Between France and New France: Life Aboard the Tall Sailing Ships

Neal Johnson was Associate Professor of Languages and Literatures at the University of Guelph, Ontario.

This is the English-language version of Entre France et Nouvelle-France. It is a study of life aboard the sailing vessels that plied the North Atlantic during the heyday of the French colonial effort in North America, focusing on maritime traffic in the eighteenth century, and ending in 1760 with the conquest. Four major aspects of these trans-Atlantic crossings are analysed: the volume of traffic and types of vessels used; navigating the North Atlantic; crews and passengers; and life aboard ship.

The format suggests that this book is aimed at both a specialist public of historians and a more general audience of readers interested in things nautical and things Canadian. Such an ambition usually involves a certain amount of tight-rope walking, but here the enterprise works well. There is no doubt that the research is well done and that it breaks new ground. The author, a Parks Canada historian, knows how to do archival digging and has come up with fascinating and significant glimpses of our past: ship dimensions, crossing times, courses charted, food and drink rations, illness at sea, etc. At the same time, the more general reader will appreciate the fact that not all his research takes the form of statistical tables; personal accounts by eighteenth century travellers are invaluable in reconstructing the circumstances of these crossings. Scholarly apparatus (tables, notes, appendices) are present for those inclined to consult them but do not interrupt the flow of the text for readers otherwise inclined. The 35 illustrations are attractive and well chosen.

One sometimes wishes for more coherent interpretation of the wealth of information presented. On page 26 we read that “it would seem that traffic was slightly higher during wartime”; the next paragraph concludes that “in all probability, traffic was slightly lighter in wartime”; two paragraphs later (p.28) we read that “even if traffic did remain relatively similar in wartime as in peace time....” On page 36 we read that “the movement of French naval vessels in the waters of New France between 1755 and 1760 was by all accounts rare”; however, the next paragraph begins “the high number of French vessels in North American waters during the Seven Years’ War is somewhat astonishing...”; and the reader’s head begins to spin. After descriptions of the difficulties of passage (storms, sickness, squalor, ice, fog, and pirates), the author’s conclusion (p.93) that “all in all, a voyage across the North Atlantic was not particularly easy” is strangely platitudinous. Also, unrepentant landlubbers might like a fuller explanation of the problems of navigating with primitive instruments.

On the other hand, numerous intriguing insights are to be gleaned incidentally from this study. It would appear that, contrary to myth on both sides of the Atlantic, France did not abandon her colony and did meet her colonial responsibilities, at least until autumn 1757. A further example is the author’s suggested explanation of how sailors could contract scurvy after only a few weeks at sea: rations on board ship, although inadequate, were in fact probably an improvement over French peasant fare.

Dundurn Press and Parks Canada deserve congratulations for having made available in both our official languages, and in an attractive format, a work that will be of interest to many Canadians.