Marquis de Denonville
| Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville | |
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| Born |
10 December 1637 Denonville (Eure-et-Loir), France |
| Died | 22 September 1710 (aged 72) Denonville (Eure-et-Loir), France |
| Occupation | Governor General of New France |
Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville (10 December 1637 – 22 September 1710) was Governor General of New France from 1685 to 1689 and was a key figure in the Beaver Wars.
Replacing Joseph Antoine de LaBarre in 1685, he arrived in New France on 1 August 1685. Denonville set out to make King Louis XIV proud. The Iroquois Confederacy had been a nuisance for half a century, hampering New France's efforts to establish itself as a profitable colony.
Although France and England were at peace, in June 1686, Denonville sent Sieur de Troyes north from Montreal with a hundred men (most likely the troupes de la marine), to capture the English fur trading posts on Hudson Bay. The victory was swift and profitable; word of the French attack would not reach the English for months. Denonville then set out with a well-organized force to Fort Frontenac, where they met with the 50 hereditary sachems of the Iroquois Confederacy from their Onondaga council fire. These 50 chiefs constituted the entire decision-making strata of the Iroquois. They had been lulled into meeting under a flag of truce. Denonville seized, chained, and shipped the 50 Iroquois chiefs to Marseilles, France, to be used as galley slaves.
In 1687, Denonville launched a well-organized campaign against the Senecas. The expedition left Montreal on June 13, 1687 and consisted of 832 colonial regulars, over 900 Canadian militia, and some 400 Indian allies. They traveled by water in 200 batteaux and 200 canoes.Louis-Henri de Baugy, Chevalier de Baugy accompanied the force, and kept a journal of his experiences. The force landed at Irondequoit Bay, built a palisade to protect the boats, and on July 12 began the march to Ganondagan. On July 13, the French were attacked by a Seneca force of 800, but after a short engagement "they soon resolved to fly." Denonville described the French casualties as 5 or 6 killed and 20 wounded, while the Seneca casualties were 45 killed and 60 wounded. Upon arrival at the village on the 14th, "we found it burned" and a nearby fort abandoned. A vast quantity of hogs were killed, and 1.2 million bushels of stored and standing corn were destroyed. The force then turned west and destroyed the village of Totiakton (now in the town of Mendon) before subsequently returning to their boats at Irondequoit. The Seneca material losses were replaced thereafter and new villages were formed.
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