Andrea

=__The Diary of Marie Leblanc __ =

      <span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">   <span style="color: #4e34ef; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="color: #3b4ee8; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;">This is an excerpt from the diary of Marie Leblanc, a thirteen year old girl, who lived a privileged life as the eldest daughter of a seigneur. Her father owned a seigneurie by the banks of the St. Lawrence River, called Fort Frontenac. The young girl was given the adequate education her father thought she should have, allowing her to maintain this diary by the means of a quill pen and ink.

<span style="color: #b03cb9; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';"> <span style="color: #b03cb9; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';"> <span style="color: #b03cb9; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';"> <span style="color: #b03cb9; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';"> Dear Diary, <span style="color: #b03cb9; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';"> <span style="color: #b03cb9; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="color: #b21bda; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"> Today was another busy and exciting day, just like yesterday. When I woke up, I did my chores immediately so that I could have time to go out and play before the day was done. I worked so hard with baking bread, cleaning the house, and I also stitched another row on the gloves I am making for my father. It is so unfair how my younger brothers and sisters do not have to help out around the house yet! When I complained to mother, she said that they would start working when they turned seven, and to stop bothering her as it wasn’t kind to annoy a pregnant lady. Her stomach is so big these days, just like Eva’s mom, who is having their fourteenth child. Anyways, after my chores, I put on my cloak and hat, then went outside. It is so annoying how the church decreed that all respectable women must wear hats outside! I went down the street, avoiding the garbage people left outside their house, as father promised me that I could go look at the habitant houses today. Just as I was walking past town, a horrible lady laughed at my clothes and said that they were way behind the current French styles. I was so very angry, as I just received these clothes from the ships yesterday! When I finally reached the habitant farms, I observed that they were long, narrow, and planted full of corn, peas, and grain. Houses were made of roughly squared logs, while others were made up of stone, and one house even had hides to cover its doors and shutters! They are so different from my beautiful home, with furniture imported from France. While walking back home for lunch, I caught up to my father’s two-wheeled carriage pulled by his two magnificent horses and hopped in. He told me that lately he was very busy holding courts to settle disputes and building a new flour mill for the habitants. When we got home,we found out that mother had gone to Eva’s home to help her mother with the birth of her new child, so father and I had lunch alone. It was delicious! We had pea soup, bread, smoked eels, ham, and after dinner, father gave me a bit of maple syrup with strawberries while he lit his clay pipe. Lunch won’t be as nice tomorrow, because it is Friday, and the church announced that we are not allowed to eat meat on that day. I am going to sleep soon, as I have to rest up for the big celebration for the birth of Eva’s family’s new child. I hope there will be lots of music and some exciting stories! Father just called and said that I must sleep now, so //<span style="font-size: 90%; color: #da4ee9; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Au revoir pour maintenant et bonne nuit ma bonne amie! //  <span style="font-size: 90%; color: #da4ee9; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console', Monaco, monospace;"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Sincerely, Marie Leblanc

= Image Gallery =

Online image from Encyclopedia Britannica || This is a map showing the different colonies that the French inhabited in North America. It also shows the different routes in which they explored, the main ones including along the Mississippi River and the St. Lawrence River. From this map, we can tell that the French were able to colonize many parts of America and Canada, and expanded their empire far along the continent. It shows how the settlements were all built along rivers for easy transportation, farming, and for the water supply. From this map, we can see how the French used the different rivers to travel from the Gulf or St. Lawrence, to come out in the Gulf of Mexico. Fort Frontenac, modern-day Kingston was where Marie Leblanc lived. ||
 * [[image:ss_image1.gif width="319" height="429"]]

Online image from Encyclopedia Britannica ||
 * [[image:ss_image3.jpg]]
 * This image shows a small fishing and farming village in Quebec . The image is much like the settlement where Marie Leblanc lived, with houses situated along the ocean. In the image, the church is in the center of the town, as it played an important role in the lives of the people in New France . The Seigneur’s house was also in the middle of the village, while the habitant farms were farther away. Colonies settled near bodies of water to allow the settlers water, easy transportation, and land for farming. Being near the ocean meant that people could fish in the waters that were brimming with cod and eels, which most people enjoyed smoked. The ocean along with fertile land and trees were the most important resources to the citizens of New France. They allowed these courageous people to endure and survive the harsh climate that came quickly in winter. ||

