Edge of Empire

by Peyser, Joseph L.

• ISBN13: 9780870138201
• ISBN10: 0870138200
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-30
• Publisher: Michigan State Univ Pr

Summary

This is a unique glimpse into the French fur trade of the Great Lakes region: Few places were as important in the seventeenth-century European colonial New World as the pays d#x92;en haut. This term means "upper country" and refers to the western Great Lakes (Huron, Michigan, and Superior) and the areas immediately north, south, and west of them. The region was significant because of its large Native American population, because it had an extensive riverine system needed for beaver populations - essential to the fur trade - and because it held the transportation key to westward expansion.It was vital to the French, who controlled the region, to be on good terms with its peoples. To maintain good relations through trade and diplomacy with the nations in the pays d#x92;en haut, the French built a number of posts, including one at Michilimackinac and one on the St. Joseph River (near Niles, Michigan). These posts were garrisoned by French troops and run by French commanders who contracted with merchants to manage business matters. Edge of Empireprovides both an overview and an intensely detailed look at Michilimackinac at a very specific period of history. While the introduction offers an overview of the French fur trade, of the place of Michilimackinac in that network, and of what Michilimackinac was like in the years up to 1716, the body of the book is comprised of sixty-one French-language documents, now translated into English. Collected from archives in France, Canada, and the United States, the documents identify many of the people involved in the trade and reveal a great deal about the personal and professional relations among people who traded. They also reveal clearly the process by which trade was carried out, including the roles of both Native Americans and women. At the same time, the documents open a window into French colonial society in New France.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. xvi
Acknowledgments	p. xx
Introduction	p. xxiii
May 16, 1671: Copy of Saint-Lusson's Act of possession of the Northern Territories	p. 1
July 8, 1683: Petition by Charles de Couagne against Marie Felix	p. 3
July 31, 1683: Subpoena delivered to Louis Ouacuse	p. 6
July 16, 1683: Interrogation of Louis Ouakouts	p. 7
July 16 and 27, 1683: Testimony of Simone Cote and others	p. 12
No date, 1683: Statement of trade goods belonging to Marie du Bocq	p. 18
July 16, 1683: Petition by Charles de Couagne to seize Louis Ouakont's canoe	p. 20
July 16, 1683: Petition of Charles de Couagne	p. 21
Oct. 4, 1683: Petition by Claude Tardy	p. 22
Oct. 4-7, 1683: Judicial investigation against Loisel and Villedieu	p. 24
Oct. 5, 1683: Petition by Claude Tardy	p. 31
Oct. 7, 1683: Loizel & Villedieu's petition	p. 33
Oct. 11, 1683: Petition by Anthoine Villedieu	p. 35
Oct. 13, 1683: Judgment rendered by Migeon de Branssat	p. 37
Oct. 13, 1683: Statement of court expenses	p. 39
No date, 1684: Statement of expenditures made by sieur de La Durantaye	p. 41
May 19, 1684: Death and inventory of Jean Gay (or Laurent) dit Cascaret	p. 47
May 20, 1684: Court record of the death of Mathurin Normandin dit Beausoleil	p. 55
Dec. 31, 1684: Service contract of Claude Guichard, Carpenter, and La Durantaye	p. 57
Jan. 11, 1685: Partnership agreement between Laurent Baudet and sieur de La Durantaye	p. 59
May 15, 1685: Partnership agreement between Jean Morneau & Jean Lariou & sieur de La Durantaye	p. 61
No date, 1686: Summary of Governor Denonville's letters	p. 63
