The Chevalier de Montmagny: First Governor of New France

Gratien Allaire is a professor of history at Laurentian University in
Sudbury, Ontario.

Charles Huault de Montmagny served as the first official governor of New
France between 1636 and 1648. Jean-Claude Dubé presents a detailed
study of Montmagny’s ancestry, indicating that the future governor was
at odds with his family’s noblesse de robe tradition; his vocation was
“military and religious” instead. His years as governor of New
France were difficult in terms of relations with First Nations. During
his tenure, the colony’s population remained small, growing from 300
in 1635 to only about 900 in 1647.

According to Dubé, the Jesuits exerted a strong influence on both the
colony and the governor—an influence that went back to Montmagny’s
years at a Jesuit college in Laflиche, France. The chapter detailing
Montmagny’s early years (1601–22) is particularly good. Sources for
that period are rare, and Dubé spent a considerable amount of time
locating documents. His meticulous biography was first published in
French in 1999 and shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary
Award that same year.