Métissage in New France and Canada 1508 to 1886
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Karahasan (2009)
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Frankfurt am Main, Peter Lang, 2009
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KARAHASAN, Devrim, Métissage in New France and Canada 1508 to 1886, Frankfurt am Main, Peter Lang, 2009 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/19394
Abstract
This thesis deals with métissage in New France and Canada from 1508 to 1886. In 1508, first Indians were brought to France; in 1886, the “Act of Savages” distinguished between “Indians” and “Metis”. Within this timeframe, different colonial policies of métissage, among which mixed marriages were the core, are analyzed. The theoretical framework is the history of concepts in order to show how concepts on “race mixture” changed and varied in the longue durée of four centuries, how they were constructed and used in different epochs and contexts. It is held that the history of concepts is the perfect tool in order to analyse métissage as a concept that evolved over time, was discursively constructed and historically practiced. Métissage is analyzed as a Franco-Canadian rather than an Anglo-Canadian phenomenon. The fact that it were the French who pursued an officially backed policy of mixed marriages is based on Samuel de Champlain´s exclamation towards the Huron tribe: “Nos garçons se marieront à vos filles, et nous ne ferons qu´un peuple.“ As a result, Metis individuals were born and Metis communities were formed. The premises, main questions and theoretical assumptions are proposed which allow to trace the development of métissage, the conflicts that it engendered, as well as its ambivalences and contradictions. It is held that métissage is a concept which was imbued with racist thinking and found its realisation in colonial policies in order to assimilate Indian populations to French culture. A definition and interpretation of métissage is proposed which sees métissage as a policy to extend power to distant corners of the world, to incorporate native peoples into this design and to, thus, cement colonial power relations. The concept of “métissage” appeared in numerous discourses to describe so-called “race mixture” in different contexts and epochs. While being ambivalent in meaning - which is typical for a concept - it pointed to the colonial encounter of people of different social “worth” and societal standing.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Encounter of Indians and Whites
Chapter One: Bringing Indians to the “Old World” and French Settlements in the “New World”
Chapter Two: Converting, Instructing and Assimilating Indians: Frenchification and Evangelisation
Chapter Three: Marriage Policies and Miscegenation: Mixed and Non-mixed Marriages as Final Colonial Strategy
Chapter Four: From Frenchification and Mixed Marriages to Métissage: Geographical, Social and Tribal Contexts and Practices
Chapter Five: From the Process of Métissage to Mixed-blood Individuals and Groups: The Emergence of the Metis
Chapter Six: The Community Formation of the Metis; Conclusion: Canadian Métissage and its Failures
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Appendix 1 - Graphic: Métissage as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions
Appendix 2 - Chronological Table of the Main Developments in New France and Canada 1508-1886
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Published version of EUI PhD thesis, 2006