The Jesuit Relations And Allied Documents Summary

The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents: Volume 6, chapter 6 and 7
In the year of 1634, Paul le Jeune, a French Jesuit missionary who spent quite some time living among the Montagnais, wrote a detailed and descriptive report to the Reverend Father Provincial of the society of Jesus in the province of France in order to update him the missionary work he and his fellow Jesuit missionaries were doing in New France. Examining closely on the dedication and the thorough preparation in the document, it is probable that the document carried a secondary objective: raising funds for the mission. Le Jeune’s accounts of the good and the vices of the Montagnais enhances our knowledge of Jesuit missionary work in North America because it shows that the

In fact, that is precisely the point Le Jeune makes in his account of their vices and imperfections. However, it is the strong faith they had in nature or in themselves that kept them away from being angry, a point that Le Jeune raises when he is demonstrating one of the local “savage’s” pride in his patience but attempts to deny

He writes, “Whoever professes not to get angry, ought also to make a profession of patience; the Savages surpass us to such an extent, in this respect, that we ought to be ashamed” (231). To state that Europeans, especially their best and brightest, fail to be compared to the “savages” on this aspect is a powerful claim that should have led to some serious consequences. On the lighter consequence, it could have upset the church and question his integrity of being part of the society of Jesus. On the serious consequence, that claim could have easily jeopardized the whole mission of the Jesuits in New France, as raising money for people who “surpass” Europeans would seem absurd to a donor. However, it is interesting that none of those had happened, and the fact that such a serious offence didn’t either bother the church nor stopped the funds coming from the donors tells us that both the funding from the wealthy French and the Jesuits claim of civilizing the “savages” was merely an act of altruism.
Furthermore, Le Jeune’s accounts offer a window into the social status of the Montagnais women. He writes, “ I have never heard the women complain because they were not invited to the feasts, because the men ate the good pieces, or because they had to work continually,—going in search of the wood for the fire, making the Houses, dressing the skins, and busying themselves in other very laborious