Saint-François-du-Lac () is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

in the Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 1,957. It is located at the confluence of the

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...

and Saint-François rivers, at the edge of

Lac Saint-Pierre Lake Saint Pierre (; abe, Nebesek) is a lake in Quebec, Canada, a widening of the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières. It is located downstream, and northeast, of Montreal; and upstream, and southwest, of Quebec City. T ...

(hence its name, "Saint-François of the lake"). Saint-François-du-Lac faces the town of Pierreville across the Saint-François River. Quebec routes 132 and 143 intersect in the community and connect it to others.

History

Saint-François-du-Lac was founded as a French

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

mission village for converted

Abenaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...

and other native peoples during the colonial years. The community was called St.-Francois-de-Sales, after a French saint, or

Odanak Odanak is an Abenaki First Nations reserve in the Central Quebec region, Quebec, Canada. The mostly First Nations population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 481. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River at its confluenc ...

, the Abenaki name. Indians in the community included Abenaki and refugees from other tribes and the wars with English colonists in eastern New England. Particularly in the aftermath of

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, which devastated southern coastal tribes, warriors from Odanak participated in retaliation in many raids against English colonial settlements, sometimes in alliance with French military leaders. They brought back English captives, particularly women and children, who were sometimes ransomed to raise money, or adopted by the Abenaki or Mohawk in mission villages near Montreal. One of the first ''

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

s'' of Saint-François-du-Lac was Jean Crevier de Saint-François, who purchased the seigneury from his brother-in-law Pierre Boucher in 1673.

Father Rale's War

This was one name for the armed engagements between New England settlements of mostly English colonists and the Wabanaki Confederacy (specifically the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Abenaki), who were allied with New France. Indians fought from mission villages established by French priests along the northern border, which was in dispute between New England and New France through much of the 18th century.

Raids on Arrowsic (1722 and 1723)

During

Father Rale's War Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...

, on September 10, 1722, some 400 or 500 St. Francis (

Odanak, Quebec Odanak is an Abenaki First Nations reserve in the Central Quebec region, Quebec, Canada. The mostly First Nations population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 481. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River at its conflue ...

) and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

warriors attacked

Arrowsic, Maine Arrowsic is a New England town, town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population is 477 as of the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland–South Portland, Maine, South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, Bid ...

, in conjunction with Father Rale and Abenaki forces from Norridgewock, Maine. In the summer of 1723, the

Norridgewock Norridgewock was the name of both an Indigenous village and a band of the Abenaki ("People of the Dawn") Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The French of New France called the village Ke ...

and 250 Indian allies from St. Francis conducted a second attack against Arrowsic. After

fled to St. Francis from

Seven Years' War

During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

(also known as the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

in North America), the village and buildings of St. Francis were burned in an attack by

Rogers' Rangers Rogers' Rangers was a company of soldiers from the Province of New Hampshire raised by Major Robert Rogers and attached to the British Army during the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War). The unit was quickly adopted into the British army as ...

on October 4, 1759. This irregular British provincial force raided in Quebec. As a result of its defeat by Great Britain in this war, France ceded its territory in New France and east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain. After the devastation of the warfare, First Nations people gradually settled again in this area. The English referred to the village as St. Francis for many years. Years later Canada designated Odanak as an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

for

, next to the majority French-Canadian village of Saint-Francois-du-Lac, which historic name was restored. In the late 20th century, the national government made French an official language in the entire nation and further recognized ethnic French and Québecois interests.

Demographics

Population

Population trend:Statistics Canada:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

census (+) Amalgamation of the Parish and the Village of Saint-François-du-Lac on December 31, 1997.

Language

Mother tongue language (2006)2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec
/ref>

References

Gill family residents of St Francis
(reference only)

External links

(Google Maps)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Francois-du-Lac, Quebec Communities in Centre-du-Québec Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Centre-du-Québec Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River Catholic missions of New France Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality