tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31898710226369592842024-03-05T19:54:42.470-05:00CHARLEVOIXBlogue de la Nouvelle-France -
A Blog About New FranceP.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-12279656133925953672015-11-05T22:36:00.000-05:002015-11-05T22:46:24.938-05:00Jean Talon is Happy Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this count as a Mona Lisa smile?</td></tr>
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Can you guess why Jean Talon is so happy today? This year marks the 350th anniversary of his arrival in the colony. Among the measures he undertook as <i>intendant</i> was a count of the colony's population. Louis XIV's energetic minister Colbert had instructed him, in March of 1665, thus:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Le Roy, considérant tous ses sujets du Canada depuis le premier jusqu'au dernier comme s'ils estoient presque ses propres enfans, et désirant satisfaire, à l'obligation où il est de leur faire ressentir la douceur et la<span class="gtxt_body"> félicité de son règne ainsy qu'à ceux qui sont au milieu de la France, le sieur <span class="gstxt_hlt">Talon </span>s'étudiera uniquement à les soulager en toutes choses et à les exciter au travail et au commerce, qui seuls peuvent attirer l'abondance dans le pays et rendre les familles accommodées. Et d'autant que rien ne peut mieux y contribuer qu'en entrant dans le détail de leurs petites affaires et de leur domestique, <span class="gstxt_hlt">il ne sera pas mal à propos </span>qu'après s'estre estably, <i>il visite toutes les habitations les unes après les autres pour en reconnoistre le véritable estât</i>, et ensuite pourvoir autant bien qu'il pourra aux nécessités qu'il y aura remarquées, afin qu'en faisant le devoir d'un bon père de famille, il puisse leur faciliter les moyens de faire quelques profits et d'entreprendre de labourer les terres incultes qui sont les plus prochaines de celles qu'ils ont desjà mises en culture</span>."</div>
</blockquote>
In other words, Talon was to visit the settlers through the St. Lawrence Valley and ascertain their conditions in order to best meet their needs. From January through July of 1666, he and his enumerators carried out the first census in Canadian history. Talon, in fact, did much of the enumeration himself. They counted 3215 (actually 3173) men, women and children. Colbert asked for another census to be taken the following year, seeking greater accuracy and even more information on which to base colonial policy. Intendant Talon and his people counted not only colonists this time, but also their cattle and acreage under cultivation. These early censuses are not supremely accurate records. According to historian Marcel Trudel, the first census missed about a quarter of the colony's population and the second a sixth. Still, it was a valiant effort and a ground-breaking moment in the history of data-driven policy on this corner of the planet.<br />
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Those who follow Canadian politics will have heard that the mandatory long-form census, having been abandoned in a fit of narrow-mindedness by the late Harper government, was <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-liberal-census-data-1.3305271">reinstated</a> today as one of the first measures of the Trudeau Government. "We need good, reliable data," announced the new Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains. Colbert and Talon would approve. Charlevoix does too. Historians love censuses.<br />
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Let's hope that Statistics Canada and the new Canadian government do not allow the 350th anniversary of the first census next year to go unnoticed. It is a moment worth commemorating.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-84577044422760526942015-10-14T01:23:00.002-04:002015-10-14T01:52:05.304-04:00La Nouvelle-France de Roméo Saganash<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
L'appel erroné à l'histoire n'est pas le propre de Jason Kenney et de ses compères de la droite. Tantôt, c'est de la gauche que proviennent les bêtises, comme le rappelait une récente déclaration de Roméo Saganash, député sortant et candidat du Nouveau Parti démocratique dans Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, l'énorme circonscription fédérale qui correspond à toute la moitié nord du Québec. Membre de la Première nation crie de Waswanipi, il a le grand mérite d'être l'un des rares élus autochtones au Parlement fédéral.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roméo Saganash. Photo: Radio-Canada.</td></tr>
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Saganash est l'un des trois candidats du NPD qui ont fait connaître, la semaine dernière, leur opposition à la position de leur parti sur le port du niqab. Un peu de contexte, pour ceux qui ne suivent pas trop les nouvelles : le niqab, ce voile intégral qui recouvre le visage à l'exception des yeux, suscite un vif malaise au Québec et risque de diviser l'électorat. Deux chefs de partis, Stephen Harper (Conservateurs) et Gilles Duceppe (Bloc Québécois), ont déclaré que son port lors du serment de citoyenneté va à l’encontre des valeurs canadiennes et québécoises et ont fait connaître leur volonté de l'interdire. Deux autres chefs, Thomas Mulcair (NPD) et Justin Trudeau (Libéraux), jugent pour leur part que toute mesure en ce sens serait une enfreinte à la liberté de religion. Passons le fond du débat -- plusieurs commentateurs ont déjà souligné avec perspicacité et éloquence qu'il s'agit d'un faux problème de société et que, par ailleurs, l'interdiction du niqab représenterait non pas la libération escomptée de femmes marginalisées, mais bien pour elle une oppression double. Attardons nous plutôt au lien ténu tiré entre le contexte actuel et celui de la Nouvelle-France.<br />
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Lors d'une <a href="http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/451284/port-du-niqab">conférence de presse</a> tenue il y a deux semaines, Saganash expliquait son opposition au niqab : "Quand les premiers Français sont arrivés, ils ont su non seulement d’adapter, mais ils ont même adopté certains us et coutumes des amérindiens, des premiers colons, quand ils sont arrivés… c’est ça qu’il faut faire je pense à cet égard là. Je pense que mon parti ne serait pas d’accord là-dessus avec moi: le niqab est un vêtement d’oppresseur." En d'autres mots, les Français qui se sont installés au Canada ont adopté des usages autochtones, donc les immigrantes qui le font aujourd'hui devraient adopter les usages canadiens... dont celui de se montrer le visage. <br />
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L'idée sous-jacente n'est pas nouvelle. Comme disait Ambroise de Milan, <em>si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi </em>: à Rome, on fait comme chez les Romains. Sauf que l'invocation de la rencontre franco-autochtone témoigne d'une connaissance superficielle de l'histoire. Car l'adoption des "us et coutumes" autochtones par les colons français fut sélective et, somme toute, très minimale. Et cette adoption s'est faite volontairement, non pas sous l'effet de la contrainte. Elle fut additive, non pas soustractive. S'imaginer que Samuel de Champlain et Zunera Ishaq sont arrivés dans le même bateau, c'est rester aveugle aux réalités du passé et à celles du présent.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-3021225338012673742015-10-07T22:46:00.002-04:002015-11-05T23:36:53.369-05:00Jason Kenney's New France<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wouldn't you know it, in these heady weeks of federal electioneering in Canada, the history of New France is getting a tiny bit of attention in the media?<br />
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A few days ago, a video surfaced on the internet of Jason Kenney, a Conservative Party member of Parliament and candidate for reelection, is Canada's Minister of National Defence and Minister for Multiculturalism. It shows his appearance -- in fact dating from 2012 -- on a panel on "the root of democracy" during the <em>Meeting per l'amicizia fra i popoli</em>, a religious festival and conference held every year in Rimini, Italy. Kenney goes on about the roots of Canadian multiculturalism, which he takes to be a facet of British imperialism. The video and commentary can be seen on the website <a href="http://www.pressprogress.ca/jason_kenney_praises_british_imperialism_warns_of_conspiracy_targeting_christian_patrimony">PressProgress</a> and in the <a href="http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2015/10/06/jason-kenney-fait-leloge-de-la-conquete-de-la-nouvelle-france"><em>Journal de Montréal</em></a>.<br />
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The British, says Kenney, had "a brilliant capacity at accommodating difference". To illustrate this, he describes "when the British conquered the French in New France in the eighteenth century, they did not seek to assimilate the French Catholics into British Protestant culture, or society, but rather invited them to maintain their Catholic identity and institutions, their French language, their civil code and legal system, and this was, really, a practical impression of that, I think, brilliant British approach, a relaxed laissez faire approach towards pluralism". <br />
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A debatable view. It flattens a complex historical reality, and leaves an impression of benevolent British imperialism that does not mesh so neatly with the facts. Beginning in 1755, the British deported the Acadians. In 1763, the British conquerors abolished French law in the Province of Quebec, and made it impossible for Catholics to hold public office. They considered shipping them out altogether, in fact. As James Murray observed in a letter to London, "nothing will satisfy the licentious fanatics trading here but the expulsion of the Canadians". Governor Murray, thankfully, and later Carleton, believed more strongly in conciliation and accommodation than many of their countrymen did. Only in 1775, with the Quebec Act, was civil law (not civil code, as Kenney has it) restored, and even then only in matters of private law; only then were constraints on the practice of Catholicism relaxed. And only in 1791 did Great Britain see fit to grant the colony a representative assembly.<br />
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We might go on about how Great Britain did not do such a great job accommodating Aboriginal peoples in the Thirteen Colonies, or in British North America through the nineteenth century. And we might mention Lord Durham and other prominent assimilationists. But we won't. Let's stick to New France and its end. Kenney demonstrates not only the superficiality of his historical understanding, but a lack of sensitivity to a historical chapter, <em>la Conquête</em>, that remains for better or worse quite sensitive. He should know better.<br />
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Next up: Romeo Saganash, member of parliament and candidate for the New Democratic Party, on Champlain and the niqab.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-27806369439231788562015-09-12T14:16:00.000-04:002015-09-12T14:27:26.782-04:00Du boulot?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiP-DSBs_n9ZtunedvdRThq3o8JK0NRIlIWBaqaAi_Voux1LD1RYS4ktRBspHzcj530WuHee6nGm8gLpLf-uVYvZWyJyRuXVca9WEf49ZNTVD3AilGfuJc2f61CtMWMBlmfi6OTeAw8e6/s1600/EPINGLIER1-detail900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiP-DSBs_n9ZtunedvdRThq3o8JK0NRIlIWBaqaAi_Voux1LD1RYS4ktRBspHzcj530WuHee6nGm8gLpLf-uVYvZWyJyRuXVca9WEf49ZNTVD3AilGfuJc2f61CtMWMBlmfi6OTeAw8e6/s400/EPINGLIER1-detail900.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parlant de boulots, en voici un aujourd'hui oublié : celui d'épinglier (fabriquant d'épingles). <br />
Image tirée de l'<em>Encyclopédie</em> de Diderot et d'Alembert. </td></tr>
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Ceux qui ont fait des études en histoire ou dans un champ connexe, espérant que leur vie professionnelle puisse frôler la Nouvelle-France, savent que les emplois dans le domaine ne pleuvent pas. Quel étonnement, donc, de voir trois affichages apparaître ces derniers jours.<br />
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Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) recrute un <a href="http://www.jobboom.com/fr/description-de-poste/soutien-administratif/archiviste/region-de-montreal/bibliotheque-et-archives-nationales-du-quebec/2251624#sthash.Avs2CeXB.dpuf">analyste de l'informatique et des procédés administratifs</a> pour agir à titre d’archiviste-coordonnateur pour la Direction de l’est du Québec. Cette direction, soit dit en passant, est celle qui assure la gestion des activités des centres de BAnQ Québec, BAnQ Saguenay, BAnQ Sept-Îles, BAnQ Rimouski et BAnQ Gaspé. On s'attend à ce que le candidat retenu ait au moins une maîtrise en histoire ou en sciences de l’information avec une spécialisation en archivistique et un an d’expérience pertinente. <br />
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La Maison provinciale des Ursulines du Québec recherche entre temps un(e) <a href="http://www.jobboom.com/fr/description-de-poste/soutien-administratif/archiviste/region-de-montreal/bibliotheque-et-archives-nationales-du-quebec/2251624">coordonnateur (trice) du service des archives</a>. Le poste, basé à Québec, est contractuel pour un an, mais avec une possibilité de permanence. Le candidat devrait être titulaire d’un baccalauréat en archivistique -- une maîtrise serait un atout -- et cumuler un minimum de cinq années d'expérience à titre de gestionnaire. Parmi les responsabilités associées au poste, celle de collaborer à la définition de nouvelles orientations stratégiques pour le service. Une occasion rêvée de contribuer à l'ouverture de ces archives exceptionnelles qui demeurent, malheureusement, encore un peu trop fermées aux chercheurs.<br />
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Enfin, le graal : un poste de <a href="http://fas.umontreal.ca/fileadmin/Documents/FAS/fas/Documents/1-faculte_services/poste-professeur/automne_2015/HST-1_prof_adj_Nouvelle-France_FRA_long.pdf">professeur(e) d'histoire de la Nouvelle-France</a> à l'Université de Montréal. Reste à savoir le genre de personne qu'ils espèrent trouver. L'annonce précise que "On s’attend à ce que le candidat sache intégrer son enseignement dans un programme départemental aux intérêts thématiques diversifiés, et soit ouvert aux humanités numériques." Le personnel du département d'histoire de l'UdM compte déjà, en effet, quelques éminences en histoire de la Nouvelle-France, j'ai nommé Tom Wien et Dominique Deslandres, et spécialistes du XIXe qui n'hésitent pas à revenir de temps en temps sur le régime français, tels Christian Dessureault et Ollivier Hubert. <br />
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Bonne chance à tous(tes) les candidat(e)s.<br />
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P.-F.-X.
</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-14336244262104512172015-09-10T01:34:00.001-04:002015-09-10T01:35:59.534-04:00Charlevoix is back. So is Archives Canada-France!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nine months ago, Charlevoix went on a little hiatus. At about the same time, the Archives Canada-France database went offline. The blog was no great loss. But the database was -- for professional, student and avocational researchers alike.<br />
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Archives Canada-France had been created as the result of a partnership between Library and Archives Canada, or actually the National Archives of Canada, as it was still called at the time, and the Archives de France. It was part of the Canada-France 2004 Program to celebrate four hundred years of exploration and dialogue. The project was shepherded by dynamic archivists and had powerful political backers. Tens of thousands of documents from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were digitized. They were melded, along with inventory descriptions, into a sweet new database. Over the years, it came to contain over a million images. It was hosted on the servers of France's Ministère de la Culture. <br />
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Archives Canada-France was <em>the</em> crucial tool for anyone wanting to locate documents in the colonial archives. Its contents were not exhaustive, by any means, but they were extensive. I spent countless hours on it myself. Sure, Library and Archives Canada's own database contained some of the same inventory descriptions and digital documents, but its interface was never easy to navigate -- and it still isn't today. Moreover, the Archives Canada-France database included material inaccessible via LAC (notably from the archives départementales of Charente-Maritime, Gironde, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques).<br />
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Last winter, users of Archives Canada-France began noticing that something was amiss. Trying to access Archives Canada-France in mid-January, I encountered an ominous page that showed that the site had been taken down by Islamist cyber-terrorists, as part of an assault on the servers of the Ministère de la Culture. Others may have seen it. Shortly thereafter, the hackers' page was replaced by a governmental page stating that the site was temporarily unavailable: under maintenance, it said. So I waited. Others waited too. By mid March, tired of waiting, one young historian wrote to an archivist friend in France, who hinted that the Direction des Archives de France had decided that the database's antiquated code was too vulnerable, and that they lacked the resources -- human and financial -- and the will to revive and maintain it. The site was not, contrary to appearances, under maintenance. The young historian wrote to more senior historians and to professional associations who got the word out and started raising a fuss. Another young historian got a petition going. A flurry of concerned letters started reaching Guy Berthiaume, head of Library and Archives Canada. <br />
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We should be thankful that Berthiaume was at the helm of the institution at this juncture. A former head of the Archives nationales du Québec and a historian by training, he was uniquely sensitive to this issue. LAC agreed to take on the responsibility for the database. It took several months for the French to turn over the data, and for the good folks at LAC to fit it into a new structure, but now it's done. As of early September, Archives Canada-France has risen from its ashes, with a new interface and under a new name: Archives de la Nouvelle-France. Check it out <a href="http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/fra/decouvrez/exploration-colonisation/archives-nouvelle-france/Pages/archives-nouvelle-france.aspx">here</a>.<br />
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LAC has indicated that the interface is a temporary one, and that it will eventually (soon?) be improved upon. Improvement, indeed, is needed. As my colleague Joseph Gagné has noted on his <a href="http://curieusenouvellefrance.blogspot.ca/2015/09/archives-canada-france-back-baby-genre.html">blog</a>, it's not possible to organise the research results chronologically (something that the old database allowed), and the list of results gives only the first portion of the title, but no glimpse of the contents which might facilitate navigation (the old database showed a useful sentence fragment); in the same vein, I would add that the results also ought to give the archival reference (as it did in the old). For someone who uses these archives extensively, these little features matter. <br />
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More problematic is the fact that a lot of material does not seem to have made it from the old database into the new. Or, at any rate, a lot of material is unreachable by means of the new search engine. Let's say I'm looking for inventory descriptions that mention a guy named "Des Ursins". Using "ursins" as keyword, the new Archives Canada-France database gives me 14 results. Using the same keyword in the LAC Archives Search database, I get 24. It quickly becomes apparent that some of the series that could be searched using the old database -- to wit the B, E, F1A series -- have yet to be properly reintegrated in the new. There may be others missing.<br />
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On a positive note, the image reader works much better than the old one, which was slow and clumsy. <br />
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Finally, I am also saddened, but not necessarily surprised, by the historical framing of the new portal. Its introduction recalls in a few triumphant paragraphs the birth of the old database, but says nothing of this latest, more regrettable chapter. Users learn that to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the French presence in North America back in 2004:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"France and Canada re-created their singular adventure and sparked new interest in their shared history by putting documents online reproduced in their entirety using the latest digitization technologies, and making them accessible to a broad public." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"With enthusiasm and determination that reflect the scope of the project, the Direction des Archives de France, Library and Archives Canada (LAC), Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec and the Canadian Embassy in Paris set up work teams, whose members ensured a constant and effective liaison between the two continents." </blockquote>
This is all true, of course, but it leaves unsaid the dramatic unravelling of this wonderful transatlantic partnership. By 2015, where was this foundational "enthusiasm and determination"? And the "constant and effective liaison"?. The Direction des Archives de France essentially dropped the ball, and LAC picked it up only when the user community began to voice its discontent. For all the popular enthusiasm that surrounds the anniversary of the arrival of the Régiment de Carignan-Salières, for example, or of Champlain's travels in Ontario, one is left with the distinct impression that the Canada-France ideal was, as far as political will is concerned, a passing fad of the early 2000s. And that makes me sad.<br />
<br />
But perhaps it's just on a little hiatus.<br />
<br />
P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-74748600838716220302015-03-17T21:35:00.002-04:002015-03-17T21:36:42.015-04:00Encore quelques anniversaires- 3/3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Bon, voici la troisième et dernière partie de la série, pour tenter d'en finir avec les anniversaires attendus en 2015. Ayant cité les plus importants dans les deux dernier billets, j'en suis aux miettes, que je vous offre plus ou moins pêle-mêle.<br />
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À Chambly, on soulignera avec fierté le 350e de la fondation, en 1665, notamment par une série de <a href="http://www.societehistoirechambly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=796%3A350e-de-la-seigneurie-de-chambly-et-du-regiment-de-carignan-salieres&catid=49%3Aactivites-et-conferences&Itemid=112">présentations</a> et par le lancement d'un <a href="http://www.chamblymatin.com/arts-et-spectacles/11-arts-et-spectacles/350e-de-chambly-lancement-du-livre-d-art-chambly-la-muse.html">livre d'art</a>. Il s'agit aussi du 300e anniversaire de la fondation de Port-Toulouse sur l'Île Royale, aujourd'hui St. Peter's, Cap Breton, et de la reconstruction du Fort Michilimackinac (1715), mais je n'ai pas retrouvé d'indications que l'on compte marquer l'un ou l'autre de ces tricentenaires. Le 450e du sac du Fort Caroline par les Espagnols, en 1565? Pas certain qu'il ne soit commémoré non plus. Idem pour le 350e anniversaire du premier recensement du Canada. Vu les entorses qui ont été faites recensement ces dernières années, je doute que Statistiques Canada ait le courage de marquer la remarquable initiative de Jean Talon de 1665.<br />
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Il n'est pas sans intérêt d'observer que cette année correspond aussi au 500e anniversaire du sacre de François Ier (1515) et au 300e de la mort de Louis XIV et du début de la Régence (1715), anniversaires qui auront vraisemblablement peu de retentissement en sol nord-américain malgré l'influence de ces monarques sur le projet colonial, mais qui seront marqués en France. La région du Val de Loire, qui abrite le célèbre château de Chambord, a prévu toute une <a href="http://francois1er.org/">programmation</a> François Ier; le Château de Versailles en fait <a href="http://www.leparisien.fr/espace-premium/seine-saint-denis-93/le-chateau-de-versailles-celebre-le-roi-soleil-05-01-2015-4418675.php#xtref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%24rct%3Dj%24q%3D%24esrc%3Ds%24source%3Dweb%24cd%3D9%24ved%3D0CGEQFjAI%24url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.leparisien.fr%252Fespace-premium%252Fseine-saint-denis-93%252Fle-chateau-de-versailles-celebre-le-roi-soleil-05-01-2015-4418675.php%24ei%3D2Xb8VKrRAcP-yQSfpYDwAQ%24usg%3DAFQjCNEToRLjB4Nny94lkZ0y5noM3olAow%24sig2%3Dhd07h8XGM2DvkFQ_MVE5Vw%24bvm%3Dbv.87611401%2Cd.aWw">de même</a> pour Louis XIV. Les rois sonts morts, vive les rois.<br />
<br />
P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-3365910450672553282015-01-26T06:52:00.002-05:002015-01-26T07:03:34.695-05:00A Few Anniversaries in 2015 - 2/3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Following up on our previous post (<a href="http://charlevoixnf.blogspot.ca/2015/01/anniversaires-en-2015-partie-1.html">here</a> if you missed it), here is the second installment of what is turning out to be a three-parter on anniversaries and commemorations that we can look forward to this year.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chateauramezay.qc.ca/static/cms_page_media/19/CS-ImageWeb-PageAccueil_1.1416411070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Carving Out a Nation - Illustration: Soldat du régiment de Carignan-Salières © Francis Back" border="0" class="left" src="http://www.chateauramezay.qc.ca/static/cms_page_media/19/CS-ImageWeb-PageAccueil_1.1416411070.jpg" height="320" title="Carving Out a Nation - Illustration: Soldat du régiment de Carignan-Salières © Francis Back" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster of the Château Ramezay's exhibition.</td></tr>
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This year marks a couple of important 350ths. The one which is likely to get the most attention is of the arrival at Québec of the Régiment de Carignan-Salières (1665). The <a href="http://www.cfqlmc.org/">Commission franco-québécoise sur les lieux de mémoire</a> commun aka. CFQLMC and the Musée du Château Ramezay launched their joint program last November. This includes an <a href="http://www.chateauramezay.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/temporary-exhibitions/">exhibition</a> at the Château Ramezay, and a book by Michel Langlois and Marcel Fournier on the regiment's soldiers. Through the year, other events will take place in Quebec and France, namely at La Rochelle and Poitiers, most of these with a genealogical bent. Check out the chock-full <a href="http://www.chateauramezay.qc.ca/fr/activites-et-education/activites-et-animation/programmation350cs/">programme</a> here. It will be interesting to see how these events address this history , centred as it was on the colonial will to destroy the Iroquois, in this age of #IdleNoMore.<br />
<br />
King Louis XIV sent not only soldiers to New France that year, but also horses. For there had been none before. Only twelve horses out of twenty survived that first trip. Joined by a couple of other contingents, these horses quickly multiplied and gave rise to the hardy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_horse">Canadian breed</a> that, after near-extinction in the late 19th century has been the subject of much love over the last century. In 1909 the Canadian Parliament declared it to be the country's national breed; Quebec did the same for the province in 2010. <br />
<br />
The Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society hopes that this year may be remembered as "<a href="http://canadianhorseheritage.com/2015/01/17/celebrating-the-canadian-horse-in-2015/">the year of the Canadian Horse</a>". The CFQLMC turns out to be the most ethusiastic promoter of the cause, this time in partnership with another Montreal museum, the Maison Saint-Gabriel. They launched the commemorative year on <a href="http://www.cfqlmc.org/quoi-de-neuf-/1530">January 19th</a>, with the unveiling of a plaque. Horse and history lovers, at least those who live in and around Montreal, have an <a href="http://www.maisonsaint-gabriel.qc.ca/en/programmation/350-ans-cheval-canadien.php">abundance of events</a> to look forward to. The Canadian Mint has also issued a <a href="http://www.mint.ca/store/coins/12-kilogram-fine-silver-coin-ndash-canadian-horse-ndash-mintage-1000-2015-prod2210325#.VFj8alZGhuY">commemorative silver coin</a>, rather poorly composed if you ask me, celebrating the horse. Coin design isn't what it used to be.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cfqlmc.org/images/stories/cfqlmc/cheval/P1190055_530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L'arrivée à la ferme de la Maison Saint-Gabriel : de g. à d, Benoit Dorais, maire de l'arrondissement du Sud-Ouest, et Denis Coderre tenant la bride de ce « petit cheval de fer »." border="0" src="http://www.cfqlmc.org/images/stories/cfqlmc/cheval/P1190055_530.jpg" height="225" mce_src="/images/stories/cfqlmc/cheval/P1190055_530.jpg" title="L'arrivée à la ferme de la Maison Saint-Gabriel : de g. à d, Benoit Dorais, maire de l'arrondissement du Sud-Ouest, et Denis Coderre tenant la bride de ce « petit cheval de fer »." width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Canadian Horse and Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montréal,<br />
at Maison Saint-Gabriel on January 19th. Photo: CFQLMC.</td></tr>
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A few more anniversaries to come in Part III. <br />
<br />
P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-32418424573527971622015-01-19T11:07:00.001-05:002015-01-19T11:09:31.132-05:00Quelques anniversaires en 2015 (1/2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Prenons le temps, en ce début d'année, d'énumérer les anniversaires qui seront soulignés en 2015.<br />
<br />
En 1615, Champlain remontait la Rivière des Outaouais pour la seconde fois, atteignant enfin le pays des Hurons où il passât un premier hiver. N'ayant de toute évidence pas réussi à coordonner des célébrations d'ampleur en 2010, à l'occasion du 400e anniversaire du voyage d'Étienne Brûlé en sol proto-ontarien, c'est cette année que l'Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario et le Gouvernement de l'Ontario ont décidé de célébrer le <a href="http://ontario400.ca/">400e de la présence française en Ontario</a>. Choix discutable, mais bof. Les détails de la programmation n'ont pas encore été annoncés, mais elle promet d'être abondante. Sur le plan plus "savant", l’Institut franco-ontarien de l’Université Laurentienne de Sudbury organise un <a href="http://ifolaurentienne.ca/2014/05/16/colloque400/">colloque interdisciplinaire</a> sur le sens et les
particularités de la présence française en Ontario ces 26-27 juin. Le Center for French Colonial Studies alias Centre pour l'Étude du Pays des Illinois tiendra aussi son <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Windsor2015">colloque annuel</a> à Windsor les 23-25 octobre. Notre ami blogueur, Joseph Gagné, a répertorié les <a href="http://curieusenouvellefrance.blogspot.ca/2014/11/400-ans-de-presence-francaise-en-ontario.html">meilleurs sites</a> internet sur la thématique des racines franco-ontarienne.<br />
<br />
Cette année marquera aussi le 400e anniversaire de l'arrivée des Récollets en Nouvelle-France et de la célébration par deux des leurs, Denys Jamet et Joseph Le Caron, d'une première messe sur l'île de Montréal, le 24 juin 1615. Les Franciscains québécois souligneront l'arrivée de ces confrères par une série d'<a href="http://www.francoisdassise.ca/400-ans-de-presence-franciscaine-en-amerique/">événements</a> à Trois-Rivières, Québec et Montréal. <span class="st">L'Institut du patrimoine culturel de l'Université Laval, en collaboration avec la Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines, organisera un <a href="http://www.ipac.ulaval.ca/accueil/actualites/">colloque</a> scientifique multidisciplinaire sur le sujet les 11-13 juin 2015. </span><br />
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À suivre : dans le prochain billet, le 350e de l'arrivée du Régiment de Carignan-Salières et des premiers chevaux au Canada.<br />
<br />
P.-F.-X.<span class="st"><br />
</span></div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-57613992937873419782015-01-07T22:19:00.003-05:002015-01-07T22:48:59.633-05:00Je suis Charlie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As a modest token of solidarity with the victims of today's sickening violence, we would like to share the work of one of their eighteenth-century forebears. This anonymous satirist chronicled the deportation of Parisian women of ill repute to Louisiana c.1719-1720, poking a bit of fun at their lovers and at the apothecaries and surgeons who made a brisk business treating their, uhm, social diseases. On another day we would be inclined to deconstruct the image and its various captions, but today that's not the point. Long live humour and freedom of expression.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFbPU6Vpard43beCFQC5uW3c1_IfIdRpO73mKp8OUj293nY4JhQQ6uxTe9Wxmjzze_PDerL-nMZJqAyz75qIKQ1gEiokV5vF7zldbqiQcE4-RAV_J5fe96Y6hQPGPed91HK_7D024vqPk/s1600/Nouvelle-France_4_1_Embarquement-des-filles-de-joie-de-Paris-pour-la-Louisiane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFbPU6Vpard43beCFQC5uW3c1_IfIdRpO73mKp8OUj293nY4JhQQ6uxTe9Wxmjzze_PDerL-nMZJqAyz75qIKQ1gEiokV5vF7zldbqiQcE4-RAV_J5fe96Y6hQPGPed91HK_7D024vqPk/s1600/Nouvelle-France_4_1_Embarquement-des-filles-de-joie-de-Paris-pour-la-Louisiane.jpg" height="248" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">"Le triste embarquement des filles de joye de Paris, et leurs adieux fait </span><br />
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">à messieurs </span><span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">les apothicaires et chirurgiens ainsi qu'à leurs </span><span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">amants", </span><span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">vers 1720. </span><span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"></span><br />
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Bibliothèque nationale de France.</span></td></tr>
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-24898137712155266042014-12-23T15:37:00.003-05:002014-12-23T15:42:34.945-05:00Joyeux Noël<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxCk6Jukb93IxdvSZdoyLPnkXBRY3aZk6hUonMvXtUkFXLp84Vb3qTLJ4uKr8IMqSUYhC0cq3rXuF7nlFFoHGGNvcQ9hH4HoGgcNR1IXgh_dL3CoU-cQoLgZhGuvkX0W7bSo0AW96iusZ/s1600/paraut1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxCk6Jukb93IxdvSZdoyLPnkXBRY3aZk6hUonMvXtUkFXLp84Vb3qTLJ4uKr8IMqSUYhC0cq3rXuF7nlFFoHGGNvcQ9hH4HoGgcNR1IXgh_dL3CoU-cQoLgZhGuvkX0W7bSo0AW96iusZ/s1600/paraut1.jpg" height="235" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Détail d'un parement d'autel du XVIIIe siècle représentant la Nativité. <br />
95 x 260 cm. Musée des Ursulines de Québec. </td></tr>
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P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-38149060725695006352014-12-17T15:43:00.002-05:002014-12-17T15:47:42.242-05:00Outina Sells for €160,000<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outina, 58.5 x 42.5 cm, by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues? Photo: <em>La Dépêche</em>.</td></tr>
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An ink and watercolour drawing depicting Outina, the Timucua chief (fl.1564-1565), and attributed to Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (1533-1588) has just sold at auction in Toulouse for a staggering €160,000. It had been estimated at a more modest but still impressive €50,000/80,000. Local paper <em>La Dépêche</em> reported <a href="http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013/11/23/1758916-la-peinture-du-chef-indien-aux-encheres-a-toulouse.html">before</a> and <a href="http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013/12/04/1767489-outina-valait-il-seulement-160-000e.html">after</a> the sale; a presale <a href="http://vimeo.com/80100260">video</a> can also be viewed. </div>
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There is no question as to the correspondence between this figure and the one which appears on Plate XVIII of Theodore de Bry's <em>Grand voyages</em> (1591), accompanying an account of the Jean Ribault and René Goulaine de Laudonnière's ill-fated attempt at colonizing northern Florida in 1564. This plate is one of 42 engravings, many of which show Timucua-speaking men and women who lived in northern Florida and southern Georgia, made after sketches by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues. Compare for yourselves:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6v-ePnTdyTX1p2ZrBHXdnjI8NU9r2rL703OYkBTEWevmBaif8clhPrwxR9t5o1xL8Paz2etu0cvq0rJQB5Neo7npizlbskx__PdkrM4t2oq8WUFccjbYfwpmyF8QXGynHa85HtoZUnKyW/s1600/imageserver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6v-ePnTdyTX1p2ZrBHXdnjI8NU9r2rL703OYkBTEWevmBaif8clhPrwxR9t5o1xL8Paz2etu0cvq0rJQB5Neo7npizlbskx__PdkrM4t2oq8WUFccjbYfwpmyF8QXGynHa85HtoZUnKyW/s1600/imageserver.jpg" height="286" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BTW, De Bry explains this scene thus : "The women whose husbands have succumbed in battle or have died from illness have the custom of assembling on a day that seems to them most suitable to appear before their king. They approach him, overcome with grief, sit down on their heels, and covering their faces with their hands, they cry out and moan. They ask the king to avenge their dead husbands, to provide them with means to live during their widowhood and to permit them to remarry after the time laid down by law. The king, taking pity on them, grants their requests. They return home, weeping and wailing, as proof of the love they felt for their husbands. After having spent several days in mourning they carry their husbands' weapons and drinking cups to their tombs, then they start to weep again and celebrate other funereal ceremonies."</td></tr>
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Correspondence between the two images notwithstanding, does that mean that the auctioned image is <em>necessarily</em> one of Le Moyne's lost original sketches? Might it not be a mere copy of Le Moyne's original? Or a copy done after the engraving? The fact that the images mirror each other is a tantalizing hint that the watercolour is not merely derived from the engraving, and that it may indeed be the model... or a copy of the model. <br />
<br />
The trouble with the auction business is that it is a business. Whatever research goes into identifying and documenting a lot is proprietary, and it is seldom made public. In hyping this particular artwork, the auctioneer and the reporters after him rather conveniently glossed over the possibility that this piece may not be by the hand of the master himself, and they also conveniently occulted the fact that the very nature and authenticity of Le Moyne's work are, in fact, highly disputed by scholars. Eminences such as <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/235983294_Jacques_LeMoyne_Minus_Four">Christian Feest</a> and <a href="http://archive.archaeology.org/0505/abstracts/florida.html">Jerald Milanich</a> have questioned whether Le Moyne produced drawings of the Timucua at all, given the absence of any definite documentation and the hard-to-explain presence on those images of what look to be Pacific seashells and Brazilian clubs. At the very least, Le Moyne took liberties with his illustrations, perhaps considerable ones. Milanich concluded that : "Until someone finds an actual, documented le Moyne drawing or painting of Florida Indians, I am going to assume we have been duped." I wonder what he and Feest make of this latest find. Is this the real deal?<br />
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P.-F.-X. </div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-21557467220289726622014-12-07T12:20:00.005-05:002014-12-07T12:20:53.586-05:00La France vend son consulat à Québec<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-2029/Kent_18_facade_actuelle.JPG" height="300" id="fancy_img" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Maison Kent. Photo: Encyclopédie du <br />
Patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française.</td></tr>
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La <a href="http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/fr/article-242/Maison_Kent_%C3%A0_Qu%C3%A9bec.html#.VIIDmGwU_IU">Maison Kent</a>, célèbre bâtiment du Vieux-Québec acheté en 1980 par la France pour y installer son consulat général, juste à côté du Château Frontenac, vient d'être vendue pour 2,75 millions de dollars, selon les sources du journal <em><a href="http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actualites-en-societe/425772/la-france-vend-son-consulat-a-quebec-la-maison-kent">La Presse</a></em>. <br />
<br />
Ben que nommée en l’honneur du prince Edward Auguste, futur duc de Kent et fils du roi George III, qui y a habité entre 1791 et 1794, cette maison remonte à la fin du XVIIe siècle. Construite par les Chartier de Lotbinière, il s'agit de l'un des plus anciens édifices de la ville. Il n’était cependant plus adapté à l’accueil du public des services consulaires, qui déménageront dans un immeuble plus fonctionnel. Le groupe parlementaire France-Québec à l’Assemblée nationale déplore cette cession d’une maison faisant partie du<em> </em>« patrimoine historique du Québec ».<br />
<br />
P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-4557204632113021322014-12-05T10:27:00.000-05:002014-12-05T11:14:08.894-05:00A webcam to get your rocks off<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As of late, naughty Francophones and Francophiles typing the keywords "webcam" and "la belle" into their search engine may be disappointed to come across a <em>jolie demoiselle</em> of a rather unexpected sort. The good folks over at the Bullock Museum, in Austin, have set up a livestream showing the reconstruction of Cavelier de La Salle's ship, La Belle. <br />
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<a href="http://img.new.livestream.com/events/0000000000363e5d/dfbc9ef3-55e1-4604-9ac4-8ad61571c02c_25030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="js-video_thumbnail video_thumbnail" src="http://img.new.livestream.com/events/0000000000363e5d/dfbc9ef3-55e1-4604-9ac4-8ad61571c02c_25030.jpg" height="225" style="visibility: visible;" width="400" /></a></div>
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The live build of La Belle is broadcast every Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Outside of these hours, they stream very interesting documentary teasers. Check it out <a href="http://new.livestream.com/accounts/10783215/events/3554909">here</a>. And don't worry, it is entirely office-appropriate.<br />
<br />
P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-63585032506418570342014-12-02T22:25:00.005-05:002014-12-02T22:26:43.775-05:00Village Noël Temiskaming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Village Noel Temiscaming sous le thème de la Nouvelle-France à New Liskeard." src="http://img.src.ca/2014/11/29/635x357/141129_pz0vp_village-noel-new-liskeard_sn635.jpg" height="223" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Radio-Canada.</td></tr>
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Pour la toute première fois cette année, la ville de Temiskaming Shores, dans le nord ontarien, non loin de là où les Français avaient à la fin du XVIIe siècle établi le <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/fra/lhn-nhs/qc/temiscamingue/index.aspx">Fort Témiscamingue</a>, s'est organisé un <a href="http://villagenoel.com/Default-fr.aspx">marché de Noël</a>, le "Village Noël Temiskaming". Une centaine de producteurs, d'artistes et d'artisans du Temiskaming ontarien et de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue québécois, confortablement installés au centre-ville dans une série de maisonnettes chauffées, ont proposé leurs créations au public cette fin de semaine. L'événement, qui a attiré plusieurs centaines de visiteurs, visait notamment à promouvoir la culture francophone en Ontario. Quoi que ce genre de marché de Noël soit de tradition germanique, c'est en effet la Nouvelle-France qui a été retenue comme thématique de cette première édition. Quelques comédiens costumés ont animé l'espace. Pour l'édition 2015, les organisateurs entendent marquer le 400e anniversaire de la deuxième visite de Champlain en territoire ontarien.<br />
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Radio-Canada fait un bref <a href="http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/abitibi/2014/11/29/001-promotion-francophone-temiscaming-noel-village-ontario-nouvelle-france-new-liskeard.shtml">compte rendu</a> de l'événement.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-77383698957667166252014-12-01T07:16:00.001-05:002014-12-01T07:16:30.036-05:00What a surprise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a alt="Le nouveau pont qui enjambera le Saint-Laurent conservera... (Photo fournie par Infrastructure Canada)" href="javascript:toggleImage('http://images.lpcdn.ca/924x615/201411/28/940018-nouveau-pont-enjambera-saint-laurent.jpg','Le pont Champlain conservera son nom', 0, 924);" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Le pont Champlain conservera son nom"><img alt="Le nouveau pont qui enjambera le Saint-Laurent conservera... (Photo fournie par Infrastructure Canada)" height="266" src="http://images.lpcdn.ca/641x427/201411/28/940018-nouveau-pont-enjambera-saint-laurent.jpg" title="Le pont Champlain conservera son nom" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champlain Bridge II. Courtesy of La Presse.</td></tr>
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The federal government has spoken : the new bridge linking the Island of Montreal to the south shore of the St. Lawrence beginning in 2018 will be named... Pont Champlain.<br />
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<em><a href="http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/montreal/201411/28/01-4823573-le-pont-champlain-conservera-son-nom.php">La Presse</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/425378/le-pont-champlain-gardera-son-nom-dit-denis-lebel">Le Devoir</a></em> announced it on Saturday. Now on to the real, serious bridge debate: to toll, or not to toll?<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-33442415166449247762014-11-05T20:41:00.000-05:002014-11-05T20:41:11.508-05:00Le Rocket vs. Le Père de la Nouvelle-France<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<img height="168" src="http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyRocketRichardImages/600thgoal.jpg" width="200" /></div>
Le chroniqueur humoristico-sportif Olivier Niquet commente dans <a href="http://journalmetro.com/opinions/le-sportnographe/587499/sept-raisons-pourquoi-maurice-richard-est-meilleur-que-samuel-de-champlain/">sa chronique</a> dans <em>Métro</em>, offrant "Sept raisons pourquoi Maurice Richard est meilleur que Samuel de Champlain". Elles sont tellement bonnes que je ne peux résister à la tentation de les recopier in extensio :<br />
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<em>1. Samuel de Champlain n’a jamais joué pour Canadien.</em><br />
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<em>2. Samuel de Champlain n’a pas compté cinq buts après avoir déménagé de Honfleur à Québec. Il n’en a même pas compté un.</em><br />
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<em>3. Maurice Richard, en participant à l’insu de son plein gré à la révolution tranquille, a rénové un Québec bâti tout croche sur les bases de Samuel de Champlain.</em><br />
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<em>4. Samuel de Champlain a peut-être fondé Québec, mais Maurice lui, il a coaché les Nordiques. Pendant deux matchs. Mais c’est deux matchs de plus que Champlain.</em><br />
