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Nicolas Denys (1598, or 1603 - 1688) was born in Tours, France.
Tours, in the Loire Valley (official site, in French)
A merchant from La Rochelle who comes to Acadia in Sept. 1631, as the commander of a ship from the fleet of the Compagnie
Isaac de Razilly, a subsidiary of La Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France. He will spend the next 40 years trying to develop the
colony.
La Rochelle, France (official site, in French)
In the Spring of 1632, Denys becomes a fish trader at Port Rossignol (now Liverpool or Brooklyn, NS), exporting cod to Brittany
and Portugal. But since France is at war with Portugal, Denys decides to turn his attention to forestry in La Hève (La Have);
but the Sieur D'Aulnay arrives and forces him to return to France.
While over there, Denys acquires commercial rights for la Compagnie Miscou, another subsidary of la Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France.
He then works in the dry cod fishery at Miscou (NB). Again in 1647, D'Aulnay (who happens to be his main creditor) seizes
the post and forces him to abandon his trade.
This is when Nicolas Denys decides to come to Cape Breton Island and to restore an abandoned Portuguese fort at San Pedro.
He renames it "Saint-Pierre" (it will later become Port Toulouse). He goes on to restore Captain Daniel's fort
at Sainte-Anne ( Port Dauphin), also on Cape Breton Island. (In 1713 when the French come to survey the island and to establish
the Fortress of Louisbourg, they find many remnants of Nicolas Denys' presence. At that time "l'Isle du Cap-Breton"
will be rebaptised "Isle Royale".)
In what is now the town of St. Peter's, Nicolas Denys builds his trading post in 1650. Across the isthmus or portage,
he constructs a road of "800 pas"; with the aid of oxen he hauls his 'chaloupes' across, on skids.
The Mi'kmaq come to trade furs; foodstuffs and grain from the Bras d'Or Lake are also traded. Denys can observe that native
people know how to weave porcupine quills, as he put it, "just as one makes tapestry".
Unfortunately for Denys, a dispute arises with D'Aulnay's widow, who sends soldiers to take over the fort and the business;
the trader is thus robbed of his possessions, and deported to Quebec City for the winter.
Never losing courage, Nicolas Denys returns in the Spring of 1652 and creates a post at Nipisiguit (now Bathurst, NB). There
he writes his first book, one of the most precious documents published in the 17th century about Acadia.
Integral document published on line
This time however, Emmanuel le Borgne (another of his creditors) has him emprisoned at Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal), while
he places a new commanding officer in charge at Saint-Pierre.
Places where Nicolas Denys lived
Some relevant Web sites about the period (17th and 18th centuries):
A yearly account of events, 1632-1654 in Acadie (in French)
The cod fishery at Canso and Grassy Island
Maps of Port Toulouse in 1734 (Site Rivard)
More "Cape Breton portraits" from the CBMN:
Thomas Le Noir
Guglielmo Marconi in Cape Breton
Charles Robin
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Freed with the British conquest of Port Royal in 1654, Nicolas Denys tries to settle in Chedabucto, on the Nova Scotia coast,
but again his enemies (the Marquess of Cangé) put an end to his trading career by destroying his post in 1660.
Holding firm in Nipisiguit, Denys is back in Saint-Pierre, home again. He can now force the commander to surrender and to
leave: for he acquired in 1653, and now carries letters patent from the King of France.
He has a commission from la Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France with the title of "Seigneur des Isles" of the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, from Canseau (Canso) to Cap des Rosiers in the Gaspé peninsula, including Isle Saint-Jean (now P.E.I.) and
the Magdeleine Islands. He is now governor and lieutenant general of those territories, and "Lord Proprietor and Governor
of Cape Breton".
Nicolas Denys in Saint-Pierre
A painting by Lewis Parker.
For 18 years, Nicolas Denys engages in fisheries at Saint-Pierre, manufactures lumber, and cultivates land; he reigns supreme
at the centre of this island's trading activities.
In the winter of 1669, his home and business are completely destroyed by fire, thanks to Sieur de la Giraudière. Denys,
heartbroken and brought to financial ruin, moves with his family to Nipisiguit.
Now in his seventies, he leaves the Nipisiguit post to his son Richard. Back to France, this is where he publishes his memoirs,
with the help of Esprit Cabart de Villermont. These consist of a first volume, titled "Description" (see above)
which describes his travels, with a second volume about fishing, wildlife and his exchanges with the Mi'kmaq, whom he has
lived with for some forty years. It is titled:
Histoire naturelle des peuples, des animaux, des arbres et plantes de l'Amérique septentrionale & de ses divers climats.
Avec une description exacte de la pesche des moluës, tant sur le Grand-Banc qu'à la Coste; & de tout ce qui s'y pratique
de plus particulier.
Also available on line
Nicolas Denys died in France in 1688.
It can be said, Denys was the 1st Acadian author; and the 1st forest developer in what is now Canada. He was a maker of
history in New France for over a half a century.
Other biographies of Nicolas Denys:
A well-documented one, by Jeanne Belford
(by Peter Landry, bluepete.com)
(by Schoolzone, Canadian Heritage)
(from Acadian-Cajun Genealogy and History)
Denys at the Magdeleine Islands (in French)
On Acadie.net, in French)
More readings:
- "Date de naissance de Nicolas Denys : 1603." By Clarence J. d'Entremont. in Les Cahiers de la Société historique
acadienne. (vol. 20, no 3, p. 112-114)
- Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. Presses de l'Université Laval. Denys, Nicolas, in Vol. I, p. 264-267. Article
by George MacBeath.
Also of interest:
La Société historique Nicolas Denys (SHND), Revue d'histoire (Caraquet, N.B.)
Le Musée Nicolas Denys, St. Peter's
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