Les Îlets-Jérémie, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Les Îlets-Jérémie is a settlement in the municipality
of Colombier
in the Côte-Nord
region of the Canadian
province
of Quebec
. Located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River
, the small community is named after the Jérémie Islets that are just off its shores and mark the western end of the Jérémie Islets Bay (French: baie des Îlets-Jérémie). The Innu
call the hamlet Ishkuamishkut, meaning "where one expects polar bear".
The islets were named in turn after a certain Noël Jérémie, or Lamontagne, who was born between 1629 and 1638, and died between 1694 and 1697. Around 1660, he established a trading and fishing company. In 1673, the first reference was made to the Îlets-Jérémie Post (later on also written as Îlets-à-Jérémie or Îlets-de-Jérémie) by François de Crespieul. That year, Noël Jérémie was a clerk at the Tadoussac
post, but he often went to the islands with his son Nicolas to conduct fur trade with the Innu of Betsiamites
and vicinity. Nicolas became an interpreter and clerk of the Hudson's Bay Company
, and wrote the famous Relation du Détroit de la Baie d'Hudson, published in 1720. He died at Quebec City in 1732. After periodic closures, the post became the property of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1831, and was considered as the best trading post on the North Shore. It closed permanently in 1859 and operations were transferred to Betsiamites.
The community on the mainland has existed at least since 1735 when the Saint Anne chapel was first built. French Jesuit Jean-Baptiste de la Brosse (1724-1782) taught the local Innu reading and writing skills in their own language. Consequently, the Innu of Les Îlets-Jérémie adopted the Roman alphabet and exhibited an unexpected degree of literacy in the 18th century.
Types of municipalities in Quebec
The following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec....
of Colombier
Colombier, Quebec
Colombier is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in the Côte-Nord region and the regional county municipality of La Haute-Côte-Nord...
in the Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord is the second largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec...
region of the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
, the small community is named after the Jérémie Islets that are just off its shores and mark the western end of the Jérémie Islets Bay (French: baie des Îlets-Jérémie). The Innu
Innu
The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...
call the hamlet Ishkuamishkut, meaning "where one expects polar bear".
The islets were named in turn after a certain Noël Jérémie, or Lamontagne, who was born between 1629 and 1638, and died between 1694 and 1697. Around 1660, he established a trading and fishing company. In 1673, the first reference was made to the Îlets-Jérémie Post (later on also written as Îlets-à-Jérémie or Îlets-de-Jérémie) by François de Crespieul. That year, Noël Jérémie was a clerk at the Tadoussac
Tadoussac, Quebec
Tadoussac is a village in Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Saguenay rivers. It was France's first trading post on the mainland of New France and an important trading post in the seventeenth century, making it the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in...
post, but he often went to the islands with his son Nicolas to conduct fur trade with the Innu of Betsiamites
Betsiamites, Quebec
Betsiamites, also known as Pessamit , is a First Nations reserve and Innu community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located about southwest from Baie-Comeau along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Betsiamites River...
and vicinity. Nicolas became an interpreter and clerk of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, and wrote the famous Relation du Détroit de la Baie d'Hudson, published in 1720. He died at Quebec City in 1732. After periodic closures, the post became the property of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1831, and was considered as the best trading post on the North Shore. It closed permanently in 1859 and operations were transferred to Betsiamites.
The community on the mainland has existed at least since 1735 when the Saint Anne chapel was first built. French Jesuit Jean-Baptiste de la Brosse (1724-1782) taught the local Innu reading and writing skills in their own language. Consequently, the Innu of Les Îlets-Jérémie adopted the Roman alphabet and exhibited an unexpected degree of literacy in the 18th century.
Notable people from Les Îlets-Jérémie
- Napoléon-Alexandre ComeauNapoléon-Alexandre ComeauNapoléon-Alexandre Comeau was a self-taught naturalist and Canadian government official. The city of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, is named after him , as well as this city's history museum building....
, naturalist, was born there in 1846.