Jean Orillat (1733 – 1779) was a

Canadien French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

-born merchant in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

who was captured by American supporters during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The son of Jean Orillat and Marie Dupuy, he was born in

Barbezieux Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire () is a commune in the Charente department, Southwestern France. The commune was formed in 1973 by the merger of the former communes Barbezieux and Saint-Hilaire.fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

in the

Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire regio ...

and

La Baye La Baye was a small trading post established on the ''Baie des Puants'' in 1634 by Jean Nicolet. Nicolas Perrot, who was sent by Father Claude-Jean Allouez, continued the work that Nicolet had started. In 1671, the Jesuits constructed a mission. ...

areas and also operated a shop in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Orillat also lent money and dealt in real estate, lumber and wheat. He operated in partnership with various other merchants, including

Pierre Foretier Pierre Foretier (January 12, 1738 – December 3, 1815) was a fur trader, seigneur and official in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1738, the son of a shoemaker who died when Pierre was nine. He became a merchant supplying goods to fur ...

and

Jean-Gabriel Cerré Jean-Gabriel Cerré (August 12, 1734 – April 4, 1805) was a Quebec-born merchant in the Illinois Country and St. Louis. The son of Joseph Serré and Marie-Madeleine Picard, he was born in Montreal. Cerré established himself in Kaskaskia as ...

. After the Invasion of Quebec in September 1775 by the United Colonies, some parishes in the Richilieu valley joined the rebels. Orillat was sent by Governor Carleton with an offer of amnesty, but was taken prisoner and brought to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. He was able to escape in late December of that year and had resumed business by September of the following year. He was married twice, both times in Montreal: first to Marie-Amable Filiau, dit Dubois in 1761 and then to Thérèse-Amable Viger in 1767. Orillat died in Montreal. After his death, his estate was left to his daughter Luce-Amable. Her husband Alexis Réaume took over the operation of the business interests, but by 1786, the firm of Rashleigh and Company in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

had taken over the operation of the estate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orillat, Jean 1733 births 1779 deaths Canadian fur traders French Canadians in the American Revolution