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<a href="http://www.scoutingforindians.com/images/scouting/large_image4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://www.scoutingforindians.com/images/scouting/large_image4.jpg" width="200" /></a><em>5. Samuel de Champlain a fait la guerre aux Iroquois pendant 14 ans. Maurice Richard a fait la guerre aux Blackhawks pendant 18 ans.</em><br />
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<em>6. Samuel de Champlain n’a jamais été nommé gouverneur de la Nouvelle-France alors que Richard a été capitaine de Canadien.</em><br />
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<em>7. Samuel de Champlain patinait sur la bottine (selon des sources).</em><br />
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Ha! Merci, Olivier Niquet.<br />
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P.-F.-X.<br />
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P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-36305042599207309882014-11-04T22:20:00.003-05:002014-11-04T22:38:05.455-05:00A Bridge Too Far<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://images.lpcdn.ca/641x427/201410/31/926652-otawa-souhaite-annoncer-nom-nouveau.jpg" height="213" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A digital rendering of the as-of-yet-non-existant "Maurice <br />
Richard" or "Champlain" bridge. Image: Infrastructure Canada.</td></tr>
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On November 1st, it was announced that the federal government would likely name the new bridge which will be built across the St. Lawrence River, linking the Island of Montreal to the south shore, in honour of hockey legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Fine. Trouble is, though, that this bridge is set to replace another one which has borne the name of Samuel de Champlain since 1962. <br />
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Let's be clear: federal spokespeople insist that the name has not been finalized yet. Still... The rumour that the new bridge might be given a name other than Champlain's had been circulating for the last two years or so. Because this is a federal bridge, the choice of its name rests with the federal -- i.e. Harper Conservative -- government. You would think that they might have thought long and hard about the thorny politics of naming, and taken good care to consult widely, but no. That is not the governing party's style. Neither historians, nor experts in toponymy, nor provicincial nor local politicians, nor the people were consulted. The announcement earlier this week that the federal Minister of Transport, Denis Lebel, prefers the name "Maurice Richard" was accordingly met with generalized outrage.<br />
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Henri Dorion, who has long presided over the Commission de toponymie du Québec, put it well: "Donner le nom d'un ouvrage d'une telle importance à un joueur de hockey, je n'en reviens pas. C'est comme dire que Maurice Richard est aussi important que Champlain." Political scientist Alain-G. Gagnon also summed it up neatly, saying that « le ministre Lebel opte pour le spectacle plutôt que la longue histoire ». Historian Denis Vaugeois too offered a thoughtful analysis of the situation, noting that a lot of important place names have been lost and gained over the years, and that if a new name was truly necessary, "Maurice Richard reste le moins pire des choix". But it's rather strange, he points out, that the federal government seems to remember the Rocket's abundant goals, and not so much the massive rioting that was provoked by the intersection of his fame with tensions across the linguistic divide in 1950s Montreal. <br />
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The governing Parti libéral du Québec tried to wash its hands of the whole affair at first, saying that the choice of name was up to the federal government, but now seems to have come around to condemning the imprudence of the likely choice. Philippe Couillard, the provincial premier, deplored quite rightly that "Ce qui est regrettable dans cette polémique, c’est qu’on met en opposition un peu artificielle deux personnages importants pour des raisons différentes".<br />
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François Hollande, the president of France, who happens to be touring Canada this week, has meanwhile been alluding to Champlain in his speeches, but has not dared to enter the fray. <br />
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My favourite comment though was by a commenter who wrote in to <em>La Presse</em>, joking that Americans have not yet thought it wise to rename Lake Champlain "Babe Ruth Lake". Indeed. <br />
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For a taste of the media storm, just type "Pont Champlain" or "Champlain Bridge" in GoogleNews and hang on tight.<br />
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Given the strength of the opposition and the federal's insistence that no official decision has been made yet, I expect that the old name will be retained for the new project. Soon all of this will be... water under the Champlain bridge. Groan.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-9612189283569009742014-11-01T07:22:00.000-04:002014-11-01T07:23:07.033-04:00Naufrage au Bullock<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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La Belle de Cavelier de Lasalle est de retour dans les nouvelles: <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20141024-french-explorer-la-salles-ship-sails-into-austin-museum.ece">ici</a>, <a href="http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/national/2014/10/24/Remains-of-French-ship-being-reassembled-in-Texas.html">ici</a> et <a href="http://www.archaeology.org/news/2657-141027-texas-la-belle-reassembled">ici</a>. Le Bullock Museum, à Austin au Texas, vient d'inaugurer son exposition "<em><a href="http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle">La Belle: The Ship That Changed History</a></em>".<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
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P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-78198653570988450642014-10-16T00:40:00.004-04:002014-11-01T07:23:24.980-04:00Some shipwrecks you probably didn't know about<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Design for "La Macrée". Photo: <em>L'Avantage</em> and Alain Ross.</td></tr>
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<figure style="text-align: left;"> </figure>Shipwrecks, shipwrecks, shipwrecks. Lately, it's been the lost ships of the Franklin expedition of 1848, especially the lost-no-more HMS Erebus. Earlier this year, it was the Empress of Ireland, which sank in the lower St. Lawrence in 1914. And you might recall the ongoing searches for Cavelier de La Salle's <a href="http://charlevoixnf.blogspot.ca/2014/07/le-griffon-ou-non.html">Griffon</a> and d'Iberville's <a href="http://charlevoixnf.blogspot.ca/2013/08/a-la-recherche-du-pelican.html">Pélican</a>. In case you haven't had enough yet, let me turn you on to the story of <em>L'Aigle</em>. Bet you haven't heard about that one yet.<br />
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It was in the news this week because a fouresome of artists are currently working on a monument, entitled "La Macrée", to be built in Rimouski. The local paper, <em>L'Avantage</em>, has the story <a href="http://www.lavantage.qc.ca/Actualites/Societe/2014-10-14/article-3903079/L%26rsquo%3Bincroyable-triple-naufrage-de-300-soldats-francais/1">here</a>. I quite like the preliminary design, show above. The challenge will be to raise the $50,000 necessary for its construction. Money, money, money.<br />
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In 1758, following the fall of Louisbourg, France sent a fleet of twelve ships to contribute to Canada's defense against the impending British invasion. The admiral ship, L'Aigle, with three hundred troops on board, was wrecked at a place called Gros Mécatina along the Basse Côte-Nord, aka. the lower north shore of the St. Lawrence. The two ships which Intendant Bigot sent to undertake salvage operations met the same fate. They crashed into each other, actually. Another ship, which may or may not have been called <em>La Macrée</em>, was more sucessful and managed to ferry the survivors to the small settlement of Rimouski where they spent a difficult winter.<br />
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This story is particularly interesting, because -- if I may dig a little deeper than <em>L'Avantage</em>'s reporter -- it turns out that it is partly grounded in and clouded by oral tradition. Well before traces of this event were found buried in the colonial archives, journalist and politician Jean-Charles Taché collected its echo from old timers in his native Rimouski and published it in the magazine <em>Soirées canadiennes </em>in 1865. Charles Guay's <em>Chronique de Rimouski</em> (1875) republished Taché's text, adding a few other details apparently also drawn from local lore. These accounts quickly get confusing, but Béatrice Chassée does the best job of untangling the facts and reconciling the archival and oral records in her <em>Rimouski et son île</em> (2003, pp. 32-35, available online <a href="http://semaphore.uqar.ca/651/1/ESTUAIRE_2003__NO-2.pdf">here</a>). Worth a peek, if you like this sort of stuff.<br />
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Incidentally, Joseph-Charles Taché was the nephew of Étienne-Paschal Taché, who presided over the momentous Quebec Conference precisely 150 years ago this week.<br />
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P.-F.-X.
