Local History & Genealogy

Selections and Full PDFs of "The Jesuit Relations": Sainte-Marie among the Hurons and Beyond

Note: This article includes historical materials from the collections of Toronto Public Library. Who tells the story, and how the story is told creates tensions when trying to present content written by settlers about Indigenous people. These materials can reflect offensive historic attitudes, and in some cases, were created by individuals directly involved in acts of cultural genocide committed against Indigenous peoples. These materials are included as part of TPL’s commitment to the 69th Call to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which recognizes the inalienable right of Indigenous peoples to know the truth of what happened and why.

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was a Jesuit settlement on the land of the Huron-Wendat. Completed in 1639, this French compound was the first permanent European settlement in what is now Ontario.

In 1649, the settlement was burnt down and abandoned during ongoing warfare between the Huron-Wendat and the Iroquois to the south. (It was rebuilt as a historical site in 1964.)

Toronto Public Library has digitized the extensive reports from the 17th and 18th centuries written by missionaries, known as The Jesuit Reports. Available on Digital Archive Ontario, these are invaluable firsthand accounts about Sainte-Marie among the Hurons and beyond.

In this post

• Overview of early relations between Huron-Wendat and French
• Selections from The Jesuit Relations from 1636 to 1649
• All digitized volumes of The Jesuit Relations

 

Overview of early relations between Huron-Wendat and French

French explorer Samuel de Champlain made contact with the Huron-Wendat in 1609. He believed an alliance was needed for further trade and settlement in their territory. To gain trust, he joined them and their Algonquin allies on a raid against the Iroquois. During the unsuccessful attack, Champlain’s leg was wounded and the Huron-Wendat spent three days carrying him back to safety.

In 1609 when Champlain encountered the Huron-Wendat, they numbered 30,000. When Jesuit Father Jerome Lalemant arrived in 1639, he conducted a survey and found just 12,000. Many died from disease. Others died as the Iroquois and the  Huron-Wendat fought over the beaver pelt market. Firearms had been introduced in the region through trade with the French and Dutch, making any skirmish that much more lethal.

For the French, "Huron" was a term of derision for unkempt, unruly peasants. Nonetheless, the French were impressed by what they perceived as the strength, stature and bountiful crops of the Huron-Wendat. The French called the territory Huronia whereas the Huron-Wendat called it Wendake, or "a land apart". It lays south of Georgian Bay and east to Lake Simcoe.

The first missionaries to the Huron-Wendat were Récollets (today known as the Franciscans). In the summer of 1626, Father Jean de Brébeuf of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit) secured a place in Champlain’s canoe travelling into Huronia-Wendake. Later, more Jesuits followed. They traveled between Indigenous villages spreading the word of Christ.

In the winter of 1638, Father Jerome Lalemant arrived from France to replace Father Brébeuf as superior of the mission Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. Lalemant brought with him two more Jesuits and a lay brother as well as supplies, tools, and twelve labourers and tradesmen to build a compound to house the mission. He negotiated with the Huron-Wendat for a plot of land on the river known today as the Wye. The compound was completed in 1639. Ten years later, it would lay in ruins.

 

Selections from The Jesuit Relations from 1636 to 1649

Annual reports written by the Superieurs of the Jesuit missions across New France were sent back to France via Quebec. They were published in Paris the following year. Reports from Father Paul Rageneau from Sainte Marie among the Hurons were written in Vol. XXXIII [33] (published 1650). Below are selections from 1636 to 1649 from The Jesuit Reports. For full PDFs of all volumes, jump to index.

 

All digitized volumes of The Jesuit Relations

The Jesuit Relations was originally written in Latin, French and Italian. In the late 19th century, they were translated into English (with the original languages still included) by Reuben Gold Thwaites. It was published in over 70 volumes in Cleveland, United States, in 1869. Toronto Public Library has digitized these volumes, available below. Additional, select volumes of the original publications are also available.

Note: the full title is "The Jesuit relations and allied documents. Travels and explorations of the Jesuit missionaries in New France, 1610-1791: the original French, Latin and Italian texts, with English translations and notes; illustrated by portraits, maps, and facsimiles."

