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Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis As Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886

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Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis As Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886 Department of History and Civilization Métissage in New France: Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886 Devrim Karahasan Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, July 2006 Karahasan, Devrim (2008), Métissage in New France: Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886 European University Institute DOI: 10.2870/11337 EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE Department of History and Civilization Métissage in New France: Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886 Devrim Karahasan Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Examining Board: Prof. Laurence Fontaine, EHESS Paris/EUI Florence Prof. Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, EUI Florence/Universität Bielefeld Prof. Tamar Herzog, Stanford University Prof. Wolfgang Reinhard, Universität Erfurt © 2008, Devrim Karahasan No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Karahasan, Devrim (2008), Métissage in New France: Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886 European University Institute DOI: 10.2870/11337 Acknowledgments This thesis has been written with the facilities of the European University Institute in Florence (EUI), the generous support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the encouragement of many individuals. My supervisors in Paris and Stanford, Laurence Fontaine and Tamar Herzog, have assisted my work at every stage of its creation. Numerous letters, corrected pages and inspirations from both supervisors have facilitated to turn my initial ideas on Canadian métissage into a manuscript with insights that may, it is hoped, go beyond the demanding literature on the subject. Tamar Herzog has been exceptional in her detailed criticisms of previous drafts, with advice along the way and indicating most accurate precision. Laurence Fontaine contributed her professional expertise and private experience. Furthermore, I would like to thank Heinz-Gerhard Haupt and Wolfgang Reinhard for acting as members of the jury; Wilhelm Bleek at Ruhr-Universität Bochum who has awakened my interest in the Canadian Metis; Alain Beaulieu at Université du Québec à Montréal and Thomas Wien at Université de Montréal for providing sources, literature and access to relevant databases; Wolfgang Helbich at Ruhr-Universität Bochum for his valuable comments; John Breuilly at London School of Economics for his advice at crucial moments; Gilles Havard and Denys Delâge for their expert comments, Martin Dunn for allowing me access to his personal archive and for discussions during my stay at his home in Ottawa; Anthony Passarelli for his inspirations and hospitality in Montréal; and the employees at archives and libraries that I consulted in Canada. At the EUI in Florence, the personnel of the library provided the necessary literature through interlibrary loan. I am grateful to Ruth Gbikpi for making exceptions to the rules; to Nicola Hargreaves, Nicola Owtram and Lucy Turner Voakes for corrections of previous drafts and articles; to Elena Brizioli for taking care of the online version, to Jean-François Mouhot for giving me his thesis on Acadian history to read; to Regina Schulte and Philippe Schmitter for their encouragement; and to all those with whom I shared a very EUI-like friendship, above all Navraj Singh Ghaleigh, Aaron Benavot, Kerstin Martens, Clara Palmiste, Simona Troilo, Julie Ringelheim, Sandra Mass and Sibylle Mohrmann. In Paris and Rome, I would like to thank the directors and the personnel of the Institut Historique Allemand (IHA) and the Istituto Storico Germanico (ISG) for having granted me stipends to enable research in Parisian and Roman archives; Guido Braun for information on Italian archives; Stefan Bauer for comments on my introduction; Marc-Schindler-Bondiguel for a general critique; Matteo Sanfilippo for his manuscript of a talk held at ISG; Susan Baur for correcting my manuscript with great scrutiny, and the employees of the Vatican Archives, the Archivio della Propaganda Fide and the Jesuit Archives, as well as the Archives Nationales and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. In the United States, my thanks go to Pat Denault for sending me a Harvard working paper; the participants of the Atlantic History Workshop in Michigan, Ann Arbor: Eric Duke, Julius Scott, Christine Daniels and Laurent Dubois for having invited me; Vince Brown, Christopher Hodson, Robert Slenes and Julie Saville for stimulating comments; and the personnel of the Newberry Library and the Regenstein Library in Chicago. My final thanks are to Stefan Riese for his encouragement and technical assistance; to Anke Seidler, Lynn Kossler, Peter Wichert and Dilan Polat for their helpful comments; to my sister Meram Karahasan for greatly doing the job of being my sister and to my parents Nevin and Aydın Karahasan for their ongoing support and patience on my academic journey through métissage history. All these persons and friends share in the success of this thesis more than they can ever know. To all of them I would like to express my warmest thanks and gratitude. Devrim Karahasan Florence, July 2006 1 Karahasan, Devrim (2008), Métissage in New France: Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886 European University Institute DOI: 10.2870/11337 Abstract This thesis deals with métissage in New France and Canada from 1508 to 1886 - i.e. the process of cultural, social and political encounter between Indians and French and respective conversion and marriage policies, their mixed unions and derived mixed-blood offspring, the Métis and Halfbreeds. In 1508, first Indians were taken captive and brought to France; in 1886, the Act of Savages legally distinguished between “Indians” and “Metis” in Canada. Within this timeframe, colonial processes and policies of métissage, among which mixed marriages were the culmination point, are analysed. The theoretical framework of the history of concepts is employed in order to show how concepts on “race” changed and varied in the longue durée of four centuries, and how they were constructed and used in different contexts. It is held that the history of concepts is the perfect tool to analyse métissage as a concept that evolved over time, was discursively constructed and historically practiced. Métissage is treated as a Franco-Canadian rather than an Anglo-Canadian phenomenon. The fact that it was the French who pursued an officially backed policy of mixed marriages refers to Samuel de Champlain’s exclamation towards the Huron tribe in 1633: “Nos garçons se marieront à vos filles, et nous ne ferons qu´un peuple.“ Yet, rather than leading to a French nation overseas through mixed marriages, the unexpected result were Metis individuals and Metis communities that expressed nationalist demands. The premises, main questions and theoretical assumptions are posed in order to trace the development of métissage, the conflicts it engendered, and the ambivalences and contradictions inherent within it. An interpretation of métissage is offered in which métissage is considered as a policy to extend supremacy to distant corners of the world, to incorporate native peoples into this design and to, thus, cement colonial power relations. It is held that métissage is a concept imbued with racist thinking, which found its realisation in colonial policies in order to assimilate Indian populations to French culture. The concept of métissage has appeared in numerous discourses throughout history to describe cultural encounter and race mixture. While being ambivalent in meaning - itself a typical quality of a concept - it points to the colonial encounter of people of so-called different cultural “worth” and societal standing. 2 Karahasan, Devrim (2008), Métissage in New France: Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886 European University Institute DOI: 10.2870/11337 Table of Contents Introduction: Encounter of Indians and Whites ........................................................................ 1 A. Bringing Indians to the Old World and French Settlements in the New World ........ 23 1. Arrival of Indians “…to the wonder and applause of France”......................................... 23 2. Special Focus on Acadia as a Strategic Location............................................................. 34 3. Trading Settlement in Quebec and Metropolitan Ideas of Expansion.............................. 36 4. Initiatives of Jesuit Missionaries: Further Sedentarization .............................................. 41 5. Debates in the Metropolis over the Prospect of the Colony............................................. 45 6. Family Allowances, Sending Soldiers and Making Indians Still More Sedentary .......... 47 7. Prospects of Citizenship and Marriages of Soldiers in the Colony.................................. 54 8. Conclusion........................................................................................................................ 57 B. Converting, Instructing and Assimilating Indians: Frenchification and Evangelisation ..................................................................................................................
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