New Voyages to North America

New Voyages to North America is a book written by Louis Armand de Lom d’Arce, baron de Lahontan which chronicles the nine years Lahontan spent exploring New France as a soldier in the French Army. The book, composed of two volumes, was published in 1703, originally in French as Nouveaux Voyages de Mr. le Baron de Lahontan dans l’Amérique Septentrionale. An English edition was produced the same year. The book is considered to be the best 17th century work on New France for its detailed descriptions of the environment as well as North American native society. Lahontan’s work includes descriptions of the two winters he spent hunting with a group of the Algonquin people. Lahontan expresses his opinions of New France and the natives as well as European society through his dialogue between himself and a fictional native, Adario, based on the Huron chief Kondiaronk. Though fictional, this dialogue gives insight into his opinions of the native New France and Europe. Both volumes provide valuable knowledge and information on the lands of New France from the perspective of a soldier in the French army as well as an explorer who explored the landscape, native peoples and developing economic, social, and political ties between the native peoples and French explorers. The importance of the book is expressed by Gordon Sayre: “Lahontan takes a secular perspective throughout his writing which differentiates his works from those of the Jesuits that published during the same time he did”. This book is an exploration narrative that tells an explorer's stories but also serves as a historical source for examining the American Indians in the New France region and the connections between the explorers and native peoples.

Volume I has two sections: Lahontan's letters to a friend and his memoirs. Both provide descriptions of his journeys. The letters document his interactions with natives as well as superior French figures in Quebec, Montreal, and Sault St. Marie while the memoirs provide more in depth descriptions of geographical locations, detailed descriptions of the wildlife and lists of native vocabulary.

Lahontan writes twenty-five letters to an ‘old, bigoted relation’ for whom he promises to describe his travels and discoveries. They take place within the span of nine years from November 1683 to January 1694. The letters are lengthy descriptions that begin with one dated November 8, 1683 which tells of his voyage from France to Canada, in which he details a good trip with the exception of a storm that took place. They arrive in the bay of St. Lawrence and finally Quebec. Lahontan is particularly taken aback by the abundance of crops and land for growing as well as the existence of brothels in Quebec, which the French brought with them. He speaks of Quebec as the metropolitan of New France, containing upper and lower cities, the latter for the merchants and their homes and the former for the rest of the populace. The city is well built with lots of homes, six churches, a Cathedral in the upper city and a Jesuit in the lower and it is in letter three that he makes his first commentary on the native people – that he has heard they travel thousands of leagues in bark canoes. In June 1684, Lahontan writes about the Iroquois, who he describes as “barbarians” who are independent, consider themselves sovereign, and are constantly waging war. Lahontan discusses the peace talks the Canadians had with the Iroquois and the importance of bringing them into their commerce system of trade in order to stabilize the peace. The natives around Quebec were the Algonquin and Iroquois, the French quickly developed trade with them as Lahontan observes, it is made of largely of trading beaver skins for axes, arms, kettles, and knives.

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