French history of Canada

The Mighty River Flows
by

The Mighty River Flows

Hail Brave hearts

Yes, it’s here, the spring has arrived, in snowy, blustery style,  In like a lion, with  heavy snow falls, March has ended the winter with a cold snap, that keeps us bundled up and happy.  Of course, the summer will eventually come, but now the trails are white.  The forest floor is covered, a late spring, with no drought in sight.

The itch is on, to turn the seasons, pull out the canoe and test the current.  Ice flows passing with the water as the melting winter turns to spring.  Catch us in our history, as we wave farewell to winter, the icy highways turn to melt waters and the dangerous ice flows temp.  No  more the sleighs to speed us along the slippery, white rivers, now it’s canoes and boats and water craft, to take our time away.

Go back, fine fellows, to days gone by, to times of yesteryear.  To the fur trade and the brave at heart the times of the voyageur.  A dangerous time of year, this is, when winter turns to spring.  The trails are wet, the rivers are thin ice and the progress becomes slow.  Take a nap and wait a week, a well deserved holiday.  The harshness of this difficult time, will melt the winter away.  Soon the canoe will be laden, with supplies to take inland.  To visit with the natives and to find a brand new land.  Off come the winter fur coats, hats and mitts are stored.  Onto another adventure, to the watery highways of this world.

A well traveled route, the St. Lawrence, filled with Coureur de Bois.  One of the most dangerous occupations of that lifetime, to travel, explore and trade in the great unknown wild.

http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=25887&type=pge     Trois Riviers, Quebec

The canoes are large enough, they carry several men.  All trained and skilled in many ways, to tackle the obstacle at hand.  Come from far away, in European style, to make a living the hard way, adventure, in the Canadian wild.  A fearsome, mighty river, the St. Lawrence is cracking up.  Pretty soon, it will be show time, pack your bags and liven up.  No more naps or holidays, the spring torrents are flooding.  It’s an adventure too dangerous for us,  spring break up is not even for the daring.  Icy flows and chilly woes, we’ll wait for another day.  This is not the best of times, for watery, river play.

But if you were an itchy voyageur, with bills at home to pay, perhaps the tempting season, would  cast him adrift anyway.

A lovely camping trip, with lakes and rivers to follow, the Canadian rivers of highway, still bind us to our past.  Traditions of camping and canoeing, following well traveled routes.  Today, we love this great wild land and praise the nations splendor.  Our ancestors did a very fine job, of protecting and implementing the heritage that we covet today.  A land of unspoiled wonder, with historical routes to travel.  This is our fine country we still travel in style.  From winter sleigh to summer canoe, the adventure has never left us.

written by Dr.  Louise Hayes

April 18, 2018

Northern Ontario Canoe Trip,  The Nat River

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6ie5jptrgY
Winter Horse Races
by

Winter Horse Races

Hail Brave hearts

Enjoy the best, the wilds of winter put us to the test.  It’s dog sledding and snow shoes, skis and skates.  It’s winter camping and bonfires, with marshmallows and  hot chocolate.  It’s fireside in the cabin, cozy and warm, it’s darkness and quiet and wild winter storms.  The winter, at it’s best is the season of chill, with ice, frost, snow and wild winter storms to combat.  The fireside beckons, it calls us to be warm, come into this fine cabin to avoid the winter’s storm.  The cold winter’s icy blast, it makes our hearts sing, to have another snowfall, we’re blessed with these fun things.

Another invention, of horses and riders, take us back to our history of early colonial times.  A Quebec invention, horses, they say, becomes a competition of horse races in the winter.  Ride, you awesome champions, skilled and daring, mount your fine steeds for a flight along the icy river.  A unique experience in horsemanship and breeding, the new stock of racehorse was a special adaptation that kept it’s footing on the ice of the river.  A gaming day, to enjoy the sport, pull up your chair in minus temperatures and spend the day outside enjoying the show.

It’s early colonial times in Quebec, but this is Canada, after all.  Making the most of what life gives us, chilly cold, snow, ice and fun and the adventure of it all.

To be in a colony, so far away, from a homeland so remote, it lives in yesterday.  The future is dependent on the survival skills of all, fight off the loneliness, the questions, the gloom of despair.  Come out of your lodging, bring your chair.  Have fun in the winter, dress warmly and with layers.  Come out and enjoy this, we love it this way, with horses and snow and ice and sleigh.  Come sing, with high spirits, chase off the dark.  Enjoy this day of racing, gaming, and fun in the winter.

http://www.walkerswest.com/History/CanadianPacer.htm

The cold, the isolation, the small numbers of people, but tireless energy and determination to survive, to win at the odds of feeling cast aside.  Gather together, all you peoples, in community and spirit, chase away the dangers of illness and fear.  The numbers are still small, but we’re getting used to our lives, of hardship, deprivation, thrift and careful counting.  Make sure your larder will last until the next harvest.

Inventions are a must,  stretch your minds.  Think of something new, to make us better people.  We’re changing out here in a colony so rustic.  We’re becoming a people of our own.

