The founding of Quebec

by

Jacques Cartier

Hail Brave Hearts

Still to adventure, still to explore, still to choose the path to discovery. Plan and chart a path, wander and investigate. Choose to follow the dreams of new life. The traveler follows the stars to a new world. Unbelievable! To find a new nation rising up out of the ocean. Forests and land, new people and a new world. The space travelers of the 1500’s.

France was determined to be first. Find the riches, find the gold, find the new waterway to the orient. Make us rich, make us bold, let us gloat at our prosperity. Give me riches, give me wine, give me life and leisure. Give me money, give me wealth, give me land, give me power, give me the great gift of jealousy. I am fine, I am regal, I am cultured, I am powerful. Support my dream, support my quest, make me the champion ruler of the west. Pave a pathway from East to West. Give me the Orient, fulfill my request.

Depart again, on a voyage of discovery. Take these vessels, take these men, find the route before you return again. These are your orders, do your part, I am the ruler, the wise one, the mighty. Do your duty, find the way, give me what I want, of course, I’ll pay. I am smug, I am strong, I am the mightiest. Do your duty. I am never wrong.

So again, Jacques Cartier sets sai for Canada and for the conquest of the new land. The instructions are simple. Give us a colony, give us peace, find the passage to Asia.

Jacques Cartier 1534-1542

The hardworking set sail. The earnest keep striving. The determined keep focused. Yes, the oceans will be crossed, the sea will roll us from one continent to another, the stormy battles with nature will be won. Fear will subside, dismay will vanish, the distraught will be quieted and apprehension will soon leave. Relief will follow with the sight of land.

A colony is imperative, since that’s what our lives are. Cut from the cloth of a settlers life. Give me strength, give me courage, give me shelter, food and clothing. I am the castaway, looking for safety, with instructions so simple, build a home and survive. Survive in the spring, when our rations are plentiful and build your straw houses for shelter and warmth. Survive in summer when the lands gives us plenty, the harsh work of building a colony for all of us. Survive in the autumn when the fruit is ripe and when gathering the crop for storage is a necessity. Survive in the winter when the wind is cold and howling and when the fire burns through the fuel that was so carefully stored. Survive when it’s freezing and the snow piles high, but the instructions were so simple; build a home and survive.

Quarreling and adversary fills the air. What about our lives? This is not a life, this is despair! So with great sadness and futility, the plan is abandoned. Cast aside your hopes, your dream, your plans, this adventure in living is by far too grand. Home to France, back to civilization. Back to the home and the hearth that we know. Back to France where our hearts lie dearly. Forget this foolish scheme of misery. The idea of a colony in Canada is now squashed until the next century.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

December 21, 2019

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

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

by

We Are Here

Good Day you brilliant ones

A landing.  A safe harbour.   A good place to live.  A place to survive, to beat the elements, to meet the challenge, to conquer the storm.  A place, a safe harbour, a secure place.  Home?  Could this be home?  Could this remote and daunting place finally be home?

Weary and doubting, but necessity calls.  With prayers and hopes and dreams of survival, could this at last, be home?  A secure place to build a colony, a secure place for a settlement.   Set in the St. Lawrence River on a bluff of land, overlooking the river and tucked behind an island.  The thrilling prospect of yet another settlement attempt.  Success!  Success!  Give us success! Finally, let us be saved!

Oh joyous you, oh sweet Quebec.  Oh happy founding, oh life immortal.  A resting place, a  secure and safe place.  A home and shelter in the storms of the eastern coast.  Oh happy rest for weary souls, the founding of a great country, a great city, a colony, a settlement.  Oh happy success.  A refuge in a storm.  Oh great and brilliant, you sweet Quebec.

Poised and strong, fortified and armed.  For France!  Finally, the nation has accomplished it’s goal.  Finally a settlement!  Relieved and thankful, the city endures.  In 1608, mission accomplished!  Finally, a colony.  Praises and gratitude, thank you, oh thank you.    Finally our salvation, oh sweet Quebec.

A beautiful little place of old country charm.  Peace and prosperity, goodwill and protection.  The small but mighty ones of old world courage, who erected those dwellings, secured their fortress, fought the storms and cleared the land.  Negotiate, barter, trade and exchange.  A thriving place of  prosperity in the challenging land of the new world.

For France!  Oh sweet Quebec.  Our sanctuary, our resting place, our lovely, quaint and dreamy home.  It’s thrilling.  We have a colony.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/champlain-and-the-founding-of-quebec-feature/

The habitation was secure, but the usual winter hardship wreaked havoc among the men again.  Scurvy, as usual.  Many died, but the dream was secure.  A fort, a fur trading post, a destiny wrought from the forest.  Now there is security.  Now there is a place to live.  Shelter, negotiation, prospects of trade.  The adventure of their lives has culminated in this great place.  A strong  and fortified habitation, small but secure, with cannons, guns and ammunition.

Finally, they will come.  Come to Canada, you mighty adventurous ones.  Come to great Quebec, to our island in the storm.  Come to share in the wealth of the fur trade, in the prosperity of a new life, in the duty to meet this awesome challenge and to be first, in a great line of pioneers.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

April 9, 2016