Europeans' First Encounters with Indigenous Peoples

The following exhibit focuses on Europeans' exploration of North America and their encounters with Indigenous peoples, as told through their travel logs. Authors include various types of explorers such as voyagers, missionaries, exiled explorers as well as travellers and pioneers, from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The exhibit uses rare books (and content from rare books such as images and maps) from the University of Ottawa Library, from the University of Ottawa Library Archives and Special Collections, and from the Carleton University Library Archives and Research Collection. The exhibit includes 10 items that were catalogued using the Dublin Core metadata standard, and contextualizes the items with the help of descriptions of notable historical events taking place between the 15th and 19th centuries.;xNLx;;xNLx;This exhibit was created by Brittany Anderson, Stéphanie Moïse and Joël Rivard, as part of the ISI6354 Cultural Heritage Resources course at the University of Ottawa.

1492-10-01 21:40:17

The Age of Exploration

The beginning of the Age of Exploration commences with Christopher Columbus' landing in the Caribbean, thereby bringing European attention to the Americas and its peoples. This brought about an epoch of trade and colonization.

1517-10-31 00:00:00

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was marked by the splitting of Christianity into various different denominations. Beginning with Martin Luther's 95 Theses in 1517 that created the Lutheran Church, and ending in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia, this was an era in which many practices of the Catholic Church, such as indulgences, were brought into question. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church had their own Counter-Reformation, in which they addressed many of the valid concerns in their dogma that brought about the Protestant Reformation.

1608-03-01 00:00:00

Founding of Quebec

The Habitation de Québec is founded by Samuel de Champlain and his crew. This would be the capital of the French colony of Canada.

1609-03-01 00:00:00

Iroquois War

Champlain and other French men agree to ally with the Algonquin and Huron First Nations against their Iroquoian enemies, thereby starting an alliance with the Algonquian peoples, the Huron and the French, and an antagonistic relationship between the French and the Five Iroquoian Nations, the Mohawk, the Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and Seneca.

1610-06-24 00:00:00

The Baptism of Henri Membertou

The Grand Sachem (Chief) of the Mi'kmaq First Nation is baptised Catholic and given the Christian name Henri Membertou to solidify the friendship between the Mi'kmaq and the French.

1663-03-01 00:00:00

New France becomes a Royal Province

Previously primarily under the control of French companies, the King of France, Louis XIV, makes New France a Royal Province; therefore, it is legally under the authority and control of the King.

1701-03-01 00:00:00

The Great Peace of Montreal

A peace treaty is signed between New France and 40 First Nations of North America, effectively bringing an end to nearly a century of conflict between the Iroquoian peoples and the Algonquian peoples and their French and Canadien allies.

1705-04-01 08:29:13

Le Baron's voyages: A letter

This letter was written by le Baron de Lahontan, and details his experiences on his voyages with local Indigenous peoples in New France, and the Canadiens of the Saint Laurent Valley.

1724-01-01 08:29:13

A Jesuit's mission to Canada

The Christian Bible was still to this day one of the only sources offering an explanation of the world. However, it did not take into account the Americas. The Catholic Church consequently directed several men to make sense of the North American continent and its peoples: Jean-François Lafitau was one of these missionaries.

1724-01-31 08:29:13

An ethnographic take on Canada's Indigenous peoples

Lafitau is considered to be the father of modern ethnography, as he was one of the first to describe his observations from the field rather than solely from what he read in books and encyclopaedias.

Europeans' First Encounters with Indigenous Peoples

Launch
Copy this timeline Login to copy this timeline 3d Game mode