New France Intellectual Life

The intellectual life in

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 ...

can be characterized as having been dominated by the interests and pursuits of

Catholic 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 ...

clergy, military officers and

aristocrats Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

who dominated the political scene. Intellectual work of

is often concerned with themes and topics relating to native peoples,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, societal organization,

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

, military organization and transportation. At least a significant portion of intellectual work of in

was constructed for pragmatic reasons – often the result of exploratory expeditions or diplomatic relations. Figures such as

Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan Louis Armand, Baron de Lahontan (9 June 1666 – prior to 1716) served in the French military in Canada where he traveled extensively in the Wisconsin and Minnesota region and the upper Mississippi Valley. Upon his return to Europe he wrote an eno ...

have been quintessential in the creation of the concept of the so-called “noble-savage” in comparing aspects of aboriginal culture and society with those of

. Voyages commissioned by the government and Crown of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

would often serve as the basis of material for works on

and

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

–some of which have remained important volumes in the body of literature concerning North American colonial and Canadian history such as

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

’s ''Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle-France'' ;Notable Intellectuals: *Jaques Cartier: An early explorer and claimant of

known for his work "

Bref récit ''Bref.'' (stylized with a period; English: ''In short.'') is a French television series created by Kyan Khojandi, cowritten with Bruno Muschio, and produced by Harry Tordjman for My Box Productions. The first episode was released on Canal+ 29 Au ...

" *

: An officer in the French Marines in Canada, as well as an explorer and commentator on native society and

Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, S.J. ( la, Petrus Franciscus-Xaverius de Charlevoix; 24 or 29 October 1682 – 1 February 1761) was a French Jesuit priest, traveller, and historian, often considered the first historian of New France. He h ...

: A

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest, explorer and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

responsible for several works including ''Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle-France'' *

François Dollier de Casson François Dollier de Casson (1636 – 27 September 1701) was born in France into a wealthy bourgeois and military family. He began his adult life in the army which he left after three years to continue his studies and become a priest. After becom ...

: A

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

monk who contributed to the work " L'Histoire du Montréal" *

Nicolas Denys Nicolas Denys (1598? – 1688) was a French-born merchant, governor, author, and settler in New France. He founded settlements at St. Pierre (now St. Peter's, Nova Scotia), Ste. Anne (Englishtown, Nova Scotia) and Nepisiquit (Bathurst, New Bru ...

: A

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

explorer and colonist who wrote the ''Description Géographiqe et historique des costes de l’Amérique septentrionale, avec l’histoire naturelle du pais'' {{New France New France