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Acknowledgements

I would first and foremost like to thank my wife, Amanda, whose endless patience and understanding allowed me the time to complete Broken Circle. Also, I would like to thank the staff at Ste. Marie among the Hurons, and especially Bev Rashleigh, for their assistance in helping me with the many historical questions I had regarding the Wendat nation as well as the French mission of Ste. Marie.

Ste. Marie among the Hurons

Ste. Marie among the Hurons was Ontario's first European settlement. The Jesuits arrived in the prosperous land of the Wendat and, with lay workers, began construction of the pallisaded community in 1639. The community included a church, barracks, workshops, residences and a sheltered longhouse for native visitors. Ste. Marie was home to 66 Frenchmen, representing one-fifth of the entire population of New France. The presence of the Jesuits in Huronia split the Wendat nation into traditionalists and Christians. The Wendat nation was also severely weakened by European disease which enabled the Iroquois to launch a full-scale war against their rivals to the north. In 1649, with the Iroquois controlling most of Huronia, Ste. Marie was burned to the ground by the French community so that it could never be used by the Iroquois. The Jesuits then retreated back to the safety of Quebec. Beaten and abandoned, the remaining Wendat people either migrated south to Kentucky or east to Quebec.

After extensive research, a team from The University of Western Ontario recreated Ste. Marie on the original site in Midland, Ontario. Ste. Marie can now be experienced by touring the historical site and interacting with staff dressed in period costumes, both native Wendat and French.