New Voyages to North-America, Volume I
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Containing an Account of the Several Nations of That Vast Continent; Their Customs, Commerce, and Way of Navigation Upon the Lakes and Rivers; The Several Attempts of the English and French to Dispossess One Another
Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce
Übersicht
New Voyages to North America is a book by Louis Armand de Lom d’Arce, baron de Lahontan that chronicles his nine years exploring New France as an officer in the French Army. Published in two volumes in 1703 as Nouveaux Voyages de M. le Baron de Lahontan dans l’Amérique Septentrionale, it was translated into English the same year.
Considered the best work on 17th century New France for its detailed descriptions of the environment and North American native society, the book includes accounts of the two winters Lahontan spent hunting with a group of the Algonquin people. Lahontan expresses his opinions of New France and the natives, as well as of European society, through dialogue between himself and "Adario", a fictional native based on the Huron chief Kondiaronk.
Volume I has two sections: Lahontan's letters to a friend and his memoirs. Both provide descriptions of his journeys. The letters document his interactions with natives as well as superior French figures in Quebec, Montreal, and Sault Ste. Marie while the memoirs provide more in depth descriptions of geographical locations, detailed descriptions of the wildlife and lists of native vocabulary.