Newly discovered documents paint a portrait of Montreal in 1650

“I got goosebumps when I realized these were the documents of Jean Mans,” said Paul Labon, general director of the Musée des Hospitaliers at the Hôtel-Dieu in Montreal. . […] Iroquois raids were numerous. The church is used as an artillery store. »

Jean Mance takes refuge in a castle. In the windows of the rooms, to resist multiple and continuous attacks, we placed at least two revolvers, a hand cannon mounted on a tripod, more or less equivalent to today's bazooka. Two cannons are placed on the ground floor. Holes are drilled everywhere to allow shooting. Montreal's founding was not quiet and smooth.

Paul Labone got his hands on these rare documents for the first time last spring.

Everyone repeated that these original documents about the founding of Montreal had been destroyed in the fire at the Hotel-Dieu, leaving practically nothing behind. “But nobody understood that when Jean Mance died, the documents were sent to Quebec according to his will. » The documents were still there, more or less well classified, so invisible unless you pay attention.

“The documents are not identified with Jeanne Mance,” explains Paul Labon, even though they come from documents left behind when she died according to her will.

In a letter spanning several pages, Jean Mance explains his reasons for giving Paul de Somedy de Maisonne the sum of 22,000 pounds, the equivalent of approximately $700,000 today. He explains in this document that it was necessary to recruit about a hundred immigrants in France to establish this religious project in Montreal.

Jean Mance writes that this money should be invested, “to save a country where God is wrongly respected, by removing countless souls from the darkness of their apostasy”. His particular relationship with the native world is evident in this text. She considers the Iroquois “savages,” “despicable furies.” It is war.

In fact, this letter written by Jean Mans was already found in 1953 by his biographer Marie-Claire Davelu. But due to non-exploitation, it fell back into oblivion. Indeed, “this is the summary that is always given [François] Tolier de Casson quoted in his History of Montreal. Not original. He was considered lost. Because the hospital was destroyed by fire. »And yet, this original was finally discovered…

Among the documents discovered are a dozen contracts confirming the engagement of French peasants and artisans in 1644 by Jérôme Le Royer de la Daversière, lawyer of the Notre-Dame de Montreal Society. New World. Thanks to a document from 1665, Paul Labon explains that “Maisonneuve was looking for settlers”. Not enough settlers available.

Investigation

A new study of the rich archives of the Musée de la Civilization in Quebec has brought to light important documents in the handwriting of Jean Mans. The co-founder of Montreal, as she is now known, is Ms.^Gr François de Laval, founder of the Seminary of Quebec and first Bishop of Quebec, all his papers.

Where did these papers go, all these papers where she said she was ready to “pray to God” with all his soul?

Paul Labonne, general director of the Musée des Hospitalières de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Montreal, asked this himself to Peter Gagne, archivist of the Musée de la Civilization in 350.^e Year of death of Jean Mans. A new exhibition dedicated to this definitive spirituality is being prepared. The celebrations around Jean Mans will continue until June 2024.

Some of the documents discovered contain a letter of classification affixed by notaries during the inventory of Jean Mance's property after his death. It verifies the origin of the documents and their authenticity. “The estimates are behind the documents. They were pasted on June 19 and 20, 1673, after the death of Jean Mans, at the Hotel-Dieu. »

Archives directly linked to Montreal's co-founders are extremely rare. Run by Jean Mons since 1642, the Hôtel-du-Montreal suffered three terrible and devastating fires in 1695, 1721 and 1734. The latter destroyed a substantial portion of the hospital's archives. For a long time, all his documents were thought to be lost.

A discovery like this is important because it could inspire new perspectives on Montreal's origins.

Above all, to the extent that it allows us to open up “new avenues of research that enrich our collective memory,” asserts Paul Labone.

Jean Mance's correspondence is thought to be lost. For a long time, only a few very rare written traces were known from his hand, including the “Memoir of Wood”, a simple letter that gives an account of his borrowing of materials for the construction of the Hôtel-Dieu. This rediscovery of old documents gives new impetus to the idea that we can be active.

Born 1606 in Langres, France, died 1673 in Montreal (Ville-Marie). Jean Mans is considered one of the most important pioneers of New France. After Montreal's centennial celebrations in 1942, how many newborns would bear the first name Jean-Mans in honor of his importance in telling the history of this colony?

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