French Missionaries in New France | History American People

1. Missionaries in New France (Brebeuf, 1636)

• Context: Excerpt from a letter by Jesuit Jean de Brébeuf to Reverend Mutius Vitelleschi; published in the Jesuit Relations, a yearly compilation of missionary reports. Letters often transcribed/altered before publication.
• Audience and purpose: Addressed to the Jesuit leader in Rome; aims to report progress, explain challenges, and justify the mission.
• Key claims and imagery:
  • The natives’ initial reaction to Catholic teachings: they hear mysteries of the faith as new, yet they do not oppose them; they wonder, praise, and approve, but do not keep them in mind for long.
  • They acknowledge the God of the French worldview as different from their own creation, implying theological relativism of competing worldviews.
  • They are sometimes trapped by Satan’s snares and still bear “evil habits”.
  • Some show openness: many baptisms occur; as of two years since arrival, they claim 60 baptisms, including both adults and children.
  • After baptism, some go to heaven; others—whether truly saved or hoped to be saved—are believed to be aided by the prayers and examples of the baptized.
• Attitudes toward conversion and kin: surviving parents fear separation from their children; they anticipate following those who are baptized after death.
• The line of argument: conversion is linked to fear of hell and hope of paradise; light of truth draws some toward faith.
• Meta-notes on methodology and tone:
  • The letter registers religious zeal and a sense of divine providence.
  • It frames success in spiritual terms (eternal salvation) rather than purely material outcomes (e.g., trade or political power).
• Sign-off and provenance: Signed by J. DE BREBEUF in 1636; included in Jesuit Relations vol. 11 (1896-1901 edition) with modern English translation by Thom Mentrak.
• Contextual note: The source is a missionary perspective; the transcript includes brackets clarifying difficult words.

2. Missionaries in New France (Brebeuf, 1637)

• Context: Letter from 1637 to Vitelleschi; reports on a pestilence and rumors about French/Jesuit culpability.
• Two major obstacles reported this year:
  • A pestilence of unknown origin spread through several villages about eight months earlier, causing many deaths; missionaries saw divine providence in the calamity and also personal vulnerability.
  • Rumors spread by “followers of the devil” claiming that Frenchmen and Jesuits caused the pestilence or aimed to destroy Aboriginal peoples.
• Social impact of the pestilence and rumors:
  • These narratives estranged several villages for a time and led some to consider removing the missionaries from their midst.
• Tone: Humble, pious, and defensive; cites obedience to the mission and God’s will.
• Sign-off: Signed by J. DE BREBEUF in 1637; included in Jesuit Relations vol. 11; brackets indicate reader aids.

3. Missionaries in New France (Brebeuf, 1637)

• Context: Letter reporting broad baptisms and mission progress within a single year.
• Key claims:
  • More than 200 baptisms in the year; almost every village invited them to visit.
  • The pestilence and relevant reports have increased the Jesuits’ visibility and credibility among the Indigenous population.
  • The explicit purpose of the mission has become understood: the aim is to teach and convert to Christ, not to buy skins or conduct trade.
• Ethos and framing:
  • The missionaries emphasize “truths of religion” and their mission to teach Christ rather than commercial activities.
• Sign-off: Signed by J. DE BREBEUF in 1637; note on publication as in previous entries.

4. Observations of Jesuit missionaries (Peter Kalm, Travels into North America, 1770)

• Source: Excerpts from Swedish explorer Peter Kalm’s Travels into North America (1770) describing Jesuit and Récollet activities.
• Core observations:
  • The Jesuits view their work as converting heathens; missionaries are scattered near towns and villages with converted Indians.
  • There are Jesuits with both converted and non-converted Indians; a missionary is often in every village connected to Indigenous populations.
  • The missions aim to convert on all occasions, not merely in settled communities; the presence is comprehensive across Canada.
• Implication: Kalm’s secular travelogue depicts a widespread, organized missionary presence and frames conversion as the central objective of these efforts.

5. The martyrdom of Jesuit missionaries, 1648 (illustrative painting, 1664)

• Visual representation: A painting by Jesuit Father du Creux (1664) depicting the killing of Jesuits in 1649 at Mission de Sainte-Marie.
• Note on source: Du Creux was not present at the actual events; the painting commemorates casualties and the dangers faced by missionaries.
• Context: Part of a broader historical narrative about missionary risk and sacrifice in New France.

