Pierre Boucher | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Pierre Boucher

Pierre Boucher, interpreter, soldier, seigneur (bap at Mortagne, France 1 Aug 1622; d at Boucherville 19 Apr 1717).

Pierre Boucher, interpreter, soldier, seigneur (bap at Mortagne, France 1 Aug 1622; d at Boucherville 19 Apr 1717). He lived in Huronia 1637-41, assisting the missionaries, living among the Indigenous people and learning their dialects. From 1645 he lived in Trois-Rivières, distinguishing himself in its defence against Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) raids. He became captain of Trois-Rivières 1649, and governor 1654.

Boucher was sent to France in 1661 to plead for help, returning with soldiers and supplies and a commitment to make New France a crown colony. He built his seigneury of Boucherville into one of the most prosperous in the colony. His memoirs contain a valuable record of the fur trade, Indigenous people, and his remarkable life.