Jean de Lauzon

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Jean de Lauzon

Jean de Lauzon , also Jean de Lauson (* around 1584; † February 16, 1666 in Paris ) was governor of New France from 1651 to 1657 .

Life

Jean de Lauzon came from a family of Breton origin who had settled in Poitou in the 16th century . He was the eldest son of François de Lauson, Seigneur of Lirec, counselor in the Parliament, and Isabelle Lottin, daughter of Seigneur de Charny (now part of Lévis south of Québec). From February 3, 1613, Jean de Lauzon was a member of Parliament, on February 23, 1622 he was maître des requêtes . In this capacity he led the investigations against Henri II, Duc de Montmorency , in 1632 and against the Duc d'Épernon in 1634. He rose to the position of Président du Grand Conseil and became director of Provence , later of Guyenne and around 1640 of the Dauphiné .

In addition, he was on April 29, 1627 founding member of the Compagnie de la Nouvelle France and its director. The meetings took place in his house, the accounts were presented there and he was allowed to represent Cardinal Richelieu in his absence . After David Kirke and his brothers had conquered Québec for England in 1629 , de Lauzon succeeded in negotiating to regain the colony, as even Samuel de Champlain had to admit. He supported the Jesuits in the dispute over sole rights in proselytizing in Canada . He denied the opposing Capuchins the passage and their annual allowances. After years of complaints, he allowed them to go to the Conseil de Québec. However, he was now governor, so the negative decision came as no surprise.

In this role as governor, he appropriated so much land for himself and his family that his family became the largest landowner in the colony. His eldest son François received the vast area between the Rivière Richelieu and Châteauguay . For himself he obtained from 1636 the seigneurie over the Île de Montréal and the Île d'Orléans as well as an eighth of the Beaupré seigneurie and above all the seigneurie that bore his name. In spite of the corresponding requirements that demanded the appointment of settlers from the landlords, de Lauzon did not bring a single settler to New France, but was together with his son from around 1640 the largest landlord in the colony.

In 1640 he became director of the Dauphiné, based in Vienne . It is not certain whether he sold the island on which Montréal was to be founded for the exorbitant sum of 150,000 livres this year .

De Lauzon became governor on January 17, 1651 and landed in Québec on October 13. He found a colony that was threatened by the Iroquois ; therefore he received extensive rights. Together with his three sons, his second wife Anne Després had died shortly before; his first wife had been Marie Gaudar, he used his privileges. He made his son Jean Grand Seneschal of New France and furnished him with goods around Cap-Rouge and in the Lauzon-Seigneurie. His son Louis became Sieur de La Citière and received a seigneurie, which was named Gaudarville, in honor of Marie Gaudar, his late mother. His youngest son Charles, who came to Québec on July 1, 1652, became lord of the forests and lakes, and he was given lands in Charny and Lirec. In addition, he married his sons into the leading families. Jean married Anne Després, Charles Marie Louise, Louis Catherine Nau. His eldest son François was already a councilor in Bordeaux . He acquired the monopoly in the fur trade in 1654 , which prompted the settlers to send a petition to King Louis XIV . The king decided on March 15, 1656 against the monopoly of the Lauzons, the trading company in Québec hastily lifted it again.

In 1653 he negotiated a peace treaty with the Mohawk . But in 1656 diplomacy failed with Chief Andioura when the French wanted to set up a trading post with the Onondaga . The Mohawk attacked the Hurons, allied with the French, on May 20, 1656 and destroyed their settlements. On their return, they ostentatiously walked along the city ​​walls of Québec and sang songs of mockery to the French. In September the governor returned to France to strengthen his contacts at court and to avoid a conflict with the king. He left the colony to his son Charles.

Shortly before leaving, he acquired the hides worth 300,000 livres that Des Groseilliers had unloaded in Québec. The trading company was able to dismiss him on March 7, 1657 in view of his ruthless greed. However, some of the Lauzon family stayed in North America and influenced the colony's politics as large landowners; this was especially true of his sons. One of de Lauzon's descendants, Marie-Catherine-Antoinette de Lauzon, married the later governor Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière (1747–1749).

literature

  • Joseph Edmond Roy: Histoire de la seigneurie de Lauzon. 6 vols., Lévis 1807.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Francois-Xavier Garneau: Histoire du Canada. P. 12.
personal data
SURNAME Lauzon, Jean de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lauson, Jean de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Governor of New France (1651–1657)
DATE OF BIRTH around 1584
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1666
Place of death Paris