6. The Hurons have embraced Christianity (Father Antoine Silvy, Letter No. 72, 1673-1708 range)

• Author and context: Letter by Father Antoine Silvy from Fort Pontchartrain; likely addressed to Jesuit authorities; part of the Letters from North America (Mika Publishing).
• Content highlights:
  • The Hurons bury their dead in war regalia after anointing and painting them to prevent posthumous misery in the afterlife; graves include wooden scaffolds and carved tokens.
  • Silvy asserts that Hurons have embraced Christianity with great enthusiasm, calling them among the most faithful to God, counting sixty warriors in the community.
• Framing: The letter emphasizes success and devotion among the Hurons, reinforcing the view of a strong indigenous Christian community.
• Sign-off: (Signed) Father Antoine Silvy; translation by Ivy Alice Dickson.

7. A varied response to Jesuit and Récollets missionaries in the Canadian colony (Father Antoine Silvy, Letter No. 89, 1673-1708 range)

• Content highlights:
  • A description of Indian missions as strongholds shielded by stones, with one or two missionaries in Hurons’ communities providing instruction and promoting Christian living.
  • Hurons near Quebec’s North Shore and surrounding areas are presented as obedient and receptive to Christian rites, with reports of abstaining from alcohol and other vices.
  • The Jesuits oversee most missions, with some regional missions run by Récollets and seminaries in Montreal, Quebec, and Detroit (Fort Frontenac and Fort Pontchartrain).
  • Risks faced by missionaries include fire, arrows, and acts of violence by Iroquois; some religious adherents throw stones, or Indians harass mission cabins using blasphemies and other hostilities.
  • The overall tone remains one of perseverance and commitment to converting Indigenous peoples, despite danger and resistance.
• Sign-off: (Signed) Father Antoine Silvy; translation by Ivy Alice Dickson.

8. Are only the sick willing to convert? (Francois le Mercier, 1637 Jesuit Relations)

• Context: A 1637 Jesuit Relations excerpt focusing on attempts to convert sick Indigenous individuals.
• Case details:
  • Father Pijart encounters a sick man near Khinonacarant; the man expresses willingness to be baptized, but his wife discourages him, arguing that it would not be proper for him to go to heaven since none of his relatives are there.
  • The sick man’s state is not fatal; the wife’s intervention prevents further instruction or baptism.
  • A recurring theme: Indigenous skepticism about heaven; several Indians express practical concerns about life and food rather than spiritual matters.
  • Another instance: An Indian tells a Father Superior that they do not press Indians to choose heaven or hell; they hope the patients recover and thus avoid making such judgments.
  • A third case: Some baptized Indigenous individuals, upon illness, still prioritize stomach and life preservation over spiritual concerns.
    -Reflection: Highlights the complexity of conversion when health, mortality, and daily survival shape belief and religious decisions; also shows tension between paternal authority and Indigenous autonomy.
• Publication context: Part of Jesuit Relations, with bracketed clarifications for difficult terms.

9. A new and successful strategy to convert the Mohawk (Jean Pierron, 1669-1670)

• Context: Excerpt from Pierron’s letters, later published in the Jesuit Relations (1669-1670), detailing a novel approach to conversion.
• Key points:
  • In eight months, Pierron baptized 53 persons, nearly all of whom he believed were saved by going to heaven.
  • He measures success by the salvation of souls and God's blood shed for them, treating spiritual outcomes as the primary reward for missionary effort.
  • He emphasizes touching hearts before minds and uses visual aids to teach: painted spiritual and devout pictures meant to convey Christian content.
  • He adopts a catechetical approach taught twice daily; he notes powerful impressions from God’s word on Indigenous souls.
  • He identifies vices—drunkenness and debauchery—as the principal obstacles, arguing they are the country’s “divinities” aligned with misrule.
  • Initial ideas included teaching reading and writing to Indigenous children; however, practical constraints (time, rewards) forced a shift.
  • A pivotal moment: God-inspired idea of a game designed to capture Indians by leveraging their love of gaming; the game presents Christian life through pictures and audio cues, using emblems to teach.
  • Rationale: The game is intended to be memorable; players can learn essential Christian practices through play and remember them far longer than typical catechism.
• Publication and context: Included in Allan Greer (ed.), The Jesuit Relations: Natives and missionaries in seventeenth-century North America (2000).
• Implications: Demonstrates the Jesuits’ willingness to adapt methods for effectiveness, including the use of culturally resonant entertainments as teaching tools.

10. A Jesuit preaches to a First Nations crowd (visual caption)

• Context: A drawing by C. W. Jefferys, published in The Picture Gallery of Canadian History (1942), illustrating a Jesuit preacher addressing a First Nations audience.
• Significance: Visual representation of missionary presence among First Nations; situates the written testimonies within broader cultural memory and Canadian historiography.

