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5. From the Mediterranean to the Saint Lawrence
- University of Ottawa Press
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CHAPTER 5 From the Mediterranean to the SaintLawrence In a spectacular reorientation of his career, Brother Huault de Montmagny was named, perhaps as early as the end of 1635, governor - thefirst ofthat title - ofNewFrance.The territory entrusted to him, the Saint LawrenceRiver valley,was dominated by a stretchof water presenting an extreme contrast with the Mediterranean that he had now left forever. For a good dozen years, he had lived most of his time in contact with a great inland sea, densely populated along its coastline and on its islands, and heavily travelled not only by its own people, but also by northern Europeans, especially the English and the Dutch. Sailing ships and galleys ploughed through it in every direction, for trade or for war, the collision of two great civilizations being, as we have seen, extremely violent. The Saint Lawrence, which Montmagny entered at the end of May 1636, was a kind of maritime corridor emptying into the Atlanticand rising at the veryheart ofthe continent. Fromthe Gulf, the river narrowed until it reached Quebec, from which point its width remained more or less unchanged as far as the Great Lakes. It was relatively little frequented;the population along itsbanks wasscattered; Quebec had only 200inhabitants; Trois-Rivieres, barelyfifty.The native peoples of the Saint Lawrencewere nomadic, those of the GreatLakes, semi-sedentary. Their wayoflife - their culture, among other things was diametrically different from that of the Mediterranean peoples. Within this immense network, which included the Saint Lawrence's many tributaries, travel was by canoe or small boat, with ocean-going vessels coming up as far as Tadoussac or Quebec, save in the winter, since climatic constraints were severe. Indeed, when this aspect istaken into account, the contrast deepens. The great sea is bracketed between the North African desert and the temperate zone of southern Europe. This results in mostly sunny days and an endemic dryness against which men have had to struggle since the beginning of time.1 On the other hand, the winter, without being cold (the temperature rarely drops below 10°C) is wet and stormy. 118 THE CHEVALIER DEMONTMAGNY In 1659, Venice forbade long voyages between 15 November and 20 January.2 Also, going back to the New Testament, it is recalled that in the autumn of 60A.D., the boat carrying the apostle Paul to Rome was shipwrecked near Malta.3 In eastern Canada, the situation is completely different:4 as far as Quebec there is a boreal zone to the north and a temperate cool zone to the south that, from this point, curves slightly upward to include Montreal and most of the Great Lakes region. The result of this is a cold, damp climate. Thewinter is,properly speaking, the dead season: navigation is blocked by the ice; snow covers the ground to a depth of a metre or more; the cold is persistent. The Relation of 16375 describes the trip which Montmagny took, at the very beginning of March, across a lake situated "about four leagues from Quebec."6 "Asthe cold was intense," he and his companions were forced "to pass [the night] between the fire and the snow under ... the mighty vault of heaven." He "had some fishing done there under the ice during Lent." In the summer the temperature is more agreeable, and it rains enough, most of the time, to produce an impressive vegetation. The antithesis continues with examination of the human milieu. Not the immediate milieu - in both cases Montmagny found brother hospitallers (ofwhom there will be more presently), Jesuit priests, and compatriots - but, rather, thevery different civilizations with which he was confronted. The nationsbelonging to Islam were, as wehave seen, the raison d'etre of the Order. In seven campaigns (maybemore)he had taken the measure oftheir wealth and their strength. More than half the Mediterranean seaboard belonged to them. They fought as equals with the Christian nations of Europe.Their culture was refined, with works of art,7 impressive monuments, and, above all, palaces and mosques. Istanbul was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Their monotheistic religion was based on the interpretation of an inspired book. But the Koran is not the Bible, and on account of that they were, according to the well-known formula, "enemies of the true faith";8 and they were in control ofthe holy places ofChristendom. The aboriginal people with whom Montmagny camein contact as soon as he arrived at Tadoussac and Quebec were at a stage oftechnical development closer...