Québec, 1770-1790: Une province en rumeurs

Between 1770 and 1790, there were rumours spreading within Quebec that France wanted to win back Quebec. These rumours instigated fear and mistrust within the colony's English-speaking population towards the Francophone population, creating what some historians refer to as the "garrison mentality" among the Anglophones. The author follows the origins of these rumours. Among the sources he investigates are: the correspondence of a nun (Marie-Catherine Juchereau-Duchesnay), the testimony of two notaries (Jean-Baptiste Badeaux and Simon Sanguinet), a propaganda brochure (attributed to François Baby), and a letter forged by George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. By placing the production and circulation of these rumours in their historical context in the province, the author attempts to understand the state of mind of the rural Francophone population at the time of the American war of independence and during the years that followed. His investigation of what he calls "reconquest imaginary" constitutes a contribution to research on the rumour and to the history of the French Canadian state of mind by way of analysis of verbal traces found in the archives. The author ignores investigating the impact of these rumours on the English Quebec state of mind.

Les Cahiers des Dix

No. 59

217-237

2005

fr