Pierre Bonga
Encyclopedia
Pierre Bonga was reportedly the son of Jean and Jeanne Bonga, a freed slave couple who had belonged to the British officer commanding at Mackinac Island
in the 1780s. Pierre worked for the North West Company
, and later for the American Fur Company
. One source says he married an Ojibway woman and fathered four sons, all of whom participated in the fur trade
.
A second source shows children Marguerite (b.1797-98 in the Lake Superior area-d.1880) (m.Jacob Fahlstrom in 1823 at Fond du Lac); Stephen (b.jun.1799 near Superior, Wis.-d.1889) (m.Susan); and George Bonga
(b.abt.1802 near Duluth, MN-d.1884) (m. to two Ojibwe women).
Pierre was reported to be in the North West Company with Alexander Henry
at the Red River of the North
in 1802.
' novel Kingsblood Royal
is descended from Xavier Pic, a freed slave from the French colony of Martinique whose life loosely parallels that of Bonga. The Bonga family is also directly referred to in the novel.
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...
in the 1780s. Pierre worked for the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
, and later for the American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
. One source says he married an Ojibway woman and fathered four sons, all of whom participated in the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
.
A second source shows children Marguerite (b.1797-98 in the Lake Superior area-d.1880) (m.Jacob Fahlstrom in 1823 at Fond du Lac); Stephen (b.jun.1799 near Superior, Wis.-d.1889) (m.Susan); and George Bonga
George Bonga
George Bonga was a fur trader of African American and Native American descent who was one of the first African American descent born in what is now Minnesota. He was the son of Pierre Bonga, and an Ojibwe mother....
(b.abt.1802 near Duluth, MN-d.1884) (m. to two Ojibwe women).
Pierre was reported to be in the North West Company with Alexander Henry
Alexander Henry (the younger)
Alexander Henry was a Canadian fur trader and explorer employed by the North West Company. He is well known for his extensive journals which he started in 1799. They contain an excellent record from the early 19th century of the fur trade. Alexander travelled and traded extensively from Lake...
at the Red River of the North
Red River of the North
The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
in 1802.
In popular culture
Neil Kingsblood, the protagonist of Sinclair LewisSinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
' novel Kingsblood Royal
Kingsblood Royal
-Synopsis:The protagonist, Neil Kingsblood, a white middle class man, discovers that he is partly of African American descent while researching his family background...
is descended from Xavier Pic, a freed slave from the French colony of Martinique whose life loosely parallels that of Bonga. The Bonga family is also directly referred to in the novel.