Читать книгу A Canadian History for Boys and Girls - Emily Poynton Weaver - Страница 7
ОглавлениеSamuel de Champlain.
About the year 1603, a company of Frenchmen banded together for the colonization of Canada and the conversion of the Indians to Christianity. In return the king gave them a monopoly of the fur trade—that is, he said that they, and no one else, might buy and sell furs in Canada. One member of this company did so much for Canada that he has been called the Father of New France. His name was Samuel de Champlain. He was now thirty-six years of age. He had been a soldier, a captain in the Royal Navy of France, and a traveller. On his journeys he kept a diary in which he drew curious pictures of the things he saw.
Champlain was chosen to explore the country, so he crossed the ocean in a tiny vessel, and sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as Cartier’s Mont Royale. He found no trace of the Indian towns Cartier had described. He tried to make his way up the rapids above Mont Royale, and eagerly questioned the few Indians he met concerning the country beyond. But several years passed before he was able to make use of what he learned about Canada.
A French
Gentleman, 1600.
A Settlement in Acadia.
In 1604 a nobleman named De Monts became head of the company. Instead of sending settlers to the St. Lawrence, he wished to found a colony in Acadia, as the country now forming Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and part of Maine was then called. The rival fur-traders were invited to join the company, but if any dared to trade on their own account their ships were seized or driven away.
St. Croix.
After exploring the Bay of Fundy, De Monts set his men to make a garden and to build houses and a chapel on a little cedar-covered island at the mouth of the River St. Croix, which takes its name from that given to the settlement. As winter came on it appeared that the post had not been wisely chosen. On the island there was neither wood to burn nor water to drink, and in stormy weather it was often impossible to cross to the mainland. During the winter nearly half the settlers died, and many of the rest suffered terribly from a painful disease called scurvy.
Port Royal.
In the spring forty new settlers arrived, and De Monts moved to Port Royal, a beautiful spot which he had granted to Baron de Poutrincourt. The new buildings were scarcely well begun when De Monts was obliged to return to France, but in the following year he sent out a number of labourers and skilled workmen. Port Royal was healthier than St. Croix, and the winter passed cheerfully. All was flourishing, when De Monts lost his monopoly of the fur trade. Without it he could not afford to support the colonists, so they were suddenly obliged to leave Port Royal.
The neighbouring Indians were deeply grieved at this, for the Frenchmen had treated them with unfailing kindness, and had given them many a meal when hungry. In fact their old chief, Membertou, had been a daily guest at Poutrincourt’s table.
For three years the buildings were deserted. But they were not destroyed, and in 1610 Poutrincourt returned to Port Royal, bringing with him a priest to teach the Indians. They received the French joyfully, and several soon consented to be baptized. Foremost among these was Membertou, who was called Henri after the king of France, while his squaw (as the Indians call their wives), received the name of Marie in honour of the queen. The old chief even wished to go to war with the neighbouring tribes to force them to become Christians too.
The Jesuits.
A short time later several Jesuit missionaries were sent to Acadia. Their order was at this time in high favour at the court of France. The king and queen and other noble persons gave them money for their work, but they had many difficulties in their way. For instance, the Indians misled them when they were learning the language, by telling them wrong names for things; and they could not agree either with Poutrincourt or his son, Biencourt, who was left in charge at Port Royal. Poutrincourt himself had much trouble, and at last was thrown into prison in France, while his unfortunate people were almost starving in Acadia.
Port Royal Attacked.
About this time the English, who had settled farther south, in Virginia, suddenly bethought themselves of an old claim to Acadia, and sent a man named Argall to drive away the French. He first attacked a little settlement at the mouth of the Penobscot, and carried off a number of prisoners; but, on a second journey, he fell upon Port Royal itself, which proved an easy prey. Its owners, unaware that any foe was near, were all busy gathering in their harvest, and before they returned their houses were in flames. Poutrincourt, who had regained his liberty, made one more journey across the ocean with supplies, but returned to France in despair when he found the buildings in ashes. His son refused to leave Port Royal, and led a wild life in the woods till he died, eight or nine years later. Charles de la Tour, a Huguenot, or French Protestant, of noble family, became governor of Acadia in his stead. He soon moved from Port Royal to a spot near Cape Sable, where he built the Fort of St. Louis.
English Grant of Acadia, 1621.
In the meantime King James I of England had granted the whole of Acadia to a Scotch knight, Sir William Alexander. He called it Nova Scotia, and the king allowed him to give the title of baronet to gentlemen willing to help in colonizing the country. A number of men accordingly received titles and large grants of land, but few settlers were brought out.
The Newfoundland Colony.
In the year 1623, Lord Baltimore took a number of people to Newfoundland, settling them at a place called Verulam, or Ferryland. Soon afterwards a few Frenchmen settled near, but they acknowledged that the country belonged to the English, and paid a small sum for leave to fish.
