The story of Ste. Marie doesn't begin in 1639. Nor does it end
in 1649 when the mission was burned to the ground. In fact, like
most historical events, it is hard to say when it all started; a
number of threads intersect at the mission.
In
1639, with winter on its way, the Jesuits had French carpenters
build a solitary home on the River Wye. 27 Frenchmen shared
this lodge.
In 1649 they burned down a fortress that protected over 50
Europeans and countless natives.
The
Huron(Wyandots, Wendats) were one of the most powerful
nations in America and anxious to dominate trade with the Europeans.
They were regarded as a senior tribe among their neighbours but
had a long-standing conflict with the powerful Five Nations (Iroquois)
Confederacy who lived to the south.
The
Frenchchose well when they established lucrative trade
relations with the Wendat and believed that together they could
forge an indomitable Canadian nation to control North American
trade inland. But the French also thought the Wendat's spiritual
beliefs led them toward violence and savagery; that it would benefit
both allies if the Wendat converted to Christianity. To that end,
they made support of missionary work mandatory in Quebec and brought
in the Jesuits.
The
Jesuits were a fairly new brotherhood, formed in 1534
by Ignatius Loyola, but by 1620 they were one of the richest and
most powerful of the Catholic Orders. Their far-flung missions
included China and South America where they taught Christianity
to heretics, heathens and pagans and wrote reports about their
successes. These form a fascinating if sometimes narrowly focussed
source of information on the world outside Europe in the 17th
and 18th centuries.
Each of these groups, Wendats, Five Nations, French Canadians,
and Jesuits, had a part to play in what happened at Ste. Marie between
1639 and 1649.
The
first missionaries to Huronia (Wendake) were Récollets
who visited in 1615 with Champlain. With little support from Quebec,
it didn't take them long to realize that a more powerful Order
was needed if the mission was to succeed and in 1625 the Jesuits
arrived. For the next 14 years, St. Joseph's Mission was led by
Father Brébeuf, priest, hero, linguist and martyr. It was
his decision that fathers working among the Wendat should learn
their language and live in the villages.
Ste.
Marie was builtwhen Father Lalement took over direction
of the mission and called for a census. It showed that the local
population had plummeted from Champlain's estimate of 30,000 in
1615 to just 12,000. And it was continuing to drop as disease
and warfare decimated the Confederacy. Lalement decided to centralize
the mission by building a fort where fathers could rest and natives
could find comfort, food, medical care and spiritual guidance.
It
was not to be. Deaths among the Wendat and predations
of the Five Nations led to the obliteration of the Wendat in Wendake.
The survivors settled among other Nations including the Iroquois,
or retreated with the French to Quebec. The fort fell into disrepair
and its stones were used for building material by 19th century
settlers. Then in the mid-20th century, the Jesuits determined
to rebuild the site as a monument to its martyrs.