Sept. 24, 1686: Rene Fezeret's complaint against Etienne de Sainte	p. 66
Sept. 25, 1686: Etienne de Sainte's statement denying Fezeret's complaint	p. 69
Sept. 26, 1686: Testimony of Fezeret's witnesses	p. 71
Sept. 26-27, 1686: Judicial inquiry regarding the petition of Estienne de Sainte against Fezeret	p. 77
Sept. 30, 1686: Verdict in favor of Fezeret against de Sainte	p. 80
Mar. 3, 1687: Judgment to the benefit of sieur Patron against sieur Dulhut	p. 83
Jan. 20, 1688: Marie Morin's sworn statement that she is pregnant by Alphonse de Tonty	p. 85
Mar. 8, 1688: King to Denonville and Champigny	p. 87
June 7, 1689: Instructions to Governor Frontenac	p. 88
May 14, 1690: Agreement between Nicolas Perrot and Pierre Le Sueur	p. 89
Sept. 1, 1690: Protest by Francoise Duquet against the Bishop of Quebec	p. 91
Sept. 16, 1692: Summary investigation of the beaver trade	p. 93
Aug. 31, 1693: Service contract between sieurs Louis Duquet Duverdier, etc., and sieur de La Durantaye	p. 99
Sept. 9, 1694: Agreement between Monsieur Lamothe Cadillac and Moreau	p. 101
Aug. 3, 1695: Cadillac to the Minister	p. 103
Apr. 23, 1696: Agreement regarding the purchase, via credit, of trade goods by Marie Guyon	p. 105
Sept. 2, 1696: Service contract of Jean Lalonde with Cadillac	p. 108
Sept. 24, 1696: House-rental lease from sieur Petit to Mme Cadillac	p. 110
September 1697: Champigny to the Minister re: Alphonse de Tonty's illegal trade at Michilimackinac	p. 112
September 1697: Callieres's orders to Le Verrier to stop the French from going to the Ottawa country, and Champigny's remarks	p. 114
Sept. 4, 1697: Alphonse de Tonty's power of attorney to Pierre Lamoureux de St. Germain	p. 119
Oct. 27, 1697: Champigny to the Minister regarding Tonty's illegal trade to Michilimackinac	p. 121
May 21, 1698: Minister to Callieres	p. 125
May 5, 1700: Royal memoir to Callieres and Champigny	p. 127
May 27 and June 5, 1700: Minutes of the Enquiry of Fezeret v. Boudor	p. 128
June 5, 1700: Fezeret v. Boudor: witnesses' testimony	p. 131
Oct. 3, 1701: Reversal by the Sovereign Council of the 1699 judgment in Fezeret v. Boudor	p. 138
May 30, 1703: Minister to Callieres regarding La Durantaye and La Dame de La Forest	p. 139
Dec. 31, 1705: Declaration by Marie Lesueur	p. 141
July 10, 1715: Pontchartrain to Ramezay and Begon regarding soldiers at Michilimackinac	p. 143
Nov. 20, 1715: Ramezay's orders regarding voyageur Verger dit Desjardins	p. 144
Sept. 6, etc., 1716-1717: Petition of Pierre Crevier dit Duvernay for Pay	p. 145
Jan. 13, 1716: King's attorney's complaint against various voyageurs	p. 149
Jan. 13, 1716: Record of interrogations of LeBoeuf and other voyageurs charged with not fighting against the Fox Indians	p. 150
Jan. 14, 1716: Sentence ordering the four voyageurs to return to Michilimackinac	p. 157
Jan. 14, 1716: Appearance of Francois Poisset as bond for Jean Verge	p. 159
Nov. 7, 1716: Louvigny's statement regarding engages's pay dispute over serving against the Foxes	p. 161
Mar. 27, 1734: Statement by Daragon on the topic of the soldier Lafranchise who was robbed and buried alive about 42 years ago	p. 162
Mar. 29, 1734: Statement by Widow Dailleboust De Musseaux on the topic of the soldier who was robbed and buried alive about 43 years ago	p. 164
Mar. 30, 1734: Statement by Pierre Martin on the same topic	p. 166
Untranslated French Terms	p. 168
Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Legal Terms	p. 170
Missionaries Assigned to Michilimackinac	p. 177
Commanders at Michilimackinac	p. 178
Bibliography	p. 179
Index	p. 185
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.