François Vaillant de Gueslis (20 July 1646 – 24 September 1718) was a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionary, born in

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, on 1 December 1675.Melançon, Arthur. "François Vaillant de Gueslis." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 14 January 2018 He attempted to convert the

Mohawks The Mohawk, also known by their own name, (), are an Indigenous people of North America and the easternmost nation of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the Five Nations or later the Six Nations). Mohawk are an Iroquoi ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

between 1679 and 1684. In the beginning of 1688 he was chosen by the Canadian authorities as ambassador to

Thomas Dongan Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715) was an Irish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1683 to 1688. He called the first representative legislature in the Province o ...

, the

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, that Dongan might facilitate peace between the French and the Iroquois, but negotiations were not fruitful due to Dongan's conditions and the opposition of the Huron chief Kondiaronk.Campeau,Lucien. “Vaillant de Gueslis, François”, ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 2, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–
/ref> He was also the first missionary to work among the Native Americans in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

; but he remained only a few months, not entering into the plans of

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac (, ; March 5, 1658October 16, 1730), born Antoine Laumet, was a French explorer and adventurer in New France, which stretched from Eastern Canada to Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico. He rose from a modest beg ...

. After the conclusion of peace between the French and the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

he attempted to convert the

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from 1702 to 1707. There he contributed not a little to defeat the efforts of Colonel Schuyler at

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 capit ...

who was trying to induce the Five Nations to drive out the French missionaries. The two principal scenes of his missionary zeal in Canada were Quebec and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. At Quebec (1685–91; 1697–1702), he filled the important posts of minister; procurator of the mission, and preacher, and at Montreal (1692–96; 1709–15), he was the first superior of the residence established by the Jesuits in 1693. He returned to France in 1715. He died in Moulins in 1718.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaillant De Gueslis, Francois 1646 births 1718 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits 18th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada Jesuit missionaries in New France