Métissage in New France: Frenchification, Mixed Marriages and Métis as Shaped by Social and Political Agents and Institutions 1508-1886

Abstract

This thesis deals with métissage in New France and Canada from 1508 to 1886 - i.e. the process of cultural, social and political encounter between Indians and French and respective conversion and marriage policies, their mixed unions and derived mixed-blood offspring, the Métis and Halfbreeds. In 1508, first Indians were taken captive and brought to France; in 1886, the Act of Savages legally distinguished between “Indians” and “Metis” in Canada. Within this timeframe, colonial processes and policies of métissage, among which mixed marriages were the culmination point, are analysed. The theoretical framework of the history of concepts is employed in order to show how concepts on “race” changed and varied in the longue durée of four centuries, and how they were constructed and used in different contexts. It is held that the history of concepts is the perfect tool to analyse métissage as a concept that evolved over time, was discursively constructed and historically practiced. Métissage is treated as a Franco-Canadian rather than an Anglo-Canadian phenomenon. The fact that it was the French who pursued an officially backed policy of mixed marriages refers to Samuel de Champlain’s exclamation towards the Huron tribe in 1633: “Nos garçons se marieront à vos filles, et nous ne ferons qu´un peuple.“ Yet, rather than leading to a French nation overseas through mixed marriages, the unexpected result were Metis individuals and Metis communities that expressed nationalist demands.

The premises, main questions and theoretical assumptions are posed in order to trace the development of métissage, the conflicts it engendered, and the ambivalences and contradictions inherent within it. An interpretation of métissage is offered in which métissage is considered as a policy to extend supremacy to distant corners of the world, to incorporate native peoples into this design and to, thus, cement colonial power relations. It is held that métissage is a concept imbued with racist thinking, which found its realisation in colonial policies in order to assimilate Indian populations to French culture. The concept of métissage has appeared in numerous discourses throughout history to describe cultural encounter and race mixture. While being ambivalent in meaning - itself a typical quality of a concept - it points to the colonial encounter of people of so-called different cultural “worth” and societal standing.