The Jesuit Relations

by Kariss Miller

Iroquoians & AlgonquiansIroquoians

• Cultivated corn and other crops.• Lived in concentrated year-round settlements &

villages were populous.• The Iroquois are comprised of several Iroquoian

people.• The 5 nations of the Iroquois League consisted

of: Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayuga's, & Seneca's; living across northern New York.

• Jesuits converted many Mohawks and Iroquois to Catholicism.

• Conflicts were mostly due to military.

Algonquians• Spoke various dialects.• Depended on hunting, foraging, & fishing.• Lived in small, mobile bands.• Bands resided across wider territories than that

of the Iroquois.• Algonquians are only one of many nations.• The French formed an alliance with the

Algonquians against the Mohawks.• Huron's, Algonquians, Montagnais, & French

remained allies despite their differences.

The Canadian Missions• The Acadian expedition and Quebec were the two beginnings for the Jesuit enterprise in New France in the early

1600’s.• The Jesuits founded establishments at Three Rivers, and Montreal, as they were well financed via various sources.• Colonial officials opposed the Jesuits, but from the mid 1600’s on, the secure Jesuits managed to pull through the

British conquest of 1760, and the Enlightenment monarchies which led to the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from the Portuguese & Spanish Empires.

• Jesuits tried to convert the Montagnais, and Algonquians who frequented their posts. Other Jesuits would travel further in to the interior to inspire the Huron's which were quite a populous nation.

• However, when epidemics arose, the Huron's would tend to blame the Jesuits, as they viewed the Jesuits as malevolent sorcerers who displayed mysterious and unusual social behaviors.

• The Jesuit mission to New France was a disappointment, until the 1640’s when a considerable amount of natives began to accept Catholicism.

• The Jesuits were also involved in late 17th century expeditions from Lake Michigan in to the Mississippi River system.

Disease & Medicine• The main theme of this section discusses how the Jesuits were blamed for disease

and also discusses the actual spread of disease among the native populations of North America.

• Although the Jesuits had no knowledge of germs, viruses, and immunity… they brought to New France new medicines and viewed themselves as savers of souls.

• Jesuits disapproved of most aspects of native medicine.• Huron medical practice often involved ceremonies of feasts accompanied with

songs, dances, and games.

Disease & Medicine• From this source, we learned that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada had no

immunity to the illnesses brought over by the Europeans.• French settlers brought smallpox to New France in 1616.• British soldiers used disease as a type of germ warfare against the Aboriginal

people.• TB would eventually wipe out a large portion

of the Aboriginal people in the 1600’s; making its

way to the prairies by the 1850’s.• Disease wiped-out half of the Aboriginal

population during times of the fur trade.

Diplomacy & War• The theme of this section discusses the tensions, wars, shifting alliances of the French,

negotiations, and treaties over land.• The Aboriginals were displaced from their land as European settlers migrated west in to Indian

territory.• The American Independence basically voided the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which ensured

the right to the Aboriginal peoples area.• In the early 1800’s, Aboriginal people living in the U.S. were again forced to move. Some

went in to Canada, others headed south and west (Trail of Tears).• In the mid to late1800’s, Aboriginals had to keep one step ahead of settlers encompassing the

lands of the Canadian prairies. The Aboriginals would move west or north.

Diplomacy & War• Oddly enough, Indian treaty commissioners supported the expansion movement, and along

with the government and settlers, they wanted the land for agriculture.• European settlers supported the British who thought they had a right to the land because they

felt the were more skilled than the Aboriginal peoples.• The British felt that social reform was needed for the natives and that the benefits of an

advanced and whole society was more important than that of Aboriginal culture.• Conflict ensued in western Canada and the Aboriginals put a halt to people entering the region

and this was ultimately the cause of the Riel Rebellions.

Writings on the Natural Environment• The theme in this section discusses the flora, fauna, landscapes, natural occurrences, and

religious thought and explanations.• The Jesuits kept a scientific curiosity and observed and recorded comets, eclipses, and other

celestial occurrences.• In the mid 1600’s, strange apparitions appeared in the sky, earthquakes struck, and

aftershocks would continue over a 6 month period. This occurred during a time of war against the Iroquois. Rather than try to decode the reason for these events, the Jesuits recommended prayer as the best response.

• While celestial occurrences were common in the northern latitudes, the Jesuits still maintained a scientific knowledge and methodology and continued to decode these events as signs of heavenly communication with nature.

Writings on the Natural Environment• The Relations detail treasured information that, if obtained by French

colonists, could be of material benefit to them and ultimately exploitation of the forests, waters, and soil.

• There is a somewhat complicated association of animals in The Relations in that it references God’s gift of anger to all animals so that they may respond with hostility when provoked.

• Creatures exhibiting aggressive behavior are given as examples in relation to retaliation of nature versus man.

Exploring the Mississippi

• The theme of this section discusses the great explorer, Jacques Marquette, and the voyage of exploration that went in to scouting out new mission fields.

• Although Louis Jolliet led the expedition from Canada along the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, Marquette gained more fame due to his writings.

• The Jesuits would establish missions among the Illinois in order to become better acquainted with the French through trade, religious conversion, and assistance in wartime.

• Marquette visits with the Wild Rice people who would dissuade him from teaching others in remote regions about his religion because many nations were not welcoming to strangers.

Exploring the Mississippi• Advice would be given to Marquette and Jolliet by Indians as they neared the

Arkansas River.• Even with the language barrier, the Indians would dissuade the explorers from

continuing further at the risk of enemy raids along the river from rival enemies.• The two explorers would deliberate on whether they should be satisfied with the

discovery in which they already made, or should they continue on.• Would they risk a sea voyage, encounters with the Spaniards? All at the risk of

death in which case the results and all the information that went along with this voyage would be gone?

• The two explorers were not in a position to deal with these possibilities and after announcing to their Indian hosts that they would conclude their voyage, they prepared for the voyage back.