty-three persons, including women and children, and were within a space of from five to eight leagues of Mortagne, the chief town of the old province of Perche. There were two exceptions, however, Jean Juchereau came from La Ferté Vidame in Thimerais, and Noël Langlois was from St. Leonard, in Normandy.

The vessels bearing the contingent of settlers arrived in Quebec in June. They were four in number, under the command of Captains de Nesle, de Lormel, Bontemps, and Duplessis-Bochart. Robert Giffard had preceded the party by a few days, and he lost no time in selecting the spot where his residence was to be built, upon which he planted a cross on July 25th. He also commenced clearing the land, and two years after he gathered in a harvest of wheat sufficient to maintain twenty persons. The soil in this part was very productive, and it is, even to-day, the richest in the province of Quebec.

Among the emigrants of the year 1634 were two remarkable men, Jean Bourdon, and a priest named Jean LeSueur de St. Sauveur. The Abbé LeSueur de St. Sauveur had abandoned his parish of St. Sauveur de Thury, which is to-day known as Thury-Harcourt, in Normandy, to come to Quebec. One of the suburbs of Quebec to-day takes its name from this active and devoted priest.

Jean Bourdon, an inseparable friend of the abbé, established himself on the borders of Côteau Ste. Geneviève, which is to-day known as St. John's suburb. He built a house and a mill, and also a chapel, which he named Chapel St. Jean. Other pioneers soon settled near Bourdon's place, which finally gave to Quebec a suburb.

Bourdon was a man of great capacity, and he in turn filled the rôle of surveyor, engineer, cartographer, delineator, farmer, diplomat and lawyer. He saw the colony increasing, and knew eight governors of the colony, including Champlain. He was also acquainted with Bishop Laval, the Venerable Mother Marie Guyart de l'Incarnation, and was on good terms with the Jesuits and the nuns of the Hôtel Dieu and Ursuline Convent. Bourdon played an important part in the affairs of the colony. He was present at the foundation of the Jesuits' college, of the Quebec seminary, and of the Conseil Souverain, of which he was procureur fiscal. Of his personal qualities, the Venerable Mother de l'Incarnation has written that he was "the father of the poor, the comfort of orphans and widows, a good example for everybody."

One of the articles of the act incorporating the Company of New France, provided that the colony was to be settled with French and Catholic subjects only. This provision may appear at first sight to be arbitrary, but when we consider that one of the chief objects of the colonization of New France was to convert the savages, and that the Huguenots with their new form of religion were, generally speaking, hostile to the king and to the Catholics, it seems to have been a judicious provision. In such a small community the existence of two creeds so opposed to each other could hardly have produced harmony, and as the Catholics were undertaking the enterprise and it originated with them, they surely had the right to do what they considered would most effectively secure their ends.

For political reasons this action could also be defended, for the loyalty of the Huguenots was, perhaps, doubtful, and their past actions did not offer any guarantee for the future. They did not hesitate to preach revolt against the authorities of France, and, therefore, intimate connection with the Indians might have produced results prejudicial to the colony. If France had the welfare of the colony at heart, it behooved her to exclude every disturbing element. Viewed impartially, this precaution was undoubtedly just, and those who blame the company for their action, do not rightly understand the difficulties which existed at that period.

Richelieu, who had a clear insight into the affairs of the time, did not prohibit trade between the Huguenots and the Indians, but he refused them permission to settle in Canada, or to remain there for any length of time without special leave. Champlain had observed the attitude of the Huguenots, their unwillingness to erect a fort at Quebec, their persecution of the Catholics, and their treatment of the Jesuits, and although he was not fanatical, he was pleased with this rule. The foundation of the new settlement was based upon religion, and religion was essential to its progress. Peace and harmony must be maintained, and everything that would promote trouble or quarrel must be excluded.

During the seventeenth century, England preserved a war-like attitude towards Catholics. A Catholic was not eligible for a public office, and the learned professions were closed to them, neither could a Catholic act as a tutor or as an executor to a will. Prejudice was carried still further, and even the books treating of their faith were suppressed, while relics or religious pictures were forbidden. These were only a few of the persecutions to which they were subject.

As far back as 1621 Champlain had requested the king to forbid Protestant emigration to Canada, but his petition was not granted, because the company was composed of mixed creeds. The company formed by Richelieu, however, was solely Catholic, and there were no difficulties on this score. The result of this policy was soon manifest. There were no more dissensions on board the vessels as to places of worship, and the Catholics were, as a consequence, enabled to observe their religious duties without fear of annoyance. The beneficent influence of this policy extended to the settlement, where the people lived in peace, and were not subject to the petty quarrels which arose through a difference in creed.