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Gunpowder Firearm

25 Jul 22
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Written by Delia Oltean –

To protect oneself in case of danger, to provide for oneself, to hunt animals, to wage war… What do all these things have in common? The answer to this question is an object that can be held in one’s hands, a complex and meticulously worked object, a firearm.

One only has to go into the kitchen of the Maison Hurtubise, take a few steps towards the fireplace to revive our memory of warmth, the warmth of a robust flame used in the past in the kitchen. Nearby are two old-fashioned gunpowder firearms that bear witness to a rich history concerning the whole of the Nouvelle-France.

We must go back as far as the arrival of the Europeans in America to realize the starting point of the emergence of firearms, which were first exchanged with the natives. It is important to know that at that time, transactions between natives and Europeans were done by barter (exchange of one good for another) and firearms were not just simple objects introduced into daily life. Revolutionizing the social hierarchy, the way of hunting and even warfare, firearms also changed the relationship between indigenous peoples and settlers. Indeed, the battles in the forest conducted thereafter would occur on a more egalitarian basis, while the natives would also have the opportunity to defend themselves with this same effective weapon (Marchand, 2006).

Although the settlers had not discovered firearms when they were establishing themselves in America, their relationship with this object changed a lot. In Nouvelle-France, the use of firearms was free and unrestricted, giving the population the legal and moral right to own them. However, under the threat of the natives, between 1654 and 1658, a law was introduced to make it mandatory to always carry a gun. Although this measure aimed at protecting the population existed, it does not seem to have been very effective: there were too few weapons in circulation (Blais).

The downside is that very few firearms, if any, are made in Nouvelle-France. Why was this? Under the laws of mercantilism, the colony only served to bring raw materials to the metropolis. This law generates an almost unique consumption of goods coming from the metropolis by the inhabitants of the colony. Most firearms therefore came from France or, in smaller quantities, from other European countries such as England or Holland (Bouchard, 1999). Knowing this, it makes sense that not enough firearms were imported to accommodate the population. 

Nevertheless, the profession of gunsmith existed in Nouvelle-France. Travelling for the most part directly from France with very limited financial resources, the men practicing this trade did more repairs on guns than the actual manufacturing of the weapons (Bouchard, 1978).

The history of firearms is a rich one! It is a distant history that tells of all the changes that a “new” technology could bring to the society of Nouvelle France, as well as to the way of life of the natives.

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