Pierre-Esprit Radisson
Encyclopedia
Médard des Groseilliers
Médard Chouart des Groseilliers was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada. He is often paired with his brother-in-law Pierre-Esprit Radisson who was about 20 years his junior...
who was about 20 years older. The decision of Radisson and Groseilliers to enter the English service led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
.
Born near Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
in 1636 or possibly 1640, he came to New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
at an early age. While out duck-hunting (probably in 1651) he was captured by the Mohawks but was adopted by his captors. He learned their language and way of life and joined them in their wars. While out hunting with an Algonquin and three Mohawks the captives killed their captors and escaped but were quickly hunted down. The Algonquin was killed and Radisson was tortured until he was rescued by his Indian 'family'. He later escaped to Fort Orange (Albany) where he served as an interpreter. For some reason he was sent to Europe along with a Jesuit priest. He returned to Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...
in 1657 or 1654( where he found his half-sister married to Groseilliers. In 1657/58 he was at the Jesuit Iroquois mission
Sainte Marie among the Iroquois
Sainte Marie among the Iroquois was a 17th century French Jesuit mission to the Onondaga Iroquois. It was located on Onondaga Lake near modern-day Syracuse, New York...
near Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and returned to Quebec when this failed. He was now about 21 years of age.
The most important part of his life, from 1658 to 1683, was spent with Groseilliers. For this see Médard des Groseilliers
Médard des Groseilliers
Médard Chouart des Groseilliers was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada. He is often paired with his brother-in-law Pierre-Esprit Radisson who was about 20 years his junior...
. In 1669, while in the English service, he sailed along the coast from the Rupert River
Rupert River
The Rupert River is one of the largest rivers in Quebec, Canada. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Québec, it flows west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of . There is some extremely large whitewater on the river, but paddlers can avoid...
to the Nelson River
Nelson River
The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its full length is , it has mean discharge of , and has a drainage basin of , of which is in the United States...
. In 1672 or before he married a daughter of Sir John Kirke who had been involved in the 1628 capture of Quebec. When he returned to the French service his wife remained in England.
In the winter of 1683 he and Groseilliers went to France to deal with their legal problems. (They had seized two English parties in time of peace and paid Quebec tax on furs from Hudson Bay which may not have been part of Quebec.) Here they found themselves pawns in the events that led up to the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
. The English ambassador, Lord Preston, asked that they be punished. Compromise plans were made to send Radisson back to the bay to pick up the remaining furs and divide the profits fairly. Lord Preston seduced Radisson back into the English service and Groseilliers returned to Quebec.
In 1684 he sailed for the Hayes River
Hayes River
The Hayes River is a river in Northern Region, Manitoba, Canada that flows from Molson Lake to Hudson Bay at York Factory. It was an historically important river in the development of Canada, and is today a Canadian Heritage River and the longest naturally flowing river in Manitoba.-Course:The...
in the Happy Return, where he found Groseilliers' son Jean-Baptiste doing a brisk trade with the Indians. He talked Jean-Baptiste into the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
service and left for England in September, leaving John Abraham in charge of the fort. [Eight days later two ships belonging to Chesnaye arrived from Quebec. Although there was conflict, no blood was shed. The French wintered near the English and returned to Quebec with a moderate load of furs.]
In 1685 he was made 'Superintendent and Chief Director of the Trade at Port Nelson', where he seems to have accomplished little. In 1687 he made serious charges against the superintendent of York Factory. The HBC rejected the charges and Radisson was removed. Thereafter he lived in England on an HBC pension which was irregularly paid. He died in 1710. In 1729 the company voted ten pounds to his third wife, "she being ill and in great want."
Radisson wrote his Voyages in 1668/9 in England after a storm prevented him from joining the first expedition into Hudson Bay. The original has been lost but an English translation was found among the papers of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
and now resides in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
. It is known to be inaccurate in part.
Cultural references
The towns Radisson, QuebecRadisson, Quebec
Radisson is a small village situated near the Robert-Bourassa hydroelectric power station on the La Grande River in the James Bay region of Quebec...
, Radisson, Saskatchewan
Radisson, Saskatchewan
-Transportation:The community is served by Radisson Airport which is located adjacent to Radisson.- See also :* List of communities in Saskatchewan* List of towns in Saskatchewan-External links:*...
, and Radisson, Wisconsin
Radisson, Wisconsin
Radisson is a village in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Couderay River. The population was 222 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Radisson and was named in honor of the early French explorer, Pierre-Esprit Radisson .-Geography:Radisson is located at ...
, as well as a street and Metro station
Radisson (Montreal Metro)
Radisson is a station on the Green Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system operated by the Société de transport de Montréal . It is in the district of Saint-Jean-de-Dieu in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The station opened on June 6, 1976, as part...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and the Radisson
Radisson (electoral district)
Radisson is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1957, and has formally existed since the 1958 provincial election...
provincial electoral district in Manitoba are named after him.
The Radisson Hotels
Radisson Hotels
Radisson Hotels is one of the leading, full-service global hotel companies with more than 420 locations in 73 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th-century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson...
group, starting with the Radisson hotel in Minneapolis in 1909, is also named after him.
Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
wrote several novels about Grand Republic, the seat of the fictitious Radisson County, Minnesota.
The Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
also has a vessel named the CCGS Pierre Radisson
CCGS Pierre Radisson
The CCGS Pierre Radisson is a T1200 Class Medium Arctic and Gulf icebreaker of the Canadian Coast Guard.She is designated as a "Medium Gulf Icebreaker. Her winter home port is Quebec City at the mouth of the St Lawrence River in the Gulf of St...
.
Radisson was portrayed by Paul Muni
Paul Muni
Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
in the 1941 film Hudson's Bay.
The CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
series Radisson
Radisson (TV series)
Radisson is a Canadian adventure television series which aired on CBC Television and Radio-Canada from 1957 to 1958.-Premise:...
(1957-1958) was based on the explorer's life.
See also
- Coureur des boisCoureur des boisA coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
- Timeline of Quebec history (1663 to 1759)Timeline of Quebec history (1663 to 1759)Timeline of Quebec history 1608 to 1662 1663 to 1759 1760 to 1790 ----This section of the Timeline of Quebec history concerns the events relating to the Quebec portion of New France between the establishment of the Sovereign Council and the fall of Quebec.-1660s:*1663 - New France...
- Pierre AllemandPierre AllemandPierre Allemand was a ships pilot, explorer and fur-trader in the New World during the later 17th century.Little is known of this French born seaman other than he had sailed to the New World on a regular basis prior to settling in New France about 1681...
- VoyageursVoyageursThe Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
Sources
- Arthur S. Morton, 'A History of the Canadian West to 1870-71', no date, but circa 1940
- Peter C. Newman, 'Empire of the Bay', 1998
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Voyages Of Peter Esprit Radisson; The narratives of Pierre Espirit Radisson; Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
edition. - CBC Television Series "Radisson" (1957-58)
- The Voyages of Pierre-Esprit Radisson Edited by Germaine Warkentin. Slated to be published by The Champlain Society in 2010