Don’t look back, look forward, prepare and plan.  Become the genius we all know you can.  Invent the horse, play games anyway, invent your recipes, plan your stay.  The colony is forever, we can’t give it up, so make the most of it, live well, drink from this cup.  It’s a warm winter’s day, time for some fun, head off to the river to enjoy the race.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 21, 2018

Prayers for the People
by

Prayers for the People

Hail, oh brilliant ones

From the minds of the common man, the culmination of skills and knowledge to survive in the cold, white winter.  Plant your crops, harvest your gold, smell the sweet scent of success.  The smiles of surpassing years of struggle, the world is won, the population is rising, the connection has been met.  Sow the seeds of prosperity, in the soil, in your minds, in the community and in the cultural exchange.   Tips of survival that heal the body, heal the mind and mend the sorrow.  Live you awesome stalwarts.  Live and let live, to soar in this land of plenty.

By royal decree the brides arrive, about 800 in total.   By royal decree, they marry and they stay.  No more visiting and making the decision to stay, only to return to France because the colony is too rustic.  Now there are families and sighs of relief.  Mutual sharing, caring and helpfulness, homes and companionship, comfort and joy.  The blessings of a child, the good work of the hospital.  The population starts to rise.  In 1663 the population of New France is merely 3200 strong and hearty souls.  In ten years time, the population doubles, to 6700 in 1672.  From the humble beginnings of 26 in 1608, to rise to a population of 6700 , sixty eight years later, in 1672.

http://www.lookbackward.com/perrault/filleroi/  The Kings Daughters,  Filles de Roi

The success of the Kings Daughters was mainly due to the origins of the women.  Peasant girls for the countryside were more well suited to the rigors of life in the colony, than girls from the towns.  Make your own bread, pick your own berries, harvest your own crops, feed the animals, milk the cow.  The country girls had more life skills than their counterparts in the city and could manage the hard work better, with more knowledge and more skills to their credit. Mainly rural people, from the farm.  People who understand animals, crops, weather, soil.  Hardworking people, who know how to plant seeds and preserve food.

The small population of Quebecois in Canada is finally starting to rise.  These women were needed to prevent incest and to finally ensure a that the small group of people, living in that far off land, would actually survive and become a people of their own.

Cast off into the colonies, with wits and courage to save them, they will work hard for their living and persist in developing the land and the character of the people who dwell their. They will have their babies and change the world.  With the developing colony comes a people of ingenuity.  Inventions of their own.  Negotiations of their own.  An existence that becomes a life of unexpected chance.  Maple syrup and horse racing.  Unique and unknown in some circles, becomes a part of life.  A chance for joy.

With prayers for the people, the nation is developing well.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 15, 2016

by

Some Luxury

 

Hail Bravehearts

Hail and hearty the adventure awaits the bold and daring and the ambitious ones.  Skills to survive, to conquer it all, to bring peace and prosperity to a fragile new colony.

The great wild awaits, with it’s luring call.  Venture forth, oh great human.  Come into this great wild land and reap the rewards of this new world.  Come, entices the forest, come to this viewpoint and see my wondrous beauty.  Come, calls the wind and I will show you how to live.  Come to the new colony, to this brave new world.

The sun shines in glory and golden rays sparkle through the trees.  It is springtime and the air is filled with the cheerful song of nesting birds, thriving insects and birthing animals.  Fragrant flowers fill the forests and meadows and the spectacular colour of their beautiful petals brings smiles.  Hope.  It is upon us again.  Hope for success this time.  It is spring.  Hard work and toil should pay off with success this time.

The sap is running, it’s maple sugar time.  The sap of the maple sugar tree can be boiled into a delicious product of sweet tasting syrup.  Syrup, candy, cookies, butter.   A new tradition, a new culinary delight, a new culture in cuisine.  Come, calls the wild land, fill your buckets with this sweet tasting goo.  The sap of the tree is honey or sugar to the new settlers.  Joy  from the wild, since this is a delight that is easy to harvest and delicious to eat.  Maple syrup eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits.  A whole new cuisine based on the sweet delight of the maple sugar tree.  Now the joy of cooking is ours, in the great new land.   A treasure, a gold mine, a product of tasteful delight that gives the new settlers an item for trade.  Food, prosperity, luxury.  Oh brave new world, there is real wealth here.  Live and thrive in the great new land.

http://wildblueberries.net/maplehistory.html  a history of maple syrup

Harvest the riches, the abundance and the gold.  Tap the stream of sap, of the maple sugar tree and be rich.  A prized product from the forest, maple sap, maple syrup, maple sugar.  This centuries old industry developed another uniqueness in the new world.  Unique fur traders, unique sugar maple.  An identity is being born.  A connection to the land and to it’s people.  A connection of trade and business.  Something new to send back to the old world of France. There is nothing like it in Europe.  Interesting.  Curiosity and intrigue develops.  What of that great land across the ocean.  What else is there in that vast frontier?

