''The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth Century'' is the second volume in

Francis Parkman Francis Parkman Jr. (September 16, 1823 – November 8, 1893) was an American historian, best known as author of '' The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life'' and his monumental seven-volume '' France and England in North Am ...

's seven-volume history, '' France and England in North America'', originally published in 1867. It tells the story of the French Jesuit missionaries in Canada, then

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 Spa ...

, starting from their arrival in 1632. The book was re-published in 1912 by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. It was republished in 1983, along with the other six volumes, in a two-volume unabridged version with notes by David Levin (

Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published over 300 volumes by authors rang ...

). The Little, Brown edition was reprinted by Bison Books,

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

in 1997 with a new

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

by Conrad Heidenreich and José António Brandão.

Composition and Sources

The book is largely sourced from the writings of François Le Mercier, a principal member of the Jesuit mission to

who held the title of Rector at the Jesuit college in Quebec and the General Superior of the missions in New France from 1653 to 1656 and again from 1665 to 1671 when he was appointed procurator and primary of the Jesuit college in Quebec which he held for a year before returning to France. Le Mercier left a large amount of records, most included in the series Relations of the Jesuits. They consist of letters or extracts of letters, as well as short stories or parts of stories from his hand. Other sources and background information are drawn from a range of French letters and articles from the era as well as historical documents. The book refers often to the writings of French explorer Samuel de Champlain who was the first to explore New France and encounter the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

people.

External links

''The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth Century''
at Project Gutenberg * 1867 books 19th-century history books History books about New France Jesuit history in North America Catholic missions of New France History books about Catholicism 17th century in North America History books about Canada {{Canada-hist-book-stub