After the predations of Frontenac and Cadillac, New France could be forgiven for looking for an honest man; in Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville et d’Ardillères it almost found one. In career characterized by ruthlessness and fleeing Englishmen, Iberville’s military success in the Hudson Bay, New York, Newfoundland, Louisiana, and the West Indies covered a multitude […]
Tag: Hudson Bay Company
Radisson’s Voyages and Samuel Pepys
It would seem that my corner of the internet is all a flurry with the concluding entry this week of Samuel Pepys’ Diary, lovingly recreated for a digital world by Phil Gyford at pepysdiary.com. Pepys kept a diary from 1 January 1600 to 31 May 1669, stopping to preserve his eyesight. It is one of […]
Radisson’s account of extreme nature
Montreal has been reminded of the power of nature. This Tuesday, summer was interrupted with a downpour which flooded basements, transformed tunnels into rivers, sewers into geysers and elevators into waterfalls. Canada, of course, is not unknown for its extreme weather, but it is never more extreme than in winter, and during the winter of […]
