Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site

About

Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site is a National Historic Site of Canada and so designated by the Historic Sites and Monuments board of Canada in 1958 under the recommendation of John Diefenbaker, the Prime Minister of Canada at the time. It is administered by Parks Canada and located at the confluence of Saint-Charles and Lairet rivers, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, more precisely in La Cité-Limoilou borough. On the site you can find an interpretation centre and a 6,8 hectares inner-city park characterised by an uneven landscape and divided into two sectors "East" and "West" separated by the Lairet river. Several commemorative monuments and elements are also present. The site commemorates the second voyage of Jacques Cartier; more precisely in 1535-1536 when he and his shipmates wintered near the Iroquoian village of Stadacona (Quebec City). It also recalls the establishment of the first residence of the Jesuit missionaries in Quebec, in 1625–1626. Moreover, by the end of the 17th century up to the opening of the national historic site in 1972, it hosted numerous hand-crafted and industrial activities such as a tannery, a pottery, a brickyard, a shipyard, a sawmill, a junkyard...

During his second voyage in Canada, Jacques Cartier still believed that the Saint Lawrence River could lead him through the continent to Asia. When he realized that the river narrows near Quebec City, he started searching for a harbor to leave his two largest ships, Grande Hermine and Petite Hermine, and to continue on exploring on board of Émerillon to Hochelaga (Montreal). On September 8, 1553, Cartier found a harbor which he thought most adequate which he named Sainte-Croix (holy cross) located at the confluence of Saint-Charles and Lairet rivers near Stadacona, the Iroquoian village. Back from his trip, Cartier realized that his shipmates had built a small fort around the ships because they now feared the Stadaconeans. The French captain decided to winter at the confluence of Saint-Charles and Lairet rivers. Unprepared for the harshness of the Canadian winter, Cartier and his crew chose to inhabit in the ships' steerage rather than building shelters in which they would have been better isolated from the cold temperature. This decision turned out to be disastrous. The winter of 1535–1536 turned out to be deadly for the crew; 106 out of 110 men caught scurvy, out of which 25 of them died and their remains were probably buried on the site. The other ones were saved by annedda, an infusion of a Canadian conifer (either the white cedar or the balsam fir), for which the Iroquoians knew the recipe. Before heading back to France in spring 1536, Cartier erected a cross in honor of Francis I of France on which he wrote: "Franciscus primus, dei gratia francorum rex, regnat" (Long live Francis I by God's grace king of the France). At the time of departure, Cartier had to leave Petite Hermine in Sainte-Croix harbour because he did not have enough sailors to navigate. He also took with him 10 Iroquoians from Stadacona. Five years went by before Cartier could return to Canada. In 1541, he chose to settle in Cap-Rouge for strategic reasons, a location that he named Charlesbourg-Royal.

In order to find artifacts from Jacques Cartier's presence in 1535-1536 and from the Notre-Dame-des-Anges residence, archeological excavations were made in the years 1959, 1962, 1986, 1993, 2004, 2007. Probably because of the numerous changes in the ground due to human activities which were held on the site, traces have not yet been discovered. However, archeologists found many objects related to hand-crafted or industrial activities dating from New-France onward. The most relevant items which have yet to be found are the graves of 25 deceased sailors and the remains of the small fort and the ditches.

Proofs of his stay therefore consist of written attestations by Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain.

"And we went some ten leagues up the river, coasting this island [of Orleans] at the end of which we came to a forking of the waters, which is an exceedingly pleasant spot where there's a small river and a harbor a bar, […]. We thought this river St-Charles a suitable place in which to lay up our ships in safety. We named it 'St-Croix', as we arrive there that day"

"Moreover, near Quebec, there's little river, coming from the lake in the interior distant 6 or 7 leagues distant from or settlement. I am of opinion that this river (st-charles), which is North quarter North-West from our settlement, is a place where Jacques Cartier wintered, since there are still, a leak of the river remains of what seems to have been a cheminey, the foundation of which has been found and indications of there having been ditches surrounding there dwelling which was small."

It is also at the confluence of the Saint-Charles and Lairet rivers that a group of five Jesuit missionaries settle in 1625 with the objective of evangelizing the natives. This was the first settlement of the Society of Jesus in Quebec. The group was composed of fathers Jean de Brébeuf, Énemond Massé and Charles Lalement and also coadjutor brothers François Chartoin and Gilbert Burel. They named their residence Notre-Dame-des-Anges. It consisted of two buildings: the first one made of wood planks 13 metres wide and 7.5 metres long and the second, slightly smaller which was used as a barn, stable and a joiner's workshop. They had to leave their land in 1629 when the Kirke brothers took over Quebec City. The Jesuits only came back in 1632 and realized that their buildings were partially destroyed. In 1636 they rebuilt their residence and increased its size to host the Huron seminary until 1639.

From 1688 to the beginning of the 1970s many hand-crafting and industrial activities were held on the location of National Historic Site Cartier-Brébeuf. Here is an exhaustive list by chronological order.

- Landron-L'archevêque brickyard from 1688 to 1714

- Marie-Anne Barbel poetry from 1746 to 1752

- George Holmes-Parke shipyard: circa 1840

- Edmond-Ovide Richard sawmill from 1863 to 1867

- Cléophas Rochette brickyard from 1867 to 1930

- Municipal snow-dumping lot from 1959 to the beginning of the 1970s

In the 19th century, before the establishment of the National Historic Site Cartier-Brébeuf, interests toward the creation of a site to commemorate the second voyage of Jacques Cartier grew among the population of Quebec City. Here is a list of the important steps in the history of the site:

1835 : Erection of a wooden cross commemorating the second voyage of Jacques Cartier in front the hôpital de la Marine on the south shore of the Saint-Charles river (no longer existing today)

1886 : The Quebec City Catholic Circle acquires the grounds

1888 : Erection of a new metal cross commemorating the second voyage of Jacques Cartier in 1535-1536 by the Quebec City Catholic Circle. (This cross is still standing today)

1920 : Inauguration of the Cartier-Jesuits monument

1957 : The site is visited by former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker who later asked the Historic Sites and Monuments board of Canada to recognize the historic value of the site.