#also I like canada a lot so don't deport me but this makes me really miss living in europe | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

non-un-topo · 7 months

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Hi, this is going to be a weird ask, but what the hell! I'm an art history student and I have a memoire to write, and I want / need / crave to make a connection between europe and the new world during the modern period, so like 1600's to late 1800's. I was hoping for something connecting France (where I'm from) to Canada, and I saw your post asking for strength not to write a fanfic about that period, and I thought, what the hell! 1/2

Salut!! I admit you've stumped me a bit and I had to think about this one! (Ontario + Quebec education system leaving out important parts of their colonial history etc etc).

First thing I could think of in terms of artifacts or art, that I know of, would most likely have been beaver furs purchased in Canada and sent back to France during the fur trade. The French were very involved with the Algonquin peoples (Anishinaabeg) during the time of the fur trade, and they had a relative peace going on for a while including intermarriages between French settlers and Indigenous peoples, specifically for the prosperity of the fur trade. You still had some Indigenous peoples converting to Christianity in an attempt at cohabitation with the French settlers, who weren't very keen on sharing land. But yes, most people --- settler or Indigenous --- made their money in the fur trade, and beaver cloaks were pretty common and valuable.

Other than that, there was of course Jacques Cartier who did some truly despicable things in the 16th century (so not quite what you were asking for, I apologize!)... On his first expedition to what is now Quebec, he abducted two of Haudenosaunee Chief Donnacona's sons (Domagaya and Taignoagny) and brought them back to France to essentially show off their "primitiveness" and prove that they could be easily conquered. On his second expedition he abducted Donnacona himself along with a number of his people and never returned them home.

THEN there's also the Acadians, of course, along the East Coast. But since they were the descendants of French settlers, I'm not sure about artifacts leaving the land or coming and going to/from France except in regards to the deportation of the Acadians. There was a lot of fighting between French and British settlers over this land (now Nova Scotia), and eventually the British forcefully deported the Acadians when they would not swear allegiance or neutrality to the crown (1755, I believe), some of whom safely ended up in France. It's hard to find information on what happened to the people who resettled in France, but I know some of them went from there to the French Caribbean or Louisiana. I don't think they carried much with them when they were deported, but it might be interesting to look into that! I know my Cape Breton relatives would probably love to hear about me doing research on the Acadians lol but the truth is they've always been a big question mark to me!

Mostly when we talk about colonial history in Canada, we just talk about early colonization or later land treaties. I'm sure, though, that there are stolen artifacts sitting in museums across Europe but I unfortunately couldn't find anything specific in my searches! But likely textiles, weapons, beaded artifacts and art, wampum belts, maybe even entire totem poles. Hell, we have tons of stolen artifacts in museums here in Ontario. And mummies / human remains. Finding an artifact that was given would be really interesting, as I'm sure they exist!

EDIT: Aha! I did find some Algonquin artifacts (among others) in a collection at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, that seem to be from the 18th-19th century. I'm not sure how the donor acquired these items, though. If it was ethical or not.

I hope some of that was a little helpful!! And also not grossly inaccurate!! I'm wishing you lots of luck on your work <33 It sounds really interesting and I'd like to hear more about it if/whenever you get the chance!

#this was fun!! and you've made me want to call my mom and ask if she knows anything sdfgfds #she will not but it's always fun to ask!

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