|
Frontenac was born at
St.-Germain-en-Laye in 1622 and died at Québec in 1698. He was a
professional soldier, and served in the French and Venetian
armies before his appointment in 1672 as governor general of
New France. An imperious administrator, he was
instrumental in launching a major expansion of the French empire
in the interior of North America, especially in the region of
the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi
watershed. Because of his collisions with civil and religious
authorities in
New France, he was recalled in 1682, but reinstated in 1689. On his return
he found that the Iroquois Confederacy had the colony under
attack. He launched raiding parties not only against the
Iroquois, but against their backers, the
New England
colonies. A
New England
sea-borne expedition, led by Sir William Phips, laid siege to
Québec in 1690. Phips’ demand that the town surrender was
rejected by the redoubtable Frontenac who said, "I have no
reply…other that from the mouths of my cannon."
Ultimately, Phips was compelled to withdraw, and Frontenac led a
further expedition against the Iroquois which ended their threat
to
New France. |
