France and England in North America, Part IV: The Old Régime In CanadaParkman, Francis
History
France and England in North America, Part IV: The Old Régime In Canada
Parkman, Francis
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France)
Talon had recommended this plan as being in accordance with the example
of the Romans. “The practice of that politic and martial people,” he
wrote, “may, in my opinion, be wisely adopted in a country a thousand
leagues distant from its monarch. And as the peace and harmony of
peoples depend above all things on their fidelity to their sovereign,
our first kings, better statesmen than is commonly supposed, introduced
into newly conquered countries men of war, of approved trust, in order
at once to hold the inhabitants to their duty within, and repel the
enemy from without.” *
The troops were accordingly discharged, and settled not alone on the
Richelieu, but also along the St. Lawrence, between Lake St. Peter and
Montreal, as well as at some other points. The Sulpitians, feudal owners
of Montreal, adopted a similar policy, and surrounded their island with
a border of fiefs large and small, granted partly to officers and partly
to humbler settlers, bold, hardy, and practised in bush-fighting. Thus
a line of sentinels was posted around their entire shore, ready to give
the alarm whenever an enemy appeared. About Quebec the settlements,
covered as they were by those above, were for the most part of a more
pacific character.
To return to the Richelieu. The towns and villages which have since
grown upon its banks and along the adjacent shores of the St. Lawrence
owe their names to these officers of Carignan, ancient lords of the
soil: Sorel, Chambly, Saint Ours,
* Projets de Réglemens, 1667 (see Edits et Ordonnances, II.
29).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account