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 1 to 9

Vol. [1] I — Acadia: 1610-1613

Vol. [2] II — Acadia: 1612-1614

Vol. [3] III — Acadia: 1611-1616

Vol. [4] IV — Acadia and Quebec: 1616-1629

Vol. [5] V — Quebec: 1632-1633

Vol. [6] VI — Quebec: 1633-1634

Vol. [7] VII — Quebec, Hurons, Cape Breton: 1634-1635

Vol. [8] VIII — Quebec, Hurons, Cape Breton: 1634-1636

Vol. [9] IX — Quebec: 1636

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 10 to 19

Vol. [10] X — Hurons: 1636

Vol. [11] XI — Hurons and Quebec: 1636-1637

Vol. [12] XII — Quebec: 1637

Vol. [13] XIII — Hurons: 1637

Vol. [14] XIV — Hurons and Quebec: 1637-1638

Vol. [15] XV — Hurons and Quebec: 1638-1639

Vol. [16] XVI — Quebec and Hurons: 1639

Vol. [17] XVII — Hurons and Three Rivers: 1639-1640

Vol. [18] XVIII — Hurons and Quebec: 1640

Vol. [19] XIX — Quebec and Hurons: 1640

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 20 to 29

Vol. [20] XX — Hurons and Quebec: 1640-1641

Vol. [21] XXI — Quebec and Hurons: 1641-1642

Vol. [22] XXII — Quebec and Hurons: 1642

Vol. [23] XXIII — Hurons, Quebec, Iroquois: 1642-1643

Vol. [24] XXIV — Lower Canada and Iroquois: 1642-1643

Vol. [25] XXV — Iroquois, Hurons, Quebec: 1642-1644

Vol. [26] XXVI — Lower Canada, Hurons: 1642-1644

Vol. [27] XXVII — Hurons, Lower Canada: 1642-1645

Vol. [28] XXVIII — Hurons, Iroquois, Lower Canada: 1645-1646

Vol. [29] XXIX  — Iroquois, Lower Canada, Hurons: 1646

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 30 to 39

Vol. [30] XXX — Hurons, Lower Canada: 1646-1647

Vol. [31] XXI — Iroquois, Lower Canada, Abenakis: 1647

Vol. [32] XXXII — Gaspé, Hurons, Lower Canada: 1647-1648

Vol. [33] XXXIII — Lower Canada, Alognkins, Hurons: 1648-1649

Vol. [34] XXXIV — Lower Canada, Hurons: 1649

Vol. [35] XXXV — Hurons, Lower Canada, Alognkins: 1650

Vol. [36] XXXVI —Lower Canada, Abenakis: 1650-1651

Vol. [37] XXXVII — Lower Canada, Abenakis: 1651-1652

Vol. [38] XXXVIII — Abenakis, Lower Canada, Hurons: 1652-1653

Vol. [39] XXXIX — Hurons: 1653

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 40 to 49

Vol. [40] XL — Hurons, Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1653

Vol. [41] XLI — Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1654-1656

Vol. [42] XLII — Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1632-1657

Vol. [43] XLIII — Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1656-1657

Vol. [44] XLIV — Iroquois, Lower Canada: 1656-1658

Vol. [45] XLV — Lower Canada, Acadia, Iroquois, Ottawas: 1659-1660

Vol. [46] XLVI — Lower Canada, Ottawas, Canadian Interior: 1659-1661

Vol. [47] XLVII — Iroquois, Lower Canada: 1661-1663

Vol. [48] XLVIII — Lower Canada, Ottawas: 1662-1664

Vol. [49] XLIX — Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1663-1665

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 50 to 59

Vol. [50] L — Lower Canada, Iroquois, Ottawas: 1664-1667

Vol. [51] LI — Ottawas, Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1666-1668

Vol. [52] LII — Lower Canada, Iroquois, Ottawas: 1667-1669

Vol. [53] LIII — Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1669-1670

Vol. [54] LIV — Iroquois, Ottawas, Lower Canada: 1669-1671

Vol. [55] LV — Lower Canada, Iroquois, Ottawas: 1670-1672

Vol. [56] LVI — Lower Canada, Iroquois, Ottawas, Hudson Bay: 1671-1672

Vol. [57] LVII — Hurons, Iroquois, Ottawas: 1672-1673

Vol. [58] LVIII — Ottawas, Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1672-1674

Vol. [59] LIX — Lower Canada, Illinois, Ottawas: 1673-1677

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 60 to 69

Vol. [60] LX — Lower Canada, Illinois, Iroquois, Ottawas: 1675-1677

Vol. [61] LXI — All missions: 1677-1680

Vol. [62] LXII — Lower Canada, Iroquois, Ottawas: 1681-1683

Vol. [63] LXIII — Lower Canada, Iroquois: 1667-1687

Vol. [64] LXIV — Ottawas, Lower Canada, Iroquois, Illinois: 1689-1695

Vol. [65] LXV — Lower Canada, Mississippi Valley: 1696-1702

Vol. [66] LXVI —Illinois, Louisiana, Iroquois, Lower Canada: 1702-1712

Vol. [67] LXVII — Lower Canada, Abenakis, Louisiana: 1716-1727

Vol. [68] LXVIII — Lower Canada, Crees, Louisiana: 1720-1736

Vol. [69] LXIX — All missions: 1710-1756

 

The Jesuit Relations: Volumes 70 to 73

Vol. [70] LXX — All missions: 1747-1764

Vol. [71] LXXI — Lower Canada, Illinois: 1759-1791

Vol. [72] LXXII — Index: A-I

Vol. [73] LXXIII — Index: J-Z

 

The Jesuit Relations: Other volumes

Scrap Vol.

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Edits:

• Link to Volume 25 fixed. November 20, 2020.
• Note added to start of post. January 12, 2022.