Ville-Marie (Colony) | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Ville-Marie (Colony)

Ville-Marie was a French colony founded on 17 May 1642 on the Island of Montreal by the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal to bring Christianity to local Indigenous peoples. The colony was located in a key region for the development of agriculture and the fur trade. The colony became the modern-day city of Montreal.

Ville-Marie (Colony)

The colony was settled under the leadership of Jeanne Mance and Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. Assisted by recruits sent in 1653 and again in 1659, the little colony sank its roots and withstood Haudenosaunee incursions. (See Iroquois Wars.) In 1663, it was taken over by the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris, which already supplied its priests.

See also Missions and Missionaries.