Slowly, but slowly, the colony increases.  Slowly, but slowly, it ignites the fire of imagination.  Yes, they will come to Canada, even if forced by royal decree, they will come.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

May 31, 2016

 

by

The Renaissance

Hail Bravehearts

This journeys end is a new beginning.  This preparedness that painstakingly ensures success is finally our triumph.  Glory and praises, thankfulness and relief, the weary are welcomed.  Come, join us.  Into this fair land of sunshine and wild, of a place of unusual gold.  Riches and fortune, made for a king.

Praises, praises, we have a colony.  At the time of the founding of Quebec city, France was the most populated country in Europe,  yet they had difficulty finding willing settlers to inhabit this great land and to build this great country.  The awesome enticement of riches from the great wild, couldn’t even entice the impoverished slaves from the lower classes to leave the slums of France.  But what does it take to be a fortune hunter, a settler, a soldier and a daredevil?  What qualifications did they need? Perhaps a poor peasant wasn’t the best choice for the colonies.  Slaves might be too fearful and prisoners might be too dangerous.  Choose wisely, oh mighty ones, your day of reckoning will come.

No longer the grandeur of 17th century France.  The life of the  impressive French Renaissance.  Brilliant change and brilliant invention.  Who would leave this awesome place?  Look around yourselves, your good fortune lies here.  Here in the homeland of brilliant France, where the arts are thriving and life is good.  Who would leave this wonderful place, this wonderful life, and venture into the hardship and conflict of life in a colony?  Who dares to be first?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Renaissance

The appeal of colonial life and of making a new country, was not at the top of the list of dreams for the French.  Only those brave few, would dare the Atlantic crossing and venture into the unknown.  Stalwarts and bravehearts, skilled and courageous, colonial life was too daunting an adventure for the polished, sophisticated, countrymen of France.

A backbreaking adventure, a risk of life and limb, a intolerable climate and connections to a people of unknown character.  Life in a fort, in crowded conditions, with bare necessities and humble accommodation.  The freemen of France looked upon the life in a colony suspiciously.  Stumble and fall, stumble and fall, but rise and shine and pursue the adventure once more.

For those who finally ventured forth, into the new, into the unknown, the challenges of life abroad would change the face of North America.  As small as the tiny fort was, it still made a mark in the land, a change in the landscape, a place of accommodation, an establishment and a secure dwelling for those who dared.  Now over 400 years old, the city of Quebec is a thriving city of old and new, of charm and charisma.  A beautiful old place of French pride.

Connect to the people, connect to the countryside.  Learn and teach, the life in the colony will be hard, but finally the adventure is won.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

May 15, 2016

Oh Most Divine
by

Oh Most Divine

Hail all you brave ones.

 

Oh glory and honour to this majestic king.  We worship you, we praise you, oh blessed immortal being.  Salvation and glory to this oh risen Lord.  We hail thee and praise thee, with prayers and adoration, oh deity divine and humanity saved.

Blessed Lord of centuries past, generations of followers still believing, still pursuing, still curious and understanding, still searching and seeking, the devout persisting, what are these holy ways?  Powers immense, of magnificent proportions, intervention and instilling the knowledge of these mysterious ways.  Providence and grandeur, might and mightiness, still the stable, with the lowly, still the path of righteous living.  Oh greatest of Lords, oh highest of beings, oh teacher of wisdom, we praise thee, with song, with prayer, with labour, with love, with gold, with skills and with honour.  Teach us, oh wise one, teach us to be human.  Oh deity of the great divine, hold us mercifully in you hands.

So duty calls you, oh awesome human, come to the colony, do your duty, come to the colony and be praised.  The wondrous one, of heavens keeping, the glorious, will guide your way.  Come and be magnificent, join the grandeur, mighty and noble and courageous to this day.  Come and worship, come and be guided, oh you most daring, you fortunate, you awesome, you lucky ones, to be the fortitude of France and to seek your fortunes in this most auspicious place.

Lucky are we, to be the chosen ones, the one who will survive and sing glories to our King.  Praises!  Praises!  To overcome the shadows of hardship and poverty, to overcome the cruelty of harsh judgement and misunderstanding, to overcome the elements and live once more.  Hail to you, oh awesome almighty ones, to be first.  First in a game of daunting obstacles, first in a challenge of courage and fortitude, first in a roll of the dice as to who will survive.  Lucky you, to be the chosen ones, come to the colony, take up the dare.

http://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/population/immigration/  come to Canada

A fort, a sweet road, Cap Diamond, a church, the Victorious,  government dwellings, low ground and high ground, lower echelons and higher dignitaries, merchants and sailors, government and leadership, all finally together in one place, the colony of New France.  Oh sweet Quebec, you finally survive, oh sweet Quebec, you finally exist.  A colony, one sweet place, a colony, for France.

Over a span of several decades, the colony grew.  From its roots in human sorrow, to a place of quaint ingenuity and charm.  Boldly go where no one has dared to go before, oh brave colonialists of bygone era.  The seat of the country lies in your hands.  Negotiate and trade, bargain and develop.  Oh brave new world of French imperialism, of French might and fortitude.  Oh brave new world.  The king of kings holds you dear and in his arms, his strength shall hold you.  Oh wondrous love, to live so greatly.  Power and praises to our king.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

April 27, 2016