<span style="font-size: 150%; color: #2500ff; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Diary Entry #2 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> Dear Diary, Today was the best day of my life! My father had business with an acclaimed builder in the Ile d’Orleans as we are going to have another room built for my mother’s upcoming child. We are ordering some furniture from France, and I am to have a new couch! Anyways, I spent all day yesterday persuading my father to take me too. I have never been farther than Fort Frontenac. Finally, when he was just about to leave, he reached towards me and said that I may accompany him under the conditions that I would not bother him. I was so bored and it seemed that I spent ten <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">decades in the swaying carriage. When we got there, my father went to talk to the builder, and they talked for so long, so I decided to wander away. I went along the street, and saw this wooden house with a beautiful garden out front. There was a little girl around the age of ten feeding the chickens in the yard. I was kind of scared about whether I should go up to say hi, and I finally got the courage, because after all, I am older than her. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Her name was Renee Moxley           <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">   <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">   and she turned out to be eleven. At first, she was very hostile, as she thought that all seigneurs were “stupid” and she was angry that I was a daughter of one. She complained to me about how her father had to pay mine for “rente” and give us some bushels of wheat. I was sympathetic, but it is how my family survives! Whe n I complemented her beautiful ribbons, she warmed up to me, and took me fishing in the river along the banks of her house. I caught two magnificent eels, and she Renee showed me how to smoke them. We both love some good smoked eels. She took me back to her house, and gave me some of her maple syrup pie. It was surprising to find that we both like maple syrup too. To repay her for her hospitality, I gave her some of the cinnamon I found in my pocket. She was delighted as she said that her family did not have enough crops to afford it this year. Suddenly, I realized the time, and I hurried back to where father was waiting. I was a bit late, but when I told him all I’d learned, he was mollified. I learned many things today. I never knew that the habitant girls liked the same things that we did! I really hope to see Renee again, she was a charming girl. But of course you will always be my     //<span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">seule confiant merveilleuse! //             <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"> Revoyez-vous! <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"> Marie Leban  **c**

<span style="font-size: 110%; color: #7259c5; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"> Diary Entry #3 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: #5d3d85; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Dear Diary, <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: #5d3d85; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I totally forgot to tell you! The baptism celebration for Eva’s new baby brother was delayed until today as they had yet to choose his godparent. I was so excited, as they finally decided to choose father. My father! Eva’s parents looked up to father so much that they also allowed him to name the newborn boy, and he chose the name Joseph. It is a very common name here in New France, as most people get their names from the bible. Anyways, father paid for the Christening, and we had a huge celebration. It was then; around the fire that father told us the latest news! Father said that he had just received a message from France that the king was sending a man by the name of Captain Herioukie Jacques Vanderhooph to come here, to our settlement, to monitor our behavior, and our loyalty to the king. As father said this, the men around him froze in shock. We were far from our mother-country, but all the men here had proven their loyalty. No one had run off to join, and live with the Natives for a long time, and there had been no sign of mutiny, yet the king was suspicious of us? Father called the men to calm down, and told us just to go about our daily lives and be hospitable to the spy. I went to socialize with my friends, and learned that the man was cast from his home, and had to do the work that we women did, sewing and cooking to survive. He was from a good bloodline, but they had so many sons that he was cast out. Apparently, the king thought greatly of this man, when hearing of his travels. We will all go to the church and pray and maybe be advised by the bishop. I always feel comforted after going to church, and father says that he will pay an extra tithe to them, for their help in this matter.

<span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 110%; color: #5d3d85; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">The man arrived today, and he does not follow our social code at all. No one respects him as he does not own any land, and is not wealthy. He doesn’t even go to church regularly! I can tell that he doest not like the freezing weather here in Fort Frontenac as I always see him shivering as he walks down the road. My mother and I will snowshoe to church tomorow and pray that he will not report of treason back to the king. Anyways, enough of bad news! Tonight we will go to a midnight mass, and then we will sing on Christmas day. I am especially excited for the gifts I will receive on New Years! We will forget about this weird man just for tomorow, so that we may truely enjoy this celebration. Until then! <span style="font-size: 110%; color: #5d3d85; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"><span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;"> Sincerely, Marie Leblanc

= = = References = <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> Baldwin, Douglas. __New France and Fur Trade__. Calgary: Weigl, 2003. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Century','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Cranny, Michael. __Crossroads: A Meeting of Nations__. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998. Cruxton, J B., and Robert J. Walker. __Community Canada__. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1993. Dicks, Stewart K. __Canadiana Scrapbook: Les Canadiens: The French in Canada 1600-1867__. Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall of Canada Ltd, 1980. <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif'; mso-ansi-language: FR;">" La Salle, Sieur de: exploration of America ." <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';">Online Map/Still. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 8 Dec. 2008 < <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';"> http://www.school.eb.com/ebi/art-54582 >. <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Petit Cap <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';">." Online Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 8 Dec. 2008 <  <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';"> http://www.school.eb.com/eb/art-10964 >.  <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';">Smith. Dictation. 1 Dec. 2008.  Smith, D C. __The Seigneury of Longueuil__. Canada: Ginn and Company, 1971. <span style="font-family: 'Century','serif';">