Jean Lefebvre (merchant)
Encyclopedia
Jean Lefebvre was a French
merchant
in Quebec City
. He came to Quebec City in 1732 to be the assistant of François Havy
, at the trading company Dugard et Cie. Havy and LeFebvre formed a partnership and two became highly successful merchants in their own right. Lefebvre and Havy's business grew steadily, as they personally handled cargos and eventually came to own a small ship of their own, the Parfaite Union.
They experienced a setback when they invested in a sealing station in Labrador with Louis Bazil
and Louis Fornel
, and retained their interest in it until the 1745 capture of Louisbourg
by Anglo-Americans cut them off from it. They lost about a third of their original 100,000 livre investment.
In 1756, during the Seven Years War, Havy returned to France to oversee the transfer of as much of the business as possible there and Lefebvre joined with another cousin, François Levesque, as a partner to conclude what business remained. When the British captured Quebec in 1759 much of their assets in New France—in mortgages, Canadian paper money, and bills of exachange—were declared worthless by the new government. Leveque carried on as a merchant in British Canada for some time.
In 1760 he finally set to return to France
, but died in an accident at sea aboard the Trident.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. He came to Quebec City in 1732 to be the assistant of François Havy
François Havy
François Havy was a French merchant who operated in Quebec. Havy managed the Quebec business of the French shipping firm Dugard et Cie. While the company's Quebec activities were modest when Havy first established the office in 1732, by 1741 he was handling a full fifth of the colony's imports...
, at the trading company Dugard et Cie. Havy and LeFebvre formed a partnership and two became highly successful merchants in their own right. Lefebvre and Havy's business grew steadily, as they personally handled cargos and eventually came to own a small ship of their own, the Parfaite Union.
They experienced a setback when they invested in a sealing station in Labrador with Louis Bazil
Louis Bazil
Louis Bazil was a French merchant and militia officer in New France.Bazil traded between his home in Quebec and La Rochelle, as well as Martinique and Île Royale. He was well-connected and in 1736 was granted a concession to administer a sealing station in Labrador...
and Louis Fornel
Louis Fornel
Louis Fornel was a French merchant, explorer, and seigneur in New France. Involved in maritime trade and both born and married into prominent Quebec families, Louis Fornel was among the partners Louis Bazil convinced to invest in his ill-fated Labrador sealing station.Determined to claim a sealing...
, and retained their interest in it until the 1745 capture of Louisbourg
Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a national historic site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th century French fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia...
by Anglo-Americans cut them off from it. They lost about a third of their original 100,000 livre investment.
In 1756, during the Seven Years War, Havy returned to France to oversee the transfer of as much of the business as possible there and Lefebvre joined with another cousin, François Levesque, as a partner to conclude what business remained. When the British captured Quebec in 1759 much of their assets in New France—in mortgages, Canadian paper money, and bills of exachange—were declared worthless by the new government. Leveque carried on as a merchant in British Canada for some time.
In 1760 he finally set to return to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but died in an accident at sea aboard the Trident.