A classic work of Canadian history including important material on the French settlements in the Mississippi Valley.
Charlevoix’s own voyage saw him navigate an epic journey from Quebec to Saint-Domingue via the Saint Lawrence and Mississippi Rivers. The present work draws on Charlevoix’s own experiences as well as those of many other authors, making it the most comprehensive contemporary work on the French colonies in the Americas.
The journal consists of thirty-six letters, six of which concern the southern colonies. “The principal work of this great Jesuit traveller and historian and the pre-eminent authority on the French period in the West” (Howes). “This work is one of the best authorities concerning various Indian tribes, some of which no longer exist. The laborious accuracy with which the work was executed can be estimated by the fact that the maps, dated 1743, are marked with the latest discoveries, in 1742, in the extreme north of America” (Lande). Most of the maps in this work were drawn by French cartographer Nicholas Bellin, including his important map of North America, a frequent source for later mapmakers, as well as some of the most definitive and up-to-date maps available of Canada.
Besides its great importance as an historical and cartographical work, Charlevoix is also of considerable interest for the section entitled “Description des Plantes Principales de l’Amerique Septentrionale,” which occupies the first fifty-six pages of the second volume. Here the author describes ninety-six plants, mainly ones native to Canada, but including herbs of the Mississippi Valley as well. Most of the plants described are of medicinal value. The text is accompanied by twenty-two folding plates illustrating all ninety-six species discussed.
Greenly Michigan, 11; Howes, C307 “b”; Lande, 125; Sabin, 12135; TPL, 4697; Wheat TransMississippi, 120.
