The Jesuit Relations, a series of annual reports produced between 1632 and 1673 detailing the experiences of Society of Jesus missionaries in what is now Eastern Canada, have long been an influential source on the history of New France and encounters between European settlers and Indigenous Peoples. The question of what exactly the Relations are, and who had a hand in composing the versions that circulated, has been given far less attention.

The Jesuit “Relations” challenges conventional descriptions of these annual reports as narratives crafted solely by Jesuit missionaries. Micah True demonstrates that they were in fact shaped by a diverse array of contributors, including Indigenous people, lay settlers, nuns, editors in Paris, and readers in France. The Relations were also the product of contextual factors, he explains, such as the longstanding Jesuit epistolary tradition, the annual rhythms of the shipping schedule, and the Parisian book trade, and he details the connections between the published Relations and other texts written at the time. Tracing the history of readers’ encounters with the Relations, True analyzes the three major editions that have appeared since the mid-nineteenth century, showing how each of them presents the reports differently, and how these differences have influenced scholars’ understanding of the texts.

Shining a new light on the Jesuit Relations, True reveals a richer and more complex picture of a primary source that has played a major role in public understanding of the colonial history of North America.

The Jesuit "Relations" *explores the intricate relationships between the published *Relations and the many other texts written in New France, revealing a rich picture of a historical source that has shaped public understanding of colonial North America.“This is a wonderful book filled with fascinating insights. Its nuanced, cool, and understated tone is distinctive and elegant. True provides a dizzying range of new ways to think about and appreciate the Relations as sources.” Emma Anderson, University of OttawaMicah True is professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta.

Series Editors / Directeurs de la collection : Allan Greer and Carolyn Podruchny

This series features studies of the history of the northern half of North America – a vast expanse that would eventually be known as Canada – in the era before extensive European settlement and extending into the nineteenth century. Long neglected, Canada-before-Canada is a fascinating area of study experiencing an intellectual renaissance as researchers in a range of disciplines, including history, geography, archeology, anthropology, literary studies, and law, contribute to a new and enriched understanding of the distant past. The editors welcome manuscripts in English or French on all aspects of the period, including work on Indigenous history, the Atlantic fisheries, the fur trade, exploration, French or British imperial expansion, colonial life, culture, language, law, science, religion, and the environment.

Cette série de monographies est consacrée à l’histoire de la partie septentrionale du continent de l’Amérique du Nord, autrement dit le grand espace qui deviendra le Canada, dans les siècles qui s’étendent jusqu’au début du 19e. Longtemps négligé par les chercheurs, ce Canada-avant-le-Canada suscite beaucoup d’intérêt de la part de spécialistes dans plusieurs disciplines, entre autres, l’histoire, la géographie, l’archéologie, l’anthropologie, les études littéraires et le droit. Nous assistons à une renaissance intellectuelle dans ce champ d’étude axé sur l’interaction de Premières Nations, d’empires européens et de colonies. Les directeurs de cette série sollicitent des manuscrits, en français ou en anglais, qui portent sur tout aspect de cette période, y compris l’histoire des Autochtones, celle des pêcheries de l’Atlantique, de la traite des fourrures, de l’exploration, de l’expansion de l’empire français ou britannique, de la vie coloniale (la Nouvelle-France, l’Acadie, Terre-Neuve, les provinces maritimes, etc.), de la culture, de la langue, du droit, des sciences, de la religion ou de l’environnement.

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