Robert Giffard de Moncel
Encyclopedia
Robert Giffard de Moncel (1587–1668) was a French surgeon
and apothecary
who became a prestigious colonist and businessman and eventually a nobleman of New France
.
As a naval surgeon, Giffard made several voyages to Quebec
between 1621 and 1627, a year when it's known he had a cabin in the woods outside of the colony.
On a return voyage in 1628, he was captured by the English adventurer Sir David Kirke
and lost considerable equipment for colonization. Giffard returned to France. Kirke later captured and held Quebec until its return to the French in 1632.
in New France and he returned to the colony accompanied by his wife and two children. The colony - with Samuel de Champlain
still as Governor
- was continuing to experience a lack of immigration. Giffard's grant of a league of land along the Beauport and St. Lawrence rivers was in exchange for his commitment to bring other settlers. His recruitment efforts in Perche, a French Province
, yielded other notable pioneers Jean Guyon du Boisson
, Zacharie Cloutier
, Noël Langlois, Jean Juchereau de Maur and Marin Boucher
, all from the Norman Perche. This series of settlers came to be called the Percheron Immigration as their region provided the greatest number of new colonists.
In 1636, the marriage contract for Robert Drouin and Cloutier's daughter Anne was signed in Giffard's house, (at one time the oldest house in Canada). This is the earliest marriage contract in Canada's archives.
In 1637, he was involved in a conflict with the Iroquois
near Trois-Rivières
.
By 1640, he became the first doctor of the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
-- the first hospital in Canada and in North America north of Mexico—an apothecary
and even “doctor in ordinary” to the king, a purely honorary but prestigious title.
In 1645, Giffard helped found the newly-established trading company, Communauté des Habitants, which was open to all inhabitants in principle but which only the wealthiest colonists could join in practice.
In 1646, Giffard obtained an explicit order from the governor of the colony, Charles de Montmagny
that ended a nine-year dispute with Guyon and Cloutier in Giffard's favour. Since their arrival in the colony, the two tenants had refused to provide foi et hommage (fealty and homage) to Giffard, as was his right as seigneur. This was an early case of New World resistance to Old World systems of governance. Refusing to accept him as their superior, they did not stake their lands or pay him annual taxes. Such cases of censitaire refractoriness filled the time of the courts for the duration of the seigneurial system, both during the French regime and under the English.
By 1658, his service were recognized by the granting of two more seigneuries, being named to the king's new council of Quebec and being granted one of the first letters of nobility granted to a resident of Canada.
Giffard died in Beauport in 1668. The Bishop presided over his funeral and his tomb is within the hospital.
was named after Giffard and he is commemorated by a monument there.
In 1935, Quebec City
named a street Robert-Giffard Avenue.
In 1976, the provincial mental health hospital took the name the Centre hospitalier Robert Giffard, continuing an association with mental health. In 1845, Giffard's manor house begins being used as an asylum accommodating 23 mental health patients.
, grandson of Giffard
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
and apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
who became a prestigious colonist and businessman and eventually a nobleman of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
.
As a naval surgeon, Giffard made several voyages to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
between 1621 and 1627, a year when it's known he had a cabin in the woods outside of the colony.
On a return voyage in 1628, he was captured by the English adventurer Sir David Kirke
David Kirke
Sir David Kirke was an adventurer, colonizer and governor for the king of England. Kirke was the son of Gervase Kirke, a wealthy London-based Scottish merchant, who had married a Huguenot woman, Elizabeth Goudon, and was raised in Dieppe, in Normandy.In 1627 Kirke's father and several London...
and lost considerable equipment for colonization. Giffard returned to France. Kirke later captured and held Quebec until its return to the French in 1632.
From settler to nobility
In 1634, Giffard was granted one of the first seigneuriesSeigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
in New France and he returned to the colony accompanied by his wife and two children. The colony - with Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
still as Governor
Governor of New France
The Governor of New France was the viceroy of the King of France in North America. A French noble, he was appointed to govern the colonies of New France, which included Canada, Acadia and Louisiana. The residence of the Governor was at the Château St-Louis in the capital of Quebec City...
- was continuing to experience a lack of immigration. Giffard's grant of a league of land along the Beauport and St. Lawrence rivers was in exchange for his commitment to bring other settlers. His recruitment efforts in Perche, a French Province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
, yielded other notable pioneers Jean Guyon du Boisson
Jean Guyon
Jean Guyon du Buisson was born at the Saint-Aubin parish in Tourouvre, Orne, France on September 18, 1592...
, Zacharie Cloutier
Zacharie Cloutier
Zacharie Cloutier was a French carpenter who emigrated to New France in the first wave of the Percheron Immigration from the former province of Perche, in Normandy, to an area that today is part of Canada...
, Noël Langlois, Jean Juchereau de Maur and Marin Boucher
Marin Boucher
Marin Boucher , was a pioneer of early New France and one of the most prolific ancestors of French Canada, being the ancestor of most of the Bouchers of North America, particularly in the Province of Quebec, Northern New Brunswick, Ontario and Western Canada...
, all from the Norman Perche. This series of settlers came to be called the Percheron Immigration as their region provided the greatest number of new colonists.
In 1636, the marriage contract for Robert Drouin and Cloutier's daughter Anne was signed in Giffard's house, (at one time the oldest house in Canada). This is the earliest marriage contract in Canada's archives.
In 1637, he was involved in a conflict with the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
near Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...
.
By 1640, he became the first doctor of the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
The Hotel-Dieu de Québec is a teaching hospital located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and affiliated with Université Laval's medical school. It is part of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec , a network of three teaching hospitals and several specialized institutions. Its areas of...
-- the first hospital in Canada and in North America north of Mexico—an apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
and even “doctor in ordinary” to the king, a purely honorary but prestigious title.
In 1645, Giffard helped found the newly-established trading company, Communauté des Habitants, which was open to all inhabitants in principle but which only the wealthiest colonists could join in practice.
Charles de Montmagny
Charles Jacques Huault de Montmagny was governor of New France from 1636 to 1648. He succeeded Champlain, who was Lieutenant General of New France, although treated de facto as if he were governor...
that ended a nine-year dispute with Guyon and Cloutier in Giffard's favour. Since their arrival in the colony, the two tenants had refused to provide foi et hommage (fealty and homage) to Giffard, as was his right as seigneur. This was an early case of New World resistance to Old World systems of governance. Refusing to accept him as their superior, they did not stake their lands or pay him annual taxes. Such cases of censitaire refractoriness filled the time of the courts for the duration of the seigneurial system, both during the French regime and under the English.
By 1658, his service were recognized by the granting of two more seigneuries, being named to the king's new council of Quebec and being granted one of the first letters of nobility granted to a resident of Canada.
Giffard died in Beauport in 1668. The Bishop presided over his funeral and his tomb is within the hospital.
Monuments
In 1912, a neighbourhood of Beauport, QuebecBeauport, Quebec
Beauport is a borough of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River.Beauport is a northeastern suburb of Quebec City. Manufactures include paint, construction materials, printers, and hospital supplies. Food transportation is important to the economy...
was named after Giffard and he is commemorated by a monument there.
In 1935, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
named a street Robert-Giffard Avenue.
In 1976, the provincial mental health hospital took the name the Centre hospitalier Robert Giffard, continuing an association with mental health. In 1845, Giffard's manor house begins being used as an asylum accommodating 23 mental health patients.
See also
Louis Juchereau de St. DenisLouis Juchereau de St. Denis
Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis was born in Beauport, New France to Nicolas Juchereau and Marie Thérèse Giffard, the eleventh of twelve children. He was the grandson of Robert Giffard de Moncel, a surgeon who became a nobleman of New France. St...
, grandson of Giffard