Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 27, 2025
Talon's patriotic enthusiasm was justified when he wrote to Louis XIV: 'I am no courtier and it is not to please the king or without reason that I say this portion of the French monarchy is going to become something great. What I see now enables me to make such a prediction.
Through Talon's instrumentality the colony revived, and by his large-minded policy its commerce, which had fallen into the hands of a company of monopolists, was in time set free from many of its restrictions. Before Talon quitted the country, he took steps to extend the dominion of France in the New World toward Hudson's Bay, and westward, in the direction of the Great Lakes.
Let us now turn to activities of another order. One of the most important ordinances enacted by the Sovereign Council under Talon's direction was that which concerned the importation of spirits and the establishment in the colony of the brewing industry. It was stated in this decree that the great quantity of brandies and wines imported from France was a cause of debauchery.
Some of Talon's agents, including Jean Peré, went as far as the upper lakes, returning with samples of copper ore.
With the approval of the governor, Commissioner Talon's plan of having the course of the Mississippi explored was executed by two bold men: Louis Joliet, citizen of Quebec, already known for previous voyages and for his deep knowledge of the Indian tongues, and the devoted missionary, Father Marquette.
He asserts positively that coal was found there coal which was tested, which burned well in the forge. What has become of the mine, and where is that coal? Nobody at the present day has ever heard of a coal-mine at Quebec, and the story seems incredible. But Talon's letter is explicit. No satisfactory explanation has yet been suggested, and we confess inability to offer one here.
Thus it came about that, when an intendant was needed to infuse new blood into the veins of the feeble colony on the St Lawrence, Colbert, always a good judge of men, thought immediately of Jean Talon and recommended to the king his appointment as intendant of New France. Talon's commission is dated March 23, 1665. The minister drafted for the intendant's guidance a long letter of instructions.
So, for one reason or another, the infant industries languished, and, after Talon was gone, they gradually dropped out of existence. Another of Talon's ventures was to send prospectors in search of minerals. The use of malleable copper by the Indians had been noted by the French for many years and various rumors concerning the source of supply had filtered through to Quebec.
But, on the other hand, the king's service and the public good demanded his reappointment. Talon had to acquiesce. He had reached Paris at the end of December. Three months later he was again intendant of New France, and on April Louis XIV wrote to the intendant Bouteroue at Quebec informing him of Talon's reinstatement.
Though he had renounced the priesthood, he retained his partiality for the Jesuits; and it is more than probable that their influence had aided not a little to determine Talon's choice. One of their number, Jacques Marquette, was chosen to accompany him. He passed up the lakes to Michillimackinac; and found his destined companion at Point St.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking