Marcel Trudel (May 29, 1917 – January 11, 2011) was a Canadian historian, university professor (1947–1982) and author who published more than 40 books on the history of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

. He brought academic rigour to an area that had been marked by nationalistic and religious biases. His work was part of the marked changes to Quebec society during the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...

. Trudel's work has been honoured with major awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction in 1966, and a second nomination for the award in 1987.

Early life and education

Marcel Trudel was born in Saint-Narcisse-de-Champlain,

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 ...

, northeast of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, the son of Hermyle Trudel and Antoinette Cossette, the ninth of eleven children. Orphaned at the age of five, he was adopted by a local couple in his extended family, Théodore Baril and Mary Trépanier.Marcel Trudel website: Biographie.
.Les Prix du Québec: Prix Léon-Gérin 2001.
/ref> He showed great academic progress and spent some months at a seminary at Trois-Rivières, but concluded that the priesthood was not for him. Rather, he had a particular interest in literature and hoped to make his living as a writer. He earned a ''

licence ès lettres A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin A ...

(cum laude)'' in 1941 and a ''

Doctorat ès lettres Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

(magna cum laude)'' in 1945, both from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

. He then had two years of post-doctoral studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

before returning to Laval to teach history.

Career

In 1947, Trudel was the first professor of history in Laval's newly founded Institute of History. He went on to become head of the History department. From 1955 to 1960, he published on many subjects that the Catholic hierarchy controlling the university found scandalous, such as: "Chiniquy" (the first French Catholic priest who became a Presbyterian minister), "The Canadian Catholic Church under the English Military Government, in 1759-1764", and "The Slaves in New France" (most of them being Amerindian and belonging even to the Catholic Church masters). As of 1962, Trudel was also president of the ''For

Laïcité (; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as discouraging religious involvement in government affairs, especially religious influence in the determin ...

Movement'' in Quebec City. It was too much: in 1962, under pressure from the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Laval University demoted him from his position as head of the History department. In 1961, Laval University Press joined with the

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...

in establishing the

Dictionary of Canadian Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; french: Dictionnaire biographique du Canada) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a ...

(DCB). Trudel served as the Associate General Editor from 1961 to 1965, working with the General Editor, George Williams Brown, a historian at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. They collaborated both in organizing the over-all project, which has published 15 volumes and is on-going, and in editing the first volume, which covered the period from 1000 to 1700 and was published in 1966. The DCB is published simultaneously in English and French and has been widely recognized as one of the most important scholarly undertakings in Canada. In 1965, Trudel left Laval University and Quebec City to live near Ottawa and taught at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

. The next year, he began teaching at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

after the Ontario government took over the university from the Catholic

Oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

Fathers. Having reached age 65 in 1982, he was relieved of his lecturing duties, but he continued to write from his home near Montreal until the year he died; half of his books were published in retirement. In 1993, he also began lecturing at a university to seniors' groups. Trudel's life's work was the history of

, in particular his monumental and authoritative ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France''. Planned to be ten volumes in collaboration with another Quebec historian,

Guy Frégault Guy Frégault (June 16, 1918 – December 13, 1977) was a Canadian historian and writer from Quebec. He worked at the history department of Montreal University. Biography Frégault was born in Montreal on June 16, 1918. He lived his childhoo ...

, Trudel wrote six volumes in the series, published between 1963 and 1999. Trudel meticulously reviewed the

primary sources In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

and criticized previous accounts in his effort to tell the colony's story without what he viewed as pious or nationalist bias.

Family and death

In 1942, Trudel married Anne Chrétien, with whom he had three children. He married again in 1970, to Micheline D'Allaire, who was also a professor of history at the University of Ottawa. Trudel died at the age of 93 on January 11, 2011, of generalized cancer. He left his three children, plus six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Selected Honours

* 1964: J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal by the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

* 1966: Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction * 1966:

Ludger-Duvernay Prize The Ludger-Duvernay Prize is a Quebec award created in 1944 by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal to mark the merits of a person whose competence and influence in the literary field serve the best interests of the Quebec nation. The laureat ...

by the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...

* 1971: Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

Order of Canada * 1984: Sir John A. Macdonald Prize by the Canadian Historical Association / Société historique du Canada * 1985: Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

Ordre national du Québec : Marcel Trudel (1917-2011).
/ref> * 2001:

Prix Léon-Gérin The Prix Léon-Gérin is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, which "goes to researchers in one of the social sciences". It is named in honour of Léon Gérin. Winners See also * List of social sciences aw ...

