Audiobook · read by volunteers
Chronicles of Canada Volume 06 - The Great Intendant: A Chronicle of Jean Talon in Canada 1665-1672
Thomas Chapais (1858–1946)
Read by J. M. Smallheer, John Rose, Esther, Jc Guan, Robin Cotter, Kevin McAsh · 9 chapters · 2 h 55
About the book
In 1665, the colony of New France was weak and half-forgotten, its farms were thin and its settlers lived in fear of Iroquois raids. Then a new intendant arrived from France. Jean Talon was a skilled administrator with plenty of energy, and he set to work to build the colony from the ground up: he encouraged families to settle, supported trade and industry, and worked with the military commander to bring the Iroquois to terms. The chapters cover the state of the colony, the Sovereign Council, Talon's dealings with the clergy and his last efforts. Thomas Chapais tells his story in a vivid narrative that follows the intendant through his years in the colony, from 1665 to 1672. Six volunteer readers share this short book in nine chapters, in about three hours. It is a compact and readable chapter in the story of a young colony.
Introduction
Thomas Chapais lived from 1858 to 1946. He was a Canadian historian and politician from Quebec, and one of the most respected writers on the history of New France. He wrote at length about Jean Talon, and the book heard here belongs to the series Chronicles of Canada, which presented episodes of the country's past in a readable form for a general public. The sixth volume of that series is the one recorded here.
The Chronicles of Canada series was edited in the early twentieth century and intended to make the history of the country available to every reader. Each volume dealt with a single theme or person, and the authors were often leading scholars. In this volume, Chapais describes the state of the colony in 1665, the arrival of the troops and of the royal officials, the campaigns against the Iroquois and the efforts of Talon to promote agriculture, population and trade. The chapter titles themselves, from 'A Colonial Colbert' to 'Talon and the Clergy', show how wide his concerns were.
This LibriVox recording lasts about three hours and is divided into 9 chapters. It is read by six volunteers. It will be useful for anyone interested in Canadian history or in the early days of European settlement in North America, and it offers a lively portrait of one of the colony's most energetic officials.
Chapais writes with evident sympathy for the colony and its officials, and a modern listener should keep that in mind. Even so, the account gives a clear picture of how a small outpost was shaped by a few determined people, and the short chapters make it easy to follow.
Public domain
Thomas Chapais died in 1946: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text