Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve
Encyclopedia
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...
military officer and the founder of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Early career
He was born into the aristocracy in Neuville-sur-VannesNeuville-sur-Vannes
Neuville-sur-Vannes is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:-References:*...
in Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
, 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...
. He joined the military at the age of 13 and had a successful career where he was noted for his ability and his honesty . He was hired by Jérome le Royer de la Dauversiere
Jerome le Royer de la Dauversiere
Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière was a Jesuit who was head of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal.- Youth :...
, a Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
who was head of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal
Société Notre-Dame de Montréal
The Société Notre-Dame de Montréal was a religious organisation responsible for founding Ville-Marie, the original name for the settlement that would later become Montreal....
. Based on a vision had by Royer de la Dauversiere, the society was attempting to build a mission on the Montreal Island in New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. Maisonneuve was hired to lead the colonists and ensure their security
Governor of Montreal
There they founded Ville-Marie, building a chapel and a small settlement. A hospitalHôtel-Dieu de Montréal
The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal is the oldest hospital in Montreal, Quebec. Since 1996 it has been one of the three hospitals making up the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal ....
under the command of Jeanne Mance
Jeanne Mance
Jeanne Mance was a French settler of New France. She was one of the founders of Montreal who secured its survival and was the founder and head of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.-Origins:...
was also established. Maisonneuve was the first governor of Montreal
Governor of Montreal
The Governor of Montreal was the highest position in Montreal in the 17th century and the 18th century. Prior to the establishment of the 1663 Sovereign Council, the governor of Montreal was appointed by the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal...
. They maintained peaceful relations with the Algonquins and the first year of the colony's existence was peaceful. In 1643 a flood threatened the city, Maisonneuve prayed to the Virgin Mary to stop the inundation and when it abated he erected a cross
Mount Royal Cross
The Mount Royal Cross is a monument on top of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It stands at the northeastern edge of the mountain, overlooking the east end of Montreal....
atop Mount Royal
Mount Royal
Mount Royal is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name.The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians...
, and a cross remains there to this day.
In 1643 the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
discovered the settlement and a long conflict erupted between the French and the Natives that saw the colony severely threatened. Maisonneuve commanded its defence, using his military training. In 1644 he was almost killed when a group of thirty Montrealers were surrounded by over two hundred Iroquois and Maisonneuve barely managed to make it back to the safety of the fort.
In 1645 Maisonneuve received news that his father had died and he returned to France. While there he was offered the position of governor of New France
Governor of New France
The Governor of New France was the viceroy of the King of France in North America. A French noble, he was appointed to govern the colonies of New France, which included Canada, Acadia and Louisiana. The residence of the Governor was at the Château St-Louis in the capital of Quebec City...
, but turned it down, wanting to continue his leadership of Ville-Marie. Maisonneuve returned to Montreal in 1647 and the wars with the Iroquois continued. In 1649, Maisonneuve stood as godfather for the first white child baptised in the colony. She was Pauline Hébert, infant daughter of fur-trader Augustin Hébert and his wife Adrienne Du Vivier
Adrienne Du Vivier
Adrienne Du Vivier was a French pioneer and one of the first white women to settle in the colony of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She and her husband are often referred to as "Montreal's First Citizens."-Arrival in Montreal:...
, who had come to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in 1648 with Maisonneuve and their elder daughter Jeanne.
In the spring of 1651 the Iroquois attacks became so frequent and so violent that Ville-Marie thought its end had come. Maisonneuve made all the Montrealers take refuge in the fort. By 1652, the colony at Montreal had been so reduced, he was again forced to return to France to raise 100 volunteers to return to Montreal the following year. If the effort had failed, Montreal was to be abandoned and the survivors re-located downriver to Quebec City. When these 100 arrived in the fall of 1653, the population of Montreal was barely 50 people, including a Jacques Archambault
Jacques Archambault
Jacques Archambault was a French colonist in Montreal. He was born in Dompierre-sur-Mer, where he was baptized.Archambault married Françoise Tourault, with whom he had many children...
, who dug the first water well of the island in 1658, upon request by Maisonneuve.
Over time the colony grew in size and eventually was large enough to be secure from the Iroquois threat. Control of the colony was taken from the missionary society and taken up by the crown
Sovereign Council of New France
The Sovereign Council of New France was a political body appointed by the King of France and consisting of a Governor General, an Intendant of New France answered to the French Minister of the Marine, And also the Bishop witch helped with laws and land...
in 1663. Maisonneuve had not enjoyed the favour of the new governor-general Augustin de Saffray de Mésy
Augustin de Saffray de Mésy
Augustin de Saffray de Mésy was the first Governor General of New France in 1663 after Louis XIV took over the administration of New France from the Compagnie des Cent-Associés.- References :**...
. In September 1665, Maisonneuve received from Alexandre de Prouville
Alexandre de Prouville
Marquis Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy was a French aristocrat, statesman, and military leader. He was the seigneur of Tracy-le-Val and Tracy-le-Mont...
the order to return to France on indefinite leave. After twenty-four years at the head of the colony, he left Montreal for good.
The latter years
Settling in Paris he lived in relative obscurity. In 1671, Marguerite BourgeoysMarguerite Bourgeoys
Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys was the founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame.- Biography :...
received a warm welcome at his home in Paris. He died in 1676; at his bedside were his young friend Philippe de Turmenys, and his devoted servant Louis Fin. On September 10, his funeral took place at the church of the Fathers of the Christian Doctrine, situated not far from the abbey of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a church in Paris, France, located on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the Ve arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris....
, and there also he was buried.
Honours
The Saint-Paul Street was named after Maisonneuve, who built a home for himself on it in 1650.The Nuns' Island
Nuns' Island
Nuns' Island is an island that forms a part of the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is part of the borough of Verdun.-Geography:The 3.74 km² island is part of the Hochelaga Archipelago in the St. Lawrence River...
was called Île Saint-Paul in honour of the founder of Montreal; the current name of the island appears starting from the 19th century and was exclusively used from the 1950s on.
The Maisonneuve Monument
Maisonneuve Monument
The Maisonneuve Monument is a monument by sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert built in 1895 at Place d'Armes in Montréal.- History :This monument in memory of Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, founder of Montreal, was unveiled on July 1, 1895, as part of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of...
was erected in 1895 on the Place d'Armes
Place d'Armes
Place d'Armes is a square in Old Montreal quarter of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-History:Place d'Armes is the second oldest public site in Montreal, it was called Place de la Fabrique when it was first developed in 1693, at the request of the Sulpicians, then later renamed Place d'Armes in 1721 when...
in Old Montreal
Old Montreal
Old Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...
, to the memory of M. de Maisonneuve. It is the work of Louis-Philippe Hébert
Louis-Philippe Hébert
Louis-Philippe Hébert was the son of Théophile Hébert, a farmer, and Julie Bourgeois of Ste-Sophie de Mégantic, Quebec. Louis-Philippe Hébert was a sculptor who sculpted forty monuments, busts, medals and statues in wood, bronze and terra-cotta. He taught at the Conseil des arts et manufactures in...
(1850–1917). An imaginary model was used to represent Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve, for no authentic portrait of the first governor of Montreal exists.
De Maisonneuve Boulevard
De Maisonneuve Boulevard
De Maisonneuve Boulevard is a major westbound boulevard located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is named after the founder of Montreal, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve. De Maisonneuve Boulevard is about 11 kilometres long and begins on Havre Street in the east end, and ends in the...
in Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is nearly enitirely located at the southern most slope of Mount Royal and is approximately bounded by Sherbrooke Street to the north, Papineau Avenue to the east, Guy Street or until Shaughnessy Village to the west,...
is named for him, as is Maisonneuve Park
Maisonneuve Park
Maisonneuve park is an urban park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie borough.Established in 1910, it is 118 hectares in size, with 38 hectares occupied by the Montreal Botanical Garden and Montreal Insectarium, 55 hectares by a nine-hole public golf course and the...
, Collège de Maisonneuve
Collège de Maisonneuve
Collège de Maisonneuve is a francophone Cégep pre-university and technical college located at 3800 Sherbrooke Street East in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Partnerships:...
, the neighbourhood of Chomedey
Chomedey, Quebec
Chomedey is a neighbourhood in the southwest of the city of Laval and was a separate municipality until the municipal mergers on August 6, 1965. Named after Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, part of the neighbourhood had previously been known as L'Abord à Plouffe, and was once part of the seigneurie...
in Laval
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...
and the Maisonneuve pavilion, a dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean.