Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville
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Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville (10 December 1637 – 22 September 1710) was
Governor General of New France Governor General of New France was the vice-regal post in New France from 1663 until 1760, and it was the last French vice-regal post. It was replaced by the British post of Governor of the Province of Quebec following the fall of New France. ...
from 1685 to 1689 and was a key figure in the
Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...
. Replacing Joseph Antoine de LaBarre in 1685, he arrived in New France on 1 August 1685. Denonville set out to make
King Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
proud. The
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
Confederacy had been a nuisance for half a century, hampering New France's efforts to establish itself as a profitable
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
. Although
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 ...
and
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
were at peace, in June 1686, Denonville sent Sieur de Troyes north from
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
with a hundred men (most likely the French Marines in Canada, to capture the English fur trading posts on
Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
. The victory was swift and profitable; word of the French attack would not reach the English for months. Denonville then set out with a well-organized force to
Fort Frontenac Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in July 1673 at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario (at what is now the western end of the La Salle Causeway), in a location tradition ...
, where they met with the 50 hereditary
sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
s of the Iroquois Confederacy from their
Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...
council fire. These 50 chiefs constituted the entire decision-making strata of the Iroquois. They had been lulled into meeting under a flag of truce. Denonville seized, chained, and shipped the 50 Iroquois chiefs to
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France, to be used as
galley slaves A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar ('' French'': galérien), or a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing. In the ancient Mediterranea ...
. In 1687, Denonville launched a well-organized campaign against the
Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...
s. The expedition left Montreal on June 13, 1687 and consisted of 832 colonial regulars, over 900 Canadian militia, and some 400 Indian allies. They traveled by water in 200 batteaux and 200 canoes.
Louis-Henri de Baugy, Chevalier de Baugy Louis-Henri de Baugy, Chevalier de Baugy (died 1720) was from a noble family of France and came to New France as a member of the party of Joseph-Antoine de La Barre, who was replacing Buade de Frontenac as Governor General. Chevalier de Baugy ar ...
accompanied the force, and kept a journal of his experiences. The force landed at
Irondequoit Bay Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end. On average, the surface of I ...
, built a palisade to protect the boats, and on July 12 began the march to
Ganondagan Ganondagan State Historic Site, (pronounced ga·NON·da·gan) also known as Boughton Hill, is a Native American historic site in Ontario County, New York in the United States. Location of the largest Seneca village of the 17th century, the site ...
. On July 13, the French were attacked by a Seneca force of 800, but after a short engagement "they soon resolved to fly." Denonville described the French casualties as 5 or 6 killed and 20 wounded, while the Seneca casualties were 45 killed and 60 wounded. Upon arrival at the village on the 14th, "we found it burned" and a nearby fort abandoned. A vast quantity of hogs were killed, and 1.2 million bushels of stored and standing corn were destroyed. The force then turned west and destroyed the village of
Totiakton Totiakton was a town of the Seneca Nation located in the present-day town of Mendon, New York. It is located "on the northernmost bend of Honeoye outlet" two miles from the current village of Honeoye Falls. The Seneca name for the town was ''De ...
(now in the town of Mendon) before subsequently returning to their boats at Irondequoit. The Seneca material losses were replaced thereafter and new villages were formed. Before Denonville returned his forces to New France, he travelled down the shore of
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
and created
Fort Denonville Fort Denonville was a French fort built in 1688 at the current site of Fort Niagara. It replaced Fort Conti which had been built on the site in 1679 and had burned later that year. The fort was located at the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake ...
at the site where the
Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...
meets Lake Ontario. This site was previously used by La Salle for a fort named
Fort Conti Fort Conti was built in early 1679 at the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake Ontario as a post for the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Because of the fort's location, the French hoped to control the fur trade in the lo ...
from 1678 to 1679, and was later used for
Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...
, which still exists. Denonville then asked the King for more men to combat the
Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
, who were in a constant guerrilla warfare with the
Canadien French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
settlements. With a coalition forming against
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 ...
, no more troops could be spared for
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 ...
. In 1688, hostilities between England and France resumed and the Iroquois were informed of this. Denonville proposed to assault New York by land and sea and requested to be recalled to France due to sickness. Frontenac was sent with an expedition that left La Rochelle but did not reach Québec until mid-October.France in America, W. J. Eccles, Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, pp 94-95 In the meantime, Iroquois warriors struck the Canadien settlements near Montreal. Fifty-six farms were destroyed and more than a hundred Canadiens were killed or captured. Denonville had his regulars dispersed to towns across the land, attempting to protect the homes and families of the Canadien. Forts were abandoned. The Iroquois destroyed farmsteads and whole families were slaughtered or captured. On August 4, 1689, Lachine, a small town adjacent to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, was burned to the ground. Fifteen hundred Iroquois warriors had been harassing
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
defences for many months prior. Denonville's tenure was followed by the return of Frontenac, who replaced Denonville as governor for the next nine years (1689–1698). Frontenac had been arranging a new plan of attack to mitigate the effects of the Iroquois in North America and realized the true danger the imprisonment of the sachems created. He located the 13 surviving leaders, and they returned with him to New France in October 1698. When Denonville had returned to France, the king continued to show his confidence in Jacques-René by appointing him a tutor to the children of the royal household.


Anniversary medal

A medal commemorating the 250th anniversary of the 1687 Denonville Expedition was created by the Rochester Numismatic Association in 1937. The medal obverse has an image of the Marquis de Denonville while the medal reverse shows the timeline and path of the expedition.


See also

*
Henri de Tonti Henri de Tonti (''né'' Enrico Tonti; – September 1704), also spelled Henri de Tonty, was an Italian-born French military officer, explorer, and ''voyageur'' who assisted René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, with North American explora ...


References

*
William J. Eccles William John Eccles (July 17, 1917 – October 2, 1998) was a Canadian historian and academic, specialising in the history of New France. Early life and education Born in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England, his family immigrated to Canada in ...
,
Brisay de Denonville, Jacques-René de, Marquis de Denonville
, ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (Toronto: University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2000).
''the Canadian Encyclopedia - Biography''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denonville, Jacques-Rene de Brisay, Marquis de 1637 births 1710 deaths French explorers Governors of New France 17th-century Canadian politicians