They remain valuable sources to scholars today for understanding what was happening on the ground in New France. The Relations detail all aspects of Jesuit missionary activity, as well as French colonial activity and relations generally with Indigenous peoples at the time. Le Jeune was the first author and editor of the Relations de la Nouvelle-France (1632-1673), a best-selling, annual book series published in Paris by Sébastien Cramoisy, the top royally-endorsed publisher of the era. A convert from Protestantism, Le Jeune hailed from the province of Champagne and was a highly educated, well-connected man who spent many years in Paris before and after his time in Canada. Their mission took off in earnest in 1632 under the leadership of Fr. After a short-lived Jesuit mission in Acadia, Jesuits were active around Québec by the mid 1620s. Between 16, 320 Jesuits were sent from France to North America. The most famous missionaries active in New France were priests and lay brothers of the Society of Jesus. Over time, mission stations among the Innu, Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Abenaki, Anishinaabe, Illinois, and many other groups from eastern Canada and Maine to the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi Valley, were vital to the build-up of New France. They were also intended to forge bonds of alliance between indigenous populations and the French, and thereby to facilitate and embody the French imperial project. At a time when European expansionism was both justified and energized by the Gospel call to “make disciples of all nations,” these missions were dedicated to spreading Catholic faith and worship and saving souls. From the early 17th century until the Seven Years War (1754-1763), the French Crown sponsored many Catholic missions among Native American peoples in New France.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |