Josué Dubois Berthelot de Beaucours (ca 1662 – May 9, 1750) was a military officer 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 Spa ...

, chief engineer of Canada and governor of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. He was also known as Jean-Maurice-Josué. The son of Jacques-Hyacinthe Dubois Berthelot and Péronelle de Magnan, he was born in the chateau de Bois Berthelot at Canihuel in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and joined the French navy at the age of 20. In 1684, he was named midshipman. In 1687, he was discharged from the naval service and, the following year, became a lieutenant in the colonial regular troops of Canada. In 1689, he was charged with improving the defences of the town of Trois-Rivières due to the threat of attacks by 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 ...

. In 1692, Beaucours led a successful expedition against the Iroquois. Later that year, he drew up plans for the fortification of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

against a possible English attack. He was subsequently given the post of engineer. In 1701, he was promoted to captain and, in 1702, went to work on forts in the Montreal area. In 1704 and 1705, he led a group of 120 men which took part in an expedition against the English in Newfoundland that culminated in the Siege of St. John's. On his return, Beaucours continued to work on fortifications at Montreal and Quebec City and, in 1712, he was awarded the cross of Saint-Louis and named chief engineer for Canada. Beaucours married Marie-Angélique Denys de La Ronde in 1713. In 1715, he was named chief engineer for the French colony on

Île Royale The Salvation Islands (french: Îles du Salut, so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland; sometimes mistakenly called Safety Islands) are a group of small islands of volcano, volcanic origin about off the coa ...

and, in 1717, became king's lieutenant of Île Royale. In 1730, he became governor of Trois-Rivières. Beaucours served in that post until 1733, when he was named governor of Montreal. He retired in 1748. Beaucours died in Montreal two years later. During his life he owned 11 slaves.

Legacy

Beaucours street in Sherbrooke was named in his honour. Les Maisons de Beaucours in

Old Quebec Old Quebec (french: Vieux-Québec) is a historic neighbourhood of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Comprising the Upper Town (french: Haute-Ville) and Lower Town (french: Basse-Ville), the area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Administratively, Old ...

were also named after Beaucours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubois Berthelot de Beaucours, Josue Year of birth uncertain 1750 deaths People from Côtes-d'Armor People of New France Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Governors of Montreal 18th-century Canadian politicians