Jacques-René de Brisay, Seigneur and Marquis de Denonville
Jacques-René de Brisay Denonville, Seigneur and Marquis de Denonville (1637-1710), was the governor-general of New France between 1685 and 1689.
Personal
Denonville was born at Denonville, France, December 10, 1637. In 1668, Denonville married Catherine Courtin, daughter of Germain Courtin, Seigneur de Tanqueux, Beauval, Moncel, etc., and of Catherine Laffemas. They had two daughters.
He was an officer in the royal army attaining the rank of colonel of a dragoons regiment prior to his colonial service.
Governor-General of New France
Denonville was appointed governor-general of New France in 1685 and arrived with his family at Québec, August 1, 1685. King Louis XIV had sent Denonville to address a renewed war with the Iroquois (see Beaver Wars) and continued encroachments into French territory by the English in both the north and the south. Upon his arrival, he ordered de Troyes to attack posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, at which de Troyes was successful eventually capturing all of them. To continue the war against the Iroquois, Denonville needed both French troops and a strong Indian alliance. France's Indian allies were necessary to make aggressive war on the Senecas and other Iroquois. On the other hand, Denonville discovered once he arrived that he did not have sufficient French troops for the task and requested more from the King. The following spring, Louis sent 800 naval recruits under the command of the Chevalier de Vaudreuil to assist. Hundreds of Ottawa, Huron, Miami, and Illinois warriors also joined Denonville at Fort Frontenac in early June 1687. With 2000 French soldiers and Indian warriors, Denonville destroyed many Seneca villages and nearly destroyed them as force. But as these attacks did not affect the other nations, Iroquois raids continued against New France throughout 1688 and 1689. In response, Denonville adopted a policy (for which he was later criticized) of removing all Iroquois prisoners to France as galley slaves.
Aside from his per-occupation with the military situation in New France, Denonville was the first governor-general to address health and social issues of the colony. He started a school of navigation in Quebec and rigorously enforced fair dealings in the fur trade, a policy which earned him rebuke from traders both at Montreal and in the pays den haut.
Despite taking precautions to strengthen the colony's defenses, disease and sickness struck hundreds of French soldiers. Over ten percent of the entire population of New France died of disease during 1688. With these losses and continued raids by the Iroquois, Denonville was forced to abandon the forward forts, especially Fort Frontenac which was burned to the ground by the retreating French troops in 1688.
Also, in 1688, Denonville faced increasing hostility from the British colonial governors as a prelude to King William's War. Behind the Iroquois attacks was New York Governor Thomas Dongan who constantly incited the Iroquois to violence against the French. Denonville tried to calm things through peace negotiations with the Iroquois, but the treachery Huron chief Tionnontate (who is sometimes called Kondiaronk, or the "Rat") foiled his plans. Also the governor of New England Sir Edmund Andros began a border dispute with Denonville resulting in the English attack on Fort Saint-Castin in 1688.
In August 1689, the Iroquois mounted a massive count-attack against New France. About 1500 warriors attacked settlements around Montreal in the La Chine Massacre and killed over 200 settlers. Because of the La Chine Massacre, Denonville was recalled to France and replace him with Comte de Frontenac. Denonville, despite his military training and leadership, was regarded by merchants and historians as being wholly inept at dealing with the Indian attacks.
Retirement
Both Louis XIV and Minister of the Marine Seignelay were satisfied with his leadership as governor-general despite the great losses in the La Chine Massacre. Denonville was promoted to major-general and allowed to continue his military career. In 1690, he was appointed deputy-governor to the Duc d’Anjou, and in 1693 for Charles de France, Duc de Berry. The Marquis died at his château in Denonville, France, September 22, 1710, and was buried in his château's chapel.
Sources
- Marsh, James. "Jacques-René de Brisay Denonville, Marquis de." The Canadian Encyclopedia Historica-Dominion, 2011.
- Dionne, Narcisse. "Seigneur and Marquis de Denonville." The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 4 (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908).
- Eccles, W. J., "Brisay de Denonville, Jacques-René de, Marquis de Denonville", Dictionary of Canadian Biography (Toronto: University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2000).