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P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-14576194484380575922014-10-07T01:03:00.002-04:002014-10-07T01:03:59.612-04:00Les Ursulines et l'Évêque en pélerinage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Le 2 avril 2014, le pape François canonisait Marie de l'Incarnation et François de Laval (voyez ce que Charlevoix en disait <a href="http://charlevoixnf.blogspot.ca/2014/04/monseigneur-de-laval-et-mere-marie-de.html">ici</a>). Un groupe de fidèles vient d'entreprendre, ce dimanche, un pèlerinage sur les traces des deux personnages. Plusieurs Ursulines de Québec ainsi que le cardinal Lacroix, évêque actuel de Québec, sont eux-mêmes du nombre des pèlerins. Après Paris, Montigny sur Avre, Chartres, La Flèche, Solesme et Tours, le groupe prendra la direction de Rome, où le pape célèbrera le 12 octobre une messe d’action de grâce en l'honneur des nouveaux saints. Les intéressés pourront suivre leur trajet "virtuellement" grâce au portail ECDQ, celui de l'Espace Média de l'Église catholique du Québec, qui propose de suivre le groupe dans une série de vidéos : le <a href="http://www.ecdq.tv/fr/videos/4c5bcfec8584af0d967f1ab10179ca4b">départ</a>, <a href="http://www.ecdq.tv/fr/videos/4c5bcfec8584af0d967f1ab10179ca4b">visite à St-Germain-des-Prés</a>, etc.<br />
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P.-F.-X. </div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-87485576746967386672014-10-04T03:47:00.000-04:002014-10-04T06:00:04.654-04:00Early Fall Varia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In an op-ed for <em>Le Devoir</em>, Michel Morin took up the challenge posed by Christian Néron's crazy denial of the Treaty of Paris, to which I alluded in an <a href="http://charlevoixnf.blogspot.ca/2014/09/le-traite-de-paris-controverse-et.html">earlier post</a>. Morin, a law prof at Université de Montréal, demonstrates how this treaty was perfectly <a href="http://web2.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/419439/le-traite-de-paris-de-1763-expose-a-quebec-un-torchon-pourtant-conforme-au-droit-international">in accordance with international law</a>. That settles that, then.<br />
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On September 14, a solemn mass was held at the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec to commemorate its <a href="http://notredamedequebec.org/">350th anniversary</a>. Pope Francis had New France on the mind, naming an envoy to preside over the mass and issuing a statement about the significance of the event, urging this envoy to "sweetly exhort the priests and faithful present there to follow Christ with perseverance and to venerate His Mother piously, as was the custom in these rather large regions." Sweet, sweet exhortations.<br />
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In early September, CBC News - Nova Scotia published a story on Troilus de Mesgouez's failed attempt at <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/sable-island-criminal-colonists-settle-on-deserted-island-1.2755143">settling Sable Island</a> in 1598. Another ill-fated, short-lived sixteenth-century settlement is the subject of an ongoing controversy. Its precise location has never been clearly identified. Archaeologists have long thought that René Goulaine de Laudonnière's Fort Caroline of 1564-1565 was located on the banks of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida -- there's a "<a href="http://www.nps.gov/foca/index.htm">Fort Caroline National Memorial</a>" there. Maybe it wasn't. The issue was stirred anew back in February when someone made a presentation during a conference at Florida State University claiming that the colony was actually far to the north, in Georgia. This and other theories were debated by two groups of scholars at the University of North Florida a few weeks ago (see <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3189871022636959284#editor/target=post;postID=8748557674696738667">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/researchers-debate-true-location-of-fort-caroline">here</a>). Fight, fight, fight!<br />
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What else? The <a href="http://www.ganondagan.org/">Ganondagan</a> site, which interprets Seneca history near Rochester, NY, held a reenactment of <a href="http://www.fairport-erpost.com/article/20140929/News/140929575">Cavelier de La Salle's visit</a> in 1669. Down <em>au Pays des Illinois</em>, there is a project afoot to <a href="http://www.stegenherald.com/news/article_04bf9eb6-3db4-11e4-a9d6-4f3b20f9bfc5.html">expand the Bolduc House Museum</a> in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, into an "expanded and rebranded tourist destination", a complex to be called "New France ... The Other Colonial America." Neato. In fair Belleville, Ontario, there is meanwhile a <a href="http://www.intelligencer.ca/2014/09/30/zwicks-site-to-have-marine-theme">plan for a monument</a> to commemorate to the 400th anniversay of Champlain's visit. <br />
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That's all for now.<br />
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PS: dear readers, thank you for your patience while we fiddle around with our look. It was time to get rid of the old Blogger template background. But damn it, Jim, Charlevoix is an historian, not a damn graphic designer or web developer.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-10114316180341740842014-09-28T07:37:00.002-04:002014-10-04T06:00:36.015-04:00Rameau<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Rameau_Carmontelle.JPG/170px-Rameau_Carmontelle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Rameau_Carmontelle.JPG/170px-Rameau_Carmontelle.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rameau par Carmontelle, 1760.<br />
Photo: Musée Condé.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cette semaine, quand vous aurez un instant à vous, prenez-donc le temps d'écouter <em>Les Sauvages </em>de Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). C'est, cette année, le 250e anniversaire du décès du compositeur, dont l'œuvre marque l'apogée du classicisme français. Le Centre de musique baroque de Versailles coordonne d'ailleurs une programmation chargée en l'honneur de "<a href="http://www.rameau2014.fr/2014#930"><span style="font-family: inherit;">l'année Rameau</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">".</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Si Rameau mérite de figurer dans les petits papiers de ce blogue, c'est en raison de ses <em>Sauvages</em>. Il </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">compose un premier rondeau sous ce nom en 1725 afin d'accompagner une démonstration de danse exécutée par des diplomates autochtones venus de Haute-Louisiane à Paris. Rameau en reprend ensuite la partition dans un recueil de pièces pour clavecin en 1728, puis dans un <i>Ballet réduit à quatre grands concerts </i>en 1735. Il adapte enfin <em>les Sauvages </em>en l'intégrant l'année suivante aux <em>Indes galantes</em>, son plus célèbre opéra-ballet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Les Indes galantes</em> relatent des aventures amoureuses dans plusieurs contrées exotiques : en Turquie, dans l'empire inca, en Perse et -- dans le cas de la quatrième entrée, ou acte, qui correspond aux <em>Sauvages</em> -- chez les autochtones de l'Amérique du Nord. L’intrigue ténue des <em>Indes galantes </em>sert surtout de prétexte pour présenter des danses, des costumes somptueux, des décors et des machineries inusitées. Entendons-nous qu'il s'agit de "bons sauvages" stéréotypés ayant fort peu de chose à voir avec les autochtones de l'époque. Chantent ainsi les deux protagonistes, Zima et Adario :</span></div>
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<em><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Forêts paisibles, </span></em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">forêts paisibles,<br /> Jamais un vain désir ne trouble ici nos cœurs.</span></em></span></div>
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P.-F.-X.</div>
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P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-24097145961640905052014-09-19T09:30:00.002-04:002014-09-21T16:14:23.996-04:00Scottish Referendums and Nova Scotia Rums<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
