Michel Bégon de la Picardière (21 March 1667 – 18 January 1747)R. M. Dipanda.
Black Race, Who Are You?: Great Black Race Chronoholocaust Cataclysm
'. Xlibris US; 28 January 2018. . p. 458–. was an early administrator in charge of the French colony 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 ...

, in what is now the province of

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 ...

, Canada.

Early life

Bégons was born into a French family with a history of service to the King of France in fiscal and judicial matters. His father, Michel V Bégon, was intendant of the port of Rochefort from 1688 to 1710.
The Memoir of Lieutenant Dumont, 1715–1747: A Sojourner in the French Atlantic
'. UNC Press Books; 19 November 2013. . p. 74–.
Iroquoisie: 1688-1701
'. Les éditions du Septentrion; 1998. . p. 43–.

Career

Bégon was appointed to serve as the

intendant of New France The Intendant of New France was an administrative position in the French colony of New France. He controlled the colony's entire civil administration. He gave particular attention to settlement and economic development, and to the administration of ...

in 1710. However, he, his new wife Jeanne-Élisabeth de Beauharnois de La Boische, and his brother Claude-Michel sailed for the colony in 1712.Marcel Moussette.
Le site du Palais de l'intendant à Québec: genèse et structuration d'un lieu urbain
'. Les éditions du Septentrion; 1994. . p. 218–. He replaced the co-intendants,

Antoine-Denis Raudot Antoine-Denis Raudot (1679 in Versailles, France – 28 July 1737). He was the co-intendant of New France from 1705 to 1710, along with Jacques Raudot, his father. Raudot's term as intendant of New France was the beginning of a long and distingui ...

and

Jacques Raudot Jacques Raudot (1638 - 20 February 1728, Paris) was the co-Intendant of New France between 1705 and 1710 with his son Antoine-Denis Raudot. In 1709 Raudot issued an ordinance to clarify whether individuals could legally own slaves, in New Fran ...

and held the position from 1712–1726.Mélinda Wilson.
Fleurs comestibles: du jardin à la table
'. Les Editions Fides; 2007. . p. 48–. During his tenure he conducted a laissez-faire approach to governing the settlement's entrepreneurs. There are indications that he carried out questionable dealings in wheat and other agricultural products during his early years, using his position and the

card money Card money is a type of fiat money printed on plain cardboard or playing cards, which was used at times as currency in several colonies and countries (including Dutch Suriname, Dutch Guiana, New France, and France) from the 17th century to the ea ...

system to enrich himself. Many of his letters and reports to the government of France have been preserved; they show him to have been an avid naturalist, and included plans and suggestions for making the colony more self-sufficient. One of these suggestions was the introduction of slavery. The last three years of his service as intendant were unexpected, as one successor died at sea before the new intendent,

Claude-Thomas Dupuy Claude-Thomas Dupuy (10 December 1678 – 15 September 1738) was from Paris, France, where he followed the family's path of upward mobility and prepared himself for a career in law. His good fortunes regarding his career were recognized in the ...

, arrived. Upon the arrival of his replacement, Bégon left almost immediately for France where he continued his career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begon, Michel 1667 births 1747 deaths Intendants of New France

Early life

Career

See also

References