11. The Work of the missionaries (Critical Thinking Consortium Teaching Guide, 2002)

• Source: Teaching guide from The Critical Thinking Consortium (Early contact and settlement in New France, 2002).
• Core points:
  • Even with financial and moral backing from the French government, Jesuits had limited success Christianizing Aboriginal peoples.
  • Parents often refused to send children to Catholic missions, or children ran away, fell ill, or died; corporal punishment (common in Europe) conflicted with Aboriginal child-rearing practices.
  • Ursuline Order founded by Marie de l’Incarnation in France was invited to New France to aid conversion; the aim was to complement Jesuit efforts with female religious education.
  • Hospitals established by religious orders outperformed schools in their impact, and they gradually served the broader community, including French Canadians, during migrations.
• Publication context: Ruth Sandwell, Catriona Misfeldt, and Roland Case (eds.), Early contact and settlement in New France (Vancouver, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium, 2002).
• Note: Brackets indicate reader aids for difficult terms.

12. Mother Marie de l’Incarnation teaching Indian children (C. W. Jefferys, The Picture Gallery of Canadian History, 1942)

• Visual representation: Marie de l’Incarnation teaching Indigenous children; part of the Canadian historical image collection.
• Context: Ursuline influence in New France as part of the broader missionary effort; this image complements the narrative of education and care.

13. The education of children in New France (Online Exhibit, Canadian Museum of Civilization)

• Key points:
  • Missionaries believed early on that they could easily Francify Native peoples; in practice, expectations did not align with Indigenous realities.
  • Language barrier: Indigenous communities required communication in Native languages; missionaries learned by ear without dictionaries or reference works.
  • Social structure: Native children enjoyed liberty until puberty; strict European discipline clashed with Indigenous child-rearing practices.
  • Curriculum misalignment: French learning content (reading, writing, trades) was not aligned with Indigenous needs, which centered on community-based survival skills (agriculture, hunting, fishing, trapping, food preservation, forest survival, pharmacopeia, crafts).
  • Language and trade: The fur trade was conducted in Native languages, reducing the practical usefulness of French language instruction for Indigenous communities.
  • Overall assessment: The effort to “civilize” faced structural and cultural barriers; French attempts to assimilation were met with limited, uneven success.
• Source: Canadian Museum of Civilization exhibit on the Education of Children in New France; brackets indicate reader aids.

14. The Questioning the reliability of Jesuit first-hand accounts (Carole Blackburn, Harvest of souls, 2000)

• Core argument:
  • Carole Blackburn questions the reliability of Jesuit letters and their published Relations (1632–1650) for understanding missions and colonialism.
  • While Jesuits were relatively successful, the need to cultivate a favorable image for donors and to counter critics affected their portrayal of events.
  • The Relations often served as a tribute, illustrating piety and devotion and reinforcing doctrine; these accounts were used to argue for the universality of salvation and natural grace.
  • Blackburn contends these texts can be strategically used to advance theological points and illustrate sanctity, rather than provide neutral historical records.
• Publication context: Harvest of souls: The Jesuit missions and colonialism in North America, 1632–1650 (Montreal, QC: Queen’s University Press, 2000).
• Note: Brackets indicate reader aids for difficult terms.

15. The A difficult task for missionaries in New France (Origins: Canadian history to Confederation, 2004)

• Core points:
  • 1632: Cardinal Richelieu granted the Jesuits a monopoly over the Canadian mission field; the work began earnestly.
  • Enrollment challenges: Efforts to recruit Indigenous children faced resistance from parents who often refused to send them; when accepted, students often ran away or fell ill or died.
  • Punitive practices: French corporal punishment conflicted with Indigenous child-rearing practices and contributed to parental resistance.
  • The arrival of the Ursuline nuns (1639) marked a new phase; they were invited to Christianize and civilize young Indigenous girls, yet their success remained limited.
  • 1668: Marie de L’Incarnation, founder of the Ursuline Order in New France, observed that among those who passed through the Ursulines’ hands, only a few were ultimately civilized. Yet the Ursulines were more successful in hospital work.
  • Mercy institutions: Hospitals ultimately served not only Indigenous communities but also the growing French Canadian population; these institutions proved essential healthcare resources into the late 20th century in Quebec.
• Publication context: Douglas Francis, Richard Jones, and Donald Smith, Origins: Canadian history to Confederation; Fifth Edition (Nelson Publishing, 2004).
• Reproduction and permissions: Material reproduced with publisher’s permission; brackets indicate reader aids.