While the mainstream media is busy covering yesterday's referendum on Scottish independence, here at Charlevoix we have Nova Scotia aged rum on the mind. Rum, indeed, is returning to the Fortress of Louisbourg in a big way for the first time since the French Regime. Earlier this week, Authentic Seacoast Distilling Company Ltd. of Guysborough, N.S., had over a hundred wooden barrels of dark rum -- some 22,000 litres of the stuff -- rolled into the Magasin du Roi, or King’s Storehouse, at Louisbourg. Glynn Williams, owner of Authentic Seacoast, figures that the extreme climate at the fortress will give a distinct character to the rums, which he plans to age for upwards of five, 10 and 20 years. Visitors, meanwhile, will have an opportunity to learn about the eighteenth-century rum production, trade, and consumption. Splendid idea on all counts. The <a href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1236882-rum-running-returns-to-louisbourg"><em>Halifax Herald</em></a> and <em><a href="http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2014-09-16/article-3871803/Louisbourg-in-good-spirits/1">Cape Breton Post</a></em> have the details.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-15226808648084739002014-09-17T00:30:00.000-04:002014-09-17T00:30:35.752-04:00Le Traité de Paris : toujours controversé, bientôt ici<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Notre cher Traité de Paris fait encore parler de lui. Ce traité, vous vous en <a href="http://charlevoixnf.blogspot.ca/2014/05/le-traite-de-paris-quebec.html">souviendrez</a> peut-être, sera exposé au Musée de la civilisation de Québec en exclusivité cet automne.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://autrebord.pagesperso-orange.fr/trinite/imgtrinite/traite_de_paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://autrebord.pagesperso-orange.fr/trinite/imgtrinite/traite_de_paris.jpg" height="200" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Le Traité mal aimé de 1763.</td></tr>
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Or, Christian Rioux du <em>Devoir</em> rapportait il y a deux semaines que "Le fédéral a tout fait pour bloquer la venue au Canada du traité de Paris, qui a cédé le Canada à l’Angleterre". On apprend dans son article que le Musée de la civilisation et ses alliés ont dû se battre, longtemps et patiemment, afin de pouvoir emprunter et exposer ce document fondateur. Le Musée canadien de l’histoire, feu Musée canadien des civilisations, de Gatineau, avait été invité à exposer le traité mais se serait pour sa part désisté d'entré de jeu. Les détails de l'affaire sont flous, mais, en bref, il semblerait que l’ambassadeur de France, Philippe Zeller, ait tenté d'empêcher le prêt du document, craignant raviver le souverainisme québécois et mettre à mal les relations franco-canadiennes. <span class="vignette">C’est la décision favorable du ministre français des Affaires étrangères, Laurent Fabius, qui aurait finalement tranché le débat.</span> Le gouvernement fédéral canadien nie cependant toute ingérence. (<a href="http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/417377/la-conquete-un-tabou-a-ottawa">2 sept.)</a><br />
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Puis, ce fut au tour d'un hurluberlu du nom de Christian Néron, avocat qui se prétend historien du droit, de profiter du battage médiatique pour publier une lettre d'opinion dans <em>Le Devoir </em>dont la thèse voudrait que "Sur le plan juridique, le beau document qu’on nous vante est beaucoup plus près du torchon que du trésor". Il affirme, en bref, que selon le droit du royaume, Louis XV ne détenait pas la compétence pour céder à un souverain étranger ni quelque partie que ce soit du domaine de sa couronne ni aucun peuple de son royaume sans avoir préalablement obtenu de ce peuple son consentement. Le Traité de Paris, en somme, était illégal (<a href="http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/417619/le-traite-de-paris-au-mepris-de-la-loi">5 sept.</a>) Je n'ai pas lu pareille foutaise depuis longtemps! Maître Néron ne partagerait-il pas avec son célèbre homonyme impérial un certain dérèglement des facultés d'observation, de jugement et de réalité? On peut -- et l'on doit -- débattre des effets de la Conquête de 1760 et de la cession de 1763 sur le peuple canadien, mais la suggestion que le traité ait été sans fondement juridique tient du ridicule et ne résisterait pas à la critique des pairs. L'historien Denis Vaugeois a très heureusement fourni un correctif, plus poliment que je ne saurais manifestement le faire, en expliquant dans quelle mesure il s'agit bel et bien du document "le plus important de notre histoire" (<a href="http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/370472/le-traite-de-paris-de-1763-est-le-document-le-plus-important-de-notre-histoire">9 sept.</a> ).<br />
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Le Traité de Paris arrivera donc au Musée de la civilisation à Québec d'ici une semaine. Or, comme si l'univers conspirait pour empêcher sa venue, le MCQ vient de subir un sérieux incendie. L'intervention des employés a permis d'éviter le pire, et bien que des planchers et des plafonds devront être complètement refaits à plusieurs endroits, les artéfacts présents dans les salles d'exposition n'ont pas subi de graves dommages. La salle où doit être exposé le traité n'a pas été touchée elle non plus, mais l'on considère un possible déménagement vers le Musée de l'Amérique francophone, qui fait partie de la grande famille du MCQ. (<em>Journal de Québec</em>, <a href="http://www.journaldequebec.com/2014/09/16/le-traite-de-paris-samene-a-quebec">16 sept.</a>)<br />
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L’exposition "<a href="https://www.mcq.org/fr/activite?id=125086">Rares et précieux — Le traité de Paris 1763</a>" sera présentée pendant dix jours, du 23 septembre au 2 octobre, de 10 h à 17 h. Dommage que cet événement ne concorde pas avec le <a href="http://congresihaf2014.cieq.ca/">Congrès de l'Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française</a>, qui cette année aura lieu lui aussi à Québec les 16-18 octobre.<br />
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P.-F.-X.<br />
<div style="color: white; font-size: 0px;">
noter : Selon l'affluence, la durée de visite en salle pourrait être limitée à 20 minutes.</div>
<div style="color: white; font-size: 0px;">
noter : Selon l'affluence, la durée de visite en salle pourrait être limitée à 20 minutes.</div>
<div style="color: white; font-size: 0px;">
noter : Selon l'affluence, la durée de visite en salle pourrait être limitée à 20 minutes.P.-F.-X.</div>
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P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189871022636959284.post-55276479253720815732014-08-14T00:35:00.005-04:002014-08-14T00:35:37.967-04:00Recap: Late July, Early August<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As the summer winds down, it's proven rather daunting to keep up with all the New-France-related-news that's fit to print. So allow me just a quick recap:<br />
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In Quebec City, this year's <a href="http://www.nouvellefrance.qc.ca/index.php/fr/">Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France</a> was by all accounts a great success. Joseph Gagné has an interesting write-up of his experience interpreting a voyageur at the festival over on <a href="http://curieusenouvellefrance.blogspot.ca/2014/08/another-year-another-success-for-fort.html">his blog</a>.<br />
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Throughout Quebec, August is the <a href="http://www.archeoquebec.com/fr">Mois de l'archéologie</a>, or Archaeology Month,<em> </em>and the program is packed as usual. Meanwhile, the <a href="http://www.cma2014.com/fr/">Congrès Mondial Acadien</a>, or Acadian World Congress, will be in full swing from August 8th through the 24th. This festival of Acadian and Cadien or Cajun culture and history is held every five years. This time around, it is co-hosted across international and provincial borders, by the counties of Aroostook (Maine), Témiscouata (Quebec), Victoria, Madawaska, and Restigouche (New Brunswick).<br />
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I might also note a couple of anniversaries -- post-Conquest ones, mind you, but of interest nonetheless. It was the 250th of the construction, on the site Fort Duquesne, of Pittsburgh's <a href="http://triblive.com/lifestyles/history/6532216-74/blockhouse-fort-pitt#axzz39Qfzucyu">Fort Pitt Blockhouse</a> (1764). The 251st of the Battle of Bushy Run (1763), the British victory that became a critical turning point during Pontiac's War, was for its part marked by a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bushyrunbattlefield">re-enactment</a>. <br />
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Parks Canada meanwhile reminded us that it was also the 232nd anniversary of the French capture of <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/mb/prince/edu/blog/blog-a08.aspx">Prince of Wales Fort</a> (1782) on Hudson's Bay. Samuel Hearne, the famous fur trader and explorer, surrendered it without firing a shot to the commander of the French fleet, who was none other than Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse. Two decades earlier the latter had taken part in a couple of supply expeditions towards Louisbourg and in the odd little campaign against Newfoundland that marked the end of the Seven Year's War on North American soil. Within three years of his victory on Hudson's Bay, however, Lapérouse would earn his true place in history books with his ill-fated attempt at circumnavigating the globe and his disappearance in the South Pacific.<br />
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P.-F.-X.</div>
P.-F.-X.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12855456309670952509noreply@blogger.com0