Maple History: A Canadian History Podcast

It is a battle for survival between D'Aulnay's forces and Françoise and La Tour's embattled garrison. This episode is a story of betrayal, bravery, and ambition that brings us an early Canadian heroine we will never forget. Books:Faragher, John Mack. A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.MacDonald, M. A. Fortune and La Tour: The Civil War in Acadia. Agincourt, ON: Methuen Publications, 1983.Trudel, Marcel. The Beginnings of New France, 1524–1663. Translated by Patricia Claxton. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1973.Magazine Articles:Poizner, Susan. “The Lioness of Acadia.” The Beaver (Canada’s History Magazine), February–March 2007, 36–41.Pelchat, André. “Private War Over Acadia.” Beaver (Canada’s History) 80, no. 6 (December 2000–January 2001): 8–11.Journal Article:Henneton, Lauric. “‘Fear of Popish Leagues’: Religious Identities and the Conduct of Frontier Diplomacy in Mid-17th-Century Northeastern America.” New England Quarterly 89, no. 3 (September 2016): 356–83.Dictionary of Canadian Biography Entries:Ryder, Huia, and ———. “Biencourt de Saint-Just, Charles de.” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed November 18, 2025. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/biencourt_de_saint_just_charles_de_1E.html.MacBeath, George. “Jacquelin, Françoise (Françoise-Marie).” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed November 18, 2025. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/jacquelin_francoise_marie_1E.html.Baudry, René. “Menou d’Aulnay, Charles de.” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed November 18, 2025. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/menou_d_aulnay_charles_de_1E.html.To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles St Etienne de La Tour had lived in Acadia since he was a teenager and had been working to build this nascent French colony when another man, Charles de Menou d'Aulnay Charnize came with ambitions and an ego. These rival ambitions would slowly grow into full antagonism and then violence. Books:Faragher, John Mack. A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.MacDonald, M. A. Fortune and La Tour: The Civil War in Acadia. Agincourt, ON: Methuen Publications, 1983.Trudel, Marcel. The Beginnings of New France, 1524–1663. Translated by Patricia Claxton. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1973.Magazine Articles:Poizner, Susan. “The Lioness of Acadia.” The Beaver (Canada’s History Magazine), February–March 2007, 36–41.Pelchat, André. “Private War Over Acadia.” Beaver (Canada’s History) 80, no. 6 (December 2000–January 2001): 8–11.Journal Article:Henneton, Lauric. “‘Fear of Popish Leagues’: Religious Identities and the Conduct of Frontier Diplomacy in Mid-17th-Century Northeastern America.” New England Quarterly 89, no. 3 (September 2016): 356–83.Dictionary of Canadian Biography Entries:Ryder, Huia, and ———. “Biencourt de Saint-Just, Charles de.” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed November 18, 2025. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/biencourt_de_saint_just_charles_de_1E.html.MacBeath, George. “Jacquelin, Françoise (Françoise-Marie).” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed November 18, 2025. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/jacquelin_francoise_marie_1E.html.Baudry, René. “Menou d’Aulnay, Charles de.” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed November 18, 2025. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/menou_d_aulnay_charles_de_1E.html.To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The English had made progress with colonization in North America but they had eyes on Quebec too. In 1629 they made their move and things went terribly for the French colonists and Champlain over the next few years. Sources:Champlain's Dream by David Hackett FischerThe Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerCrosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark BourrieA Great and Noble Scheme by John Mack FaragherTo support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Jesuits came to Quebec on a mission in 1625 to save souls and not to make friends. Champlain's Dream by David Hackett FischerThe Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerHuron Wendat: The Heritage of the Circle by George E. SiouiThe Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America - edited with an introduction by Allan GreerThe Jesuit Relations: A Biography by Micah TrueCrosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark BourrieTo support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some familiar faces return to Acadia where they are welcomed back by the Mi'kmaq but new people join the colony and it does not go well.Sources:John Mack Faragher, A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from their American Homeland. 2005Thorp, D. B. (1996). Equals of the King: The Balance of Power in Early Acadia. Acadiensis, 25(2), 3. Retrieved from University of New Brunswick | UNB. Wachtel, J. R. (2021). “A ‘Bon François’ Desirous of the Glory of the King”: Intra-Catholic Anti-Jesuitism and the Collapse of the Port Royal Mission, 1610-1613. Acadiensis, 49(2). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/31555To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) got a shocking introduction to Europeans in 1609 when Champlain joined a raid into Haudenosaunee territory but they were quick to learn how to seek out other European allies for their benefit. When the Dutch arrived they sought out a trade relationship but so did the Mahican who also lived in the same area as some of the Mohawk. This episode will discuss the early days of the Dutch colony in New York and their relationship with the Haudenosaunee.Sources:BooksChamplain's Dream by David Hackett FischerThe Ambiguous Iroquois Empire by Francis JenningsThe Edge of the Woods by Jon ParmenterThe Ordeal of the Longhouse by Daniel K. RichterJournal ArticlesParmenter, Jon. 2013. “The Meaning of Kaswentha and the Two Row Wampum Belt in Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) History: Can Indigenous Oral Tradition Be Reconciled with the Documentary Record?” Journal of Early American History 3 (1): 82–109. https://doi.org/10.1163/18770703-00301005Parmenter, Jon. “In the Wake of Cartier: The Indigenous Context of Champlain’s Activities in the St. Lawrence Valley and Upper Great Lakes, 1550–1635.” In When the French Were Here—and They’re Still Here, edited by Nancy Nahra, 88–104. Burlington, VT: Champlain College, 2010.Carpenter, Roger. “Making War More Lethal: Iroquois vs Huron in the Great Lakes Region, 1609-1650.” Michigan Historical Review 27, no. 2 (Fall 2001): 33-51.To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Champlain is back and forth between France and Canada as he tries to find his way into the well established trade and kinship networks of the Wendat. He also gets married and his choice of bride isn't great.Sources:Champlain's Dream by David Hackett FischerThe Making of Canada: An Epic History in Twenty Extraordinary Lives by Greg KoabelThe Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerJournal Article:Carpenter, Roger. “Making War More Lethal: Iroquois vs. Huron in the Great Lakes Region, 1609 to 1650.” Michigan Historical Review 27, no. 2 (Fall 2001): 33–51. DOI: 10.2307/20173927 Fox, William "“It’s not personal, it’s strictly business”: Historical Accounts and Archaeological Evidence Concerning an Early-Seventeenth Century Partnership". Ontario History 115, no. 1 (2023) : 99–113. https://doi.org/10.7202/1098786arVz0lQfjLWWlvGgNioZybTo support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*This episodes contains a detailed account of torture.Champlain steps dramatically into a complex world of ancient kinship networks, complex diplomacy, and a long simmering war when he founds the city of Quebec in 1608. He finally meets the powerful Wendat people and assists them and their allies in a famous battle against the Haundenosaunee in the heart of Mohawk territory.Sources:Champlain's Dream by David Hackett FischerThe Making of Canada: An Epic History in Twenty Extraordinary Lives by Greg KoabelThe Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerJournal Article:Carpenter, Roger. “Making War More Lethal: Iroquois vs. Huron in the Great Lakes Region, 1609 to 1650.” Michigan Historical Review 27, no. 2 (Fall 2001): 33–51. DOI: 10.2307/20173927 To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at the Beothuk people in this episode from their ancient beginnings on the island of Newfoundland to their demise through disease, starvation, and murder. It is a tragic story of the effects of colonization on a small population on an unforgiving land.SourcesBooks:Beothuk: How Story Made a People (Almost) Disappear by Christopher Patrick AylwardA History and Ethnography of the Beothuk by Ingeborg MarshallThe Mi'kmaq: Resistance, Acommodation, and Cultural Survival by Harald E.L. PrinsJournal Articles:Pastore, R. (1989). The Collapse of the Beothuk World. Acadiensis, 19(1), 52. Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/12292Gilbert, W. (2011). Beothuk-European Contact in the 16th Century:: A Re-evaluation of the Documentary Evidence. Acadiensis, 40(1), 24–44.Holly, Donald H. “The Beothuk on the Eve of Their Extinction.” Arctic Anthropology 37, no. 1 (2000): 79–95. doi:10.2307/40316519.Online:Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador (Several pages on this site)To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we explore the early French attempts to settle in what would become Acadia, from Saint Croix to the more promising shores of Port-Royal. Who were the people who came? What were they hoping for? And how did they survive in a land already home to the Mi’kmaq? Join us as we discuss the story of one of the first European settlements in what is now Canada and the important relationship between those a settlers and the Mi'kmaq. Support us on PatreonSources:John Mack Faragher, A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from their American Homeland. 2005David Hackett Fischer, Champlain's Dream. 2008Daniel N. Paul, We Were Not The Savages 4th Ed, 2022Marcel Trudel, The Beginnings of New France 1524-1663. 1973To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There had been a few men with colonial ambitions from France but they had all ended in failure. Champlain starts his colonial career as an observer ready to learn some lessons from his predecessors. Maple History PatreonSources:Champlain's Dream by David Hacket FischerColonialism and Capitalism: Canada's Origins 1500-1890 vol.1 by Bryan D. PalmerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerThe Beginnings of New France 1524-1663 by Marcel TrudelTo support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is a discussion of the violence in both the Wendat world and Europe. We will be talking about the Mourning Wars between the Wendat and Haudenosaunee and the scale of the violence of the wars waged in Europe. To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval's story of being marooned on an island off of Newfoundland in 1542 is something that amazes everyone who hears it but she keeps getting shunted to a footnote in the story of the early colonization of Canada.Gordon, Alan. The Hero and the Historian: Historiography and the Uses of Jacques Cartier. Toronto: UBC Press, 2010.Trudel, Marcel, The Beginnings of New France, 1524-1663. Translated by Patricia Claxon. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1973.Rezvani, Leanna Bridge. “Nature and Nourishment, Bodies and Beasts: The Heptaméron’s Portrayal of Marguerite de Roberval’s Marooning.” Dalhousie French Studies 102 (Summer 2014): 3-7.R. La Roque de Roquebrune, “LA ROQUE, MARGUERITE DE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed June 1, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/la_roque_marguerite_de_1E.html.Hernáez Lerena, María Jesús. 1997. “Surviving the Metaphorical Condition in *Elle: Douglas Glover’s Impersonation of the First French Female in Canada.” Historia y GrafíaTo support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Between when Cartier and Champlain arrived in North America, the St. Lawrence Iroquois ‘disappeared’. Where did they go and why did they go? Maybe we should ask the Basques.The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerGates St-Pierre, Christian. (2016). Iroquoians in the St. Lawrence River Valley before European Contact. Ontario Archaeology. 96. 47-64. “When and Where Did the St. Lawrence Iroquoians and  the North Shore of Lake Ontario Iroquoians Go and Why?  The Huron-Wendat Perspective by Louis Lesage and Ronald F. Williamson.” Ontario Archaeology, 2020.Steckley, John (2016). "St. Lawrence Iroquoians among the Wendat: Linguistic Evidence" (PDF). Ontario Archaeology.Warrick, G., & Lesage, L. (2016). The Huron-Wendat and the St. Lawrence Iroquoians: New Findings of a Close Relationship. Ontario Archaeology, 96, 134-144.Loewen, Brad. 2023. Sea Change: Indigenous Navigation and Relations with Basques around the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, c.1500-1700. In Before Canada: Northern North America in a Connected World, edited by Allan Greer, p. 109-153. Queens-McGill University Press, Kingston, Montréal.To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All but one of Cartier's kidnapped Stadaconans have died but he's ready to make his third voyage back to Canada. This time he's second in command to Roberval and, let's just say, they don't make a great team.Further reading:Jacques Cartier, The Voyages of Jacques Cartier, edited by Ramsay Cook (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993). In particular the introduction is very helpful - "Donnacona Discovers Europe: Rereading Jacques Cartier's Voyages" by Ramsay CookMarcel Trudel, The Beginnings of New France 1524-1663, 1973.To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A fateful meeting between two worlds where some bold kidnapping starts off this relationship between Donnacona and Cartier.Sources:Trigger, Bruce. The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1987.Trigger, Bruce. Natives and Newcomers: Canada’s “Heroic Age” Reconsidered. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002.Cartier, Jacques, 1491-1557, and Ramsay Cook. The Voyages of Jacques Cartier. University of Toronto Press, 2017. Trudel, Marcel, The Beginnings of New France, 1524-1663. Translated by Patricia Claxon. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1973.Gordon, Alan. The Hero and the Historian: Historiography and the Uses of Jacques Cartier. Toronto: UBC Press, 2010.To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An exploration of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy including a close look at the Sky Woman story and The Great Law of Peace.Sources:Johansen, Bruce Elliott, and Barbara Alice Mann, editors. Encyclopedia of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy). Greenwood Press, 2000Mann, Barbara A. and Jerry L. Fields. 1997. “A Sign in the Sky: Dating the League of the Haudenosaunee.” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 21 (2): 93-132.The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce TriggerNatives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered by Bruce TriggerThe Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia 1534-1701 by Jon ParmenterThe Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization by Daniel K. RichterThe Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy by William N. FentonTo support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A closer look at the spirituality, cultural norms, The Feast of the Dead burial ritual, and overall society of the Wendat Confederacy. Be warned that there is some discussion of torture and somewhat graphic descriptions of how death rituals were carried out. For further reading: Dispersed But Not Destroyed by Kathryn Magee LabelleIf you really want to go deep into the history of the Wendat people, you can read The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce G. Trigger. It also works as a doorstop when you finish with it. It is great, but a huge book. To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cross country tour of the historical Indigenous nations in what is now Canada.Sources:Alan D. McMillan & Eldon Yellowhorn, First People in Canada 3rd EdCarolyn Podruchny, “Trickster Lessons in Early Canadian Indigenous CommunitiesIngeborg Marshall, A History and Ethnography of the Beothuk. 1996Dale Jarvis, “Exploring the Legend of Sedna”, Inside Labrador, Summer 2018To support the show consider signing up for the PatreonFollow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPodFollow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.