* 2004: Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec * 2008: Companion of the Order of Canada

Works and publications

Trudel was a prolific author. He worked primarily in French, but some of his works also appeared in English, via translation.Marcel Trudel website: Books in English (1954-2002)
.

Works in French

1946-1949

* 1945: ''L'influence de Voltaire au Canada'', Montréal, Fides * 1946: ''Vézine : a novel'', Montréal, Fides * 1948: ''Collection de cartes anciennes et modernes pour servir à l'étude de l’histoire de l’Amérique et du Canada'', Québec, Institut d'histoire et de géographie de l'Université Laval * 1949: ''Louis XVI, le Congrès américain et le Canada, 1774-1789'', Québec, Éditions du Quartier Latin

1950-1959

* 1950: ''Lettres du Bas-Canada'', Montréal, L'Immaculée-Conception * 1952: ''Le Canada et la révolution américaine 1774-1789'', Québec, Presses Universitaires Laval * 1952: ''Histoire du Canada par les textes'' (with Guy Frégault and Michel Brunet), Montréal ; Paris, Fides * 1952: ''Le régime militaire dans le gouvernement des Trois-Rivières, 1760-1764'', Trois-Rivières, Éditions du bien public * 1953: ''L'Affaire Jumonville'', Québec, Presses Universitaires Laval * 1954: ''Le Séminaire de Québec sous le régime militaire, 1759-1764'', Québec : .n.* 1955: ''Chiniquy'', Trois-Rivières Éditions du Bien public * 1956: ''Champlain'', Montréal, Fides, collection « Classiques canadiens », revised edition, 1968 * 1956: ''Les communautés de femmes sous le régime militaire, 1759-1764'', Montréal, Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française, collection ''Les études'' * 1956: ''Le régime seigneurial'' / ''The Seigneurial Regime'', Ottawa, Société historique du Canada / Canadian Historical Association (published bilingually), revised edition, 1971 * 1956-1957: ''L'Église canadienne sous le Régime militaire, 1759-1764'', Montréal, Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française, collection ''Les études'', Volume I : ''Les problèmes'', 1956; Volume II : ''Les institutions'', 1957

1960-1969

* 1960: ''L'esclavage au Canada français ; histoire et conditions de l'esclavage'', Québec, Presses universitaires Laval * 1960: ''L'esclavage au Canada français'', Montréal, Éditions de l'Horizon (abridged edition) * 1961: ''Atlas historique du Canada français des origines à 1867'', Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval * 1963 to 1999: ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'', Montréal, Fides : ** Volume I : ''Les Vaines Tentatives, 1524-1603'', 1963 ** Volume II : ''Le Comptoir, 1604-1627'', 1966 (Winner of Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction, 1966) ** Volume III : ''La seigneurie des Cent-Associés, 1627-1663'' : *** Book I : ''Les évènements'', 1979 *** Book II : ''La société'', 1983 (Winner of Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, 1984) ** Volume X : ''Le régime militaire et la disparition de la Nouvelle-France, 1759-1964'', Montréal, Fides, 1999 * 1965: ''Histoire du Canada par les textes'' (with Guy Frégault and Michel Brunet) : tome 1 : ''(1534-1854)'', Montréal, Fides * 1966: '' Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. Volume premier, de l'an 1000 à 1700'' (Associate General Editor), Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval * 1968: ''Jacques Cartier'', Montréal, Fides * 1969: ''L'histoire du Canada ; enquête sur les manuels'' (with Genevieve Jain), within Studies of the

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (french: Commission royale d’enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme, also known as the Bi and Bi Commission and the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission) was a Canadian royal commissio ...

, Queen's Printer for Canada, 150 pages

1970-1979

* 1971: ''Initiation à la Nouvelle-France : histoire et institutions'', Montréal, Éditions HRW * 1972: ''Le Québec de 1663'', Québec, Société historique de Québec * 1973: ''Atlas de la Nouvelle-France'', Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval * 1973: ''La Population du Canada en 1663'', Montréal, Fides * 1973: ''Le Terrier du Saint-Laurent en 1663'', Ottawa, Éditions de l'Université d'Ottawa * 1974: ''Les débuts du régime seigneurial au Canada'', Montréal, Fides * 1976: ''La Révolution américaine : pourquoi la France refuse le Canada, 1775-1783'', Sillery, Boréal Express, 292 pages * 1976: ''Montréal : la formation d'une société, 1642-1663'', Montréal, Fides * 1978: ''La carte de Champlain en 1632 : ses sources et son originalité'', .l.s.n.

