Vingt Ans Apres, Habitants Et Marchands : Lectures De L'histoire Des XVIIe Et XVIIIe Siecles Canadiens

This collection of essays commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the publication of Louise Dechêne's landmark book Habitants et marchands de Montréal au XVIIe siècle, which ushered in a new phase in the study of the history of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Canada. In Habitants et marchands, Twenty Years Later leading scholars assess the innovative nature and influence of Dechêne's important work and contribute in their own right to the historiography of the period.

Habitants et marchands, Twenty Years Later includes eleven essays, seven of which are in French, that highlight current research in Quebec studies. Danielle Gauvreau, Dale Miquelon, and Louis Michel survey recent developments on population, merchants, and rural society respectively. Allan Greer studies Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Amerindian to be beatified. William Wicken analyses relations between Mi'kmaq and Acadians. Bruce White and Thomas Wien examine the fur trade, with White focusing on the Lake Superior region and Wien on the St Lawrence Valley. Catherine Desbarats looks at the role of the state as a buyer of goods and services in Canada. Mario Lalancette and Alan M. Stewart study the evolution of Montreal's urban geography in the seventeenth century. Geneviève Postolec analyses matrimonial practices at Neuville, and Sylvie Dépatie examines the urban and peri-urban countryside in Montreal's gardens and orchards. The collection offers valuable perspectives on both the history of New France and the socio-economic history of colonial societies.