2. IntroductionIntroduction
• ““The Jesuit Relations” were annualThe Jesuit Relations” were annual
publications for the benefit of audiences atpublications for the benefit of audiences at
home in France.home in France.
• The Jesuits dealt with the Algonquians andThe Jesuits dealt with the Algonquians and
the Iroquoians.the Iroquoians.
– Algonquians lived in small, mobile bandsAlgonquians lived in small, mobile bands
– Iroquoians lived in concentrated, year-roundIroquoians lived in concentrated, year-round
settlementssettlements
• The French never really conquered theThe French never really conquered the
Indians by force of arms, but the natives didIndians by force of arms, but the natives did
suffer from epidemics, the demands of the fursuffer from epidemics, the demands of the fur
trade, and political instability at the hands oftrade, and political instability at the hands of
the French.the French.
3. Introduction
• The Jesuits were members of the “Society of
Jesus” who took special vows of poverty and
obedience.
• Their activities included education, literary
and scientific activities, and pastoral
missions.
• The pain and affliction of a missionary life
allowed them to identify with Christ
• Instead of retreating from worldly influences
like monks, they set out to conquer the
secular world.
• They lived in the native villages of New
France, learned the languages, and got to
know the people.
4. Jean de Brébeuf on the Hurons
• Missionaries struggled
to translate European
religious concepts into
the Huron language.
• Like in romance
languages, their nouns
had genders.
• They frequently used
comparisons, weather
lore, and proverbs.
• Huron religious beliefs
were somewhat
ambiguous as to the
origin of man.
• They believed objects
like rocks and trees
were animate, and that
spirits resided there.
• They frequently made
sacrifices and believed
dreams were divinely
inspired.
5. • The Jesuits were
surprised at the
Hurons’ general civility
and politeness.
• They had no organized
government, but they
had laws, punishments,
and councils.
• For the most part they
were against
vengeance, yet they
were very cruel to their
enemies.
• Every 12 years all
Hurons would unite for
the Feast of the Dead.
• They would dig bodies
out of their graves,
clean the flesh off their
bones, and prepare a
feast for them.
• Many Jesuits were
impressed by their
constant recognition of
their own mortality.
Jean de Brébeuf on the Hurons
6. Disease and Medicine
• The Hurons’ medical
practices were largely
dictated by superstition.
• They believed illnesses
were caused by
demons.
• Shamans would
prescribe dances,
sports, and gambling as
cures.
• The patient would
always profess to be
cured afterward, even if
they were not.
• In 1637 the Hurons
were struck by
Influenza.
• The Jesuits were
inconvenienced, but the
natives were
devastated.
• Some Hurons
approached the Jesuits
for help from God.
• Some blamed the
Jesuits for the illness
and planned to kill
them.
7. Disease and Medicine
• 2 years later,
smallpox hit and
killed more natives
• Again, they blamed
the Jesuits
• The Jesuits were no
longer allowed to
approach the sick,
and were dreaded
as sorcerers.
• The Huron shamans
and the Jesuits both
called on their
deities to cure the
sick
• The Jesuits
considered the real
battle to be over
how the disease
was understood, not
the disease itself.
8. Writings on the Natural
Environment
• The Natives did not
differentiate between
natural and
supernatural.
• To explain natural
phenomena, they told
fables that involved
magic.
• For example, a solar
eclipse was explained
by a magical dwarf-man
who caught the sun in a
net by accident
• Even the Jesuits had a
somewhat supernatural
explanation for
phenomena, despite
their knowledge of
science
• They saw meteors and
earthquakes as signs
from God, and
responded with prayer
and repentance
9. Writings on the Natural
Environment
• With the arrival of
the French military,
the natives were
more inclined to
seek friendship with
the Jesuits.
• The Jesuits then
found it easier to
use the natural
resources to benefit
France.
• They developed
fisheries for fish,
seals, and beluga
whales.
• They mined for
minerals and cut
down timber and
grew hemp for
textiles.
10. Martyrs and Mystics
• Issac Jogues was a Jesuit who asked God to
make him suffer for God’s glory.
• He arrived in New France in a time of war
between the Algonquians and the Iroquois.
• His whole party was captured by the Iroquois
and tortured.
• The Iroquois equated their success in war to
their cruelty to their prisoners
• Those who were not killed were given to
Iroquois families as a replacement for family
members they had lost.
11. Martyrs and Mystics
• The Jesuits also recorded the life story of
Catherine Tegahkouita, a Mohawk who
pursued a “Life of Christian perfection.”
• The first encountered missionaries as a
young woman, and showed much more fervor
than the other converts.
• She took a vow of chastity and lived a saintly
life that greatly impressed the Jesuits and
their supporters in Europe.
• It is an unusual account, because it focuses
on the piety of a native woman.