1980-1989

* 1983: ''Catalogue des immigrants, 1632-1662'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, 570 pages * ''Mémoires d'un autre siècle'', Montréal, Boréal, 320 pages (nominated for the 1987 Governor General's Literary Award, French Non-fiction)

1990-1993

* 1994: ''Dictionnaire des esclaves et de leurs propriétaires au Canada français'', LaSalle, Hurtubise HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'', 1994, 520 pages * 1995: ''La Population du Canada en 1666 : recensement reconstitué'', Sillery, Septentrion * 1995: ''La Présence des noirs dans la société québécoise d'hier et d’aujourd'hui'', Montréal Ministère des affaires internationales, de l'immigration et des communautés culturelles * 1997: ''La Seigneurie de la Compagnie des Indes occidentales, 1663-1674'', Saint-Laurent, Fides * 1998: ''Le Terrier du Saint-Laurent en 1674'', Montréal, Éditions du Méridien * 1999: ''Les écolières des Ursulines de Québec, 1639-1686 : Amérindiennes et Canadiennes'', Montréal, Hurtubise-HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'', 440 pages

2000-2005

* 2001: ''Chiniquy : prêtre catholique, ministre presbytérien'', Montréal, Lidec * 2001: ''Saint-Narcisse-de-Champlain : au pays de la Batiscan'', Saint-Narcisse, Mairie de Saint-Narcisse * 2001-2003: ''Les mythes et la réalité de notre histoire du Québec'', Saint-Laurent, Éditions du Club Québec loisirs * 2001-2010: ''Mythes et réalités dans l'histoire du Québec'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'' : ** Book I : 2001, 312 p., 14,61 x 22,86 cm ** Book II : 2004, 264 p. ** Book III : 2006, 208 p. . ** Book IV : 2009, 192 p. ** Book V : 2010, 200 p. * 2003: ''La Nouvelle-France par les textes : les cadres de vie'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'', 440 pages * 2004: ''Deux siècles d'esclavage au Québec'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, 408 pages ; updated 2009, by Micheline D'Allaire, including ''Dictionnaire des esclaves'' on CD-ROM, Bibliothèque québécoise * 2005: ''Connaître pour le plaisir de connaître : entretien avec l'historien Marcel Trudel sur la science historique et le métier d'historien au Québec'' (with Mathieu d'Avignon), Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval

Works in English

* 1954: "The Jumonville Affair", ''Pennsylvania History Quarterly Journal'' (1953), vol. 21, no. 4, 34 pages (originally published in French) * 1956: ''The Seigneurial Regime'' / ''Le régime seigneurial'', Ottawa, Canadian Historical Association / Société historique du Canada (published bilingually), revised edition, 1971 * 1967: ''Canada: Unity and Diversity'' (with P.G. Cornell, J. Hamelin, F. Ouellet), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Toronto, 530 pages. * 1968: ''Introduction to New France'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, 300 pages (condensed from the first volumes of ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'') * 1970: ''Canadian History Textbooks - A Comparative Study'' (with Genevieve Jain), within ''Studies of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism'', Queen's Printer for Canada, 150 pages * 1973: ''The Beginnings of New France 1524-1663'' (translated by Patricia Claxton), McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 324 pages, (Volume II of the Canadian Centenary Series) * 2002: ''Memoirs of a Less Travelled Road: A Historian's Life'', translation by

Jane Brierley Jane Brierley (born 1935) is a Canadian translator, translating from French to English. She received a B.A. from Bishop's University in 1956. During the early 1960s, while her husband was completing a degree at the University of Paris, Brierley ...

of his autobiography ''Mémoire d'un autre siècle'', Véhicule Press, 248 pages (winner of the

2003 Governor General's Awards The 2003 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (70 books) were announced October 20, the four children's literature winners announced and presented November 10, other winners announced and presented November 12. E ...

for French-to-English translation) * 2013: ''Canada's Forgotten Slaves: Two Hundred Years of Bondage'', translation by George Tombs of ''Deux siècles d'esclavage au Québec'', Véhicule Press,

References

External links

Marcel Trudel website: Home Page

Quebec historian put the facts before the church-approved version of the past
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' obituary, Feb. 3, 2011
Nele Sawallisch:
''Trudel’s Legacies: For a Critical Understanding of Slavery in Quebec'', Zeitschrift für Kanada-Studien, Wißner, Augsburg 2016 pp 86 – 101 {{DEFAULTSORT:Trudel, Marcel 1917 births 2011 deaths Deaths from cancer in Quebec Harvard University alumni 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Historians of Colonial North America Canadian writers in French Companions of the Order of Canada Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Academics in Quebec Historians from Quebec Université Laval alumni People from Mauricie Université Laval faculty Presidents of the Canadian Historical Association 21st-century Canadian historians