National Library News
September 1998
Vol. 30, no. 9



From the Rare Book Collection...

by Michel Brisebois,
Rare Book Librarian, Research and Information Services

France. Louis XIV. Louis Par la Grâce de Dieu Roy de France...Donné à Paris le vingt-cinquième jour de Février, l’an de grace mil six cents cinquante-un [Paris ?: 1651]. Broadside, 46.5 x 37.5 cm

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By the present letters patent, the King of France confirms Charles de Saint-Etienne de La Tour in the government and possession of Acadia. To understand the importance of this document, it is necessary to summarize the historical context. In 1610, La Tour arrived in Acadia with his father and a group of settlers led by Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt. There, he was involved in the lucrative fur trade. Taking charge of the colony in 1623, he successfully defended it against the English even after the capitulation of Quebec in 1629. In 1631, Louis XIII named him governor and lieutenant-general of the king. At the signing of the treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1632, France recovered Canada and Acadia and appointed Isaac de Razilly governor of Acadia. He seems to have been able to share authority and territory with La Tour quite successfully. When Razilly died in 1635, Charles de Menou d’Aulnay was sent to Acadia to protect the family’s interests. He immediately locked horns with La Tour. Between 1635 and 1645, the history of Acadia was dominated by this civil war, as described in a number of accounts written by followers of one or the other protagonist. Eventually, d’Aulnay overpowered his rival, and La Tour, accused of treason, was persona non grata at the French court. Following d’Aulnay’s death in 1650, La Tour went to France to plead his case. The inquiry which followed exonerated him, and the king granted him a pardon. By the document presented here, Louis XIV and the queen regent named La Tour governor of Acadia and restored his possessions to him. La Tour died in Acadia in 1666.

Most of the French royal administration’s acts concerning Canada have been located and described by bibliographers. These refer to the letters patent only in the version published in the Mémoires des Commissaires du Roi et de ceux de sa Majesté britannique sur les possessions et les droits respectifs des deux couronnes en Amérique (Paris, 1755). No-one has located a copy of the original edition described here.

This document, which is of great significance for the history of New France and of the utmost rarity, was acquired recently from a European book dealer through the generosity of the Friends of the National Library of Canada.


Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1998-09-15).