Few, Uncooperative, and Endangered: The Troubled Activity of the Roman Catholic Missionaries in Acadia (1610-1710)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the evangelizing process commenced by the Roman Catholic missionaries established along the Atlantic coasts of Canada from the beginning of the seventeenth century until the first decade of the eighteenth century. Paying particular attention to the case of Acadia, it demonstrates how the effects of the Anglo-French dispute over North America affected missionary results in the Atlantic region. Chronologically arranged, the paper also examines the manner in which, beyond the impact of political factors, the evangelizing activity was affected by a paucity of resources, inconsistencies in the number of missionaries deployed, and poor levels of co-operation between the various religious orders present. Furthermore, it emphasizes that the flimsiness of the missionaries’ links to their hierarchical authorities was crucial to the outcome of their activities in the Atlantic region, and that this operational difficulty was compounded by the progressive disengagement of the papal curia from the French missionary framework as the influence of the Gallican church rose.