Pierre de Monts

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

The Uncommon Common Man
by

The Uncommon Common Man

Hail Bravehearts!

Look to the great planet and the adventure that it offers you, for this great new day.  Look to the wild and the remote places, the vast unknown land, the pristine  sparkling lakes, the forest and the glade.  Look to the tumbling rivers, the majestic water falls, the open prairie and the grand mountain.  This great land, is the land of plenty.  Test your skills and entice your courage, quell your fears and boldly stride onto that path.  The land provides an adventure for you and you, oh brave and daring one, can walk a route that made this country great.  A route of homesteaders, of pioneers, of fur traders, merchants, courier de bois, negotiators, ministry and leaders.  A group of brave hearts.  The uncommon, common man.  For in this time of colonization, the fabulous almighty man, decreed the settling of a land of ice and snow and the common man was chosen to attempt this feat of danger and peril.

The commoner, the common man, who takes his direction from his great lord and master.  The common man, a mere mortal, a human cast in clay and dust, who obeys the decree of the king.  Who is this common man, so roughly hewn that he is merely a servant to the demands of greater minds and greater powers?  So common, so plain, so uneducated, so lowly.  The common mind, from the birth of poor genetics, cast to fulfill great tasks of high achievement and immense dignity and power for the mighty.

Hail to you, for who you are, soldiers and skilled craftsmen, your duty is your worth and your lords will must be done.

Champlain and the Settlement of Acadia 1604-1607

The land was offered and the spring sunshine helped to ease the anxiety of the unknown.  Trust the leadership and their knowledge, their superiority, their greater strength and education.  Trust that the Lord will shine his light upon you and will save your mortal souls.

So it was, in the spring of 1604, that a site was chosen for a colony in the brave new world.  Brave souls, worthy of such an immense attempt.  Skilled craftsmen and intellectuals, seeking peace and prosperity in a land of harsh winters and short growing season.

Basking in the sunshine of the clear, blue Atlantic was small St. Croix Island.  The fishing was good, the dwellings were erected, the security of the settlement was established and hope for the future of a successful colony stirred in their hearts and their minds.  Praises!  Praises to their lord and to the Lord most high.  Praises to the negotiation and to the success of this challenge.  Praises to their accomplishments, to the peace of their living.  Praises!  Praises!

Praises to the foresight of their leaders, to choosing this safe place, to knowledge and security, to peace among us.  Hail great minds and great leadership.  We are successful in the spring, the summer is warm and fills our lives with hope, we are successful in the autumn, while supplies still last, but then?  The long, harsh winter bears down upon us, longer this year and in the spring of 1605 the snow is still piled high and spirits fall as the doomed colonialists count the numbers of those who perished.  Thirty five strong, robust people, die of scurvy this past winter and leave the rest with too much work and too much sorrow.

Brave adventurers, this was not the best place, we move now, to a new plot of land, a new attempt at survival, a new beginning for us.  Fear not!  We are your leaders, you will survive.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 2, 2015

For France!
by

For France!

Good Morning!

Rise! Rise! Shine and be joyous! A brave new world awaits you and you will be victorious! Rise! Rise! Straight from your beds! Look to the glory of the new found land. Brave new world! Brave people! Come all of you! Rise!

The will of the king will be done! Everyone, rise to the glory of this brave new day! The brave new venture! This brave new undertaking. Hail to the great and almighty king! Hail to our lord most high!
So, in the beginning, when the world was new, came the song of praises from France. Come you brave and daring adventurers, come to the brave new world and colonize the brave new lands, for France!

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/du_gua_de_monts_pierre_1E.html Pierre de Monts

A lucky, privileged and trusted aristocrat with decorations, medals and honors galore, came forward for the quest, of a place of a colony, on the grand lands of the new world. Lucky was he to be the entrusted one, the daring, the brave the courageous one. Wealth and abundance, pride and sacrifice, learning and wisdom, all hail to the strength, the fortitude, the might, of the honor of this man. Hail to Pierre de Mont, a new found land, a colony for him to choose and to manage.
His quest was to establish a colony and to settle 60 colonialists a year. His other duty was to convert the natives to Christianity.
And so it will be, in 1604, that his ships set sail and he, the dauntless, spirited champion would win the day. The day to colonize the new world for France and to settle the great white north for the privilege and honor of France. A place was chosen, a fort, of sorts, was built, with housing and kitchens and room for everyone.
So much excitement, so much work, so much devotion and time and effort. This will must be done, for the sake of our lives, this will must be done! Labour and gratitude, the work was immense, for not only shelter, but food and warmth as well. A colony is an immense undertaking, survival is key. The perils of the dark side must not enter in. Rejoice all of you robust and hearty stalwarts. Your spirits are high and your abilities soar. Companionship and congeniality, trust and devotion. A small and close knit group of single minded champions, whose dream is to fulfill the scope of the grand destiny of France.
For France!
Typically, the winter was harsh and the snowfall, as usual, was heavy. The area chosen for the first settlement was in the path of typical eastern weather. Blizzards and storms, gales and cold, frigid, freezing, cold weather. So much so, that there was still nearly 4 feet of snow at the end of April, 1605. The outlook was suddenly bleak, with half of the colonialists dying in the first winter, the hardship and death toll was to much to bear.
But a great notion, a plan, a dream and a reality are not so easily dismissed. The misfortune of one yesteryear will not be the destiny of this awesome plan. Fragile creatures, these will not be. For these are the tough, the strong minded, the determined. These are the skilled adventurer and this plan, from the mind and will of the almighty man, must not fail.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
May 18, 2015