Maple History: A Canadian History Podcast

In 1636 the last great Wendat Feast of the Dead was held in what is now Ontario. The Wendat Confederacy only had a few years left before the devastation of the diseases brought by European colonizers and the war with the Haudenosaunee brought the Wendat to their knees. The Jesuit priest, Jean de Brebeuf recorded the events and his admiration for the ritual in the Jesuit Relations which is where we get much of the information about this particular ceremony and a greater insight into the Wendat world as it was on the precipice of disaster.
This episode is going out early to subscribers and will be out next week to regular listeners.
Sources:
The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce Trigger
Huron Wendat: The Heritage of the Circle by Georges E. Sioui
The Huron-Wendat Feast of the Dead: Indian-European Encounters in Early North America by Erik R. Seeman

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Is Isola by Allegra Goodman Worth Reading? - Reese Witherspoon Book Club Review

I told the story of Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval and how she was marooned on the Isle of Demons off the coast of Quebec in 1541. Isola is a fictionalized version of that story by Allegra Goodman and in this bonus episode I let you know if it is worth a read. If you have read the book, let me know if you agree with my assessment. Did you feel the same way or do you think I'm way off the mark?
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Adam Dollard des Ormeaux’s last stand at Long Sault became one of New France’s most enduring legends but the real battle was far messier. This week, I look at what actually happened at Long Sault, why the French lost so badly, and how a military disaster became a foundational myth.

The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce Trigger
Natives and Newcomers: Canada's Heroic Age Reconsidered by Bruce Trigger
Dispersed But Not Destroyed by Kathryn Magee Labelle
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What made New France so hard to establish? A look at the realities of early settlement and slow colonial growth.

Fischer, David Hackett. Champlain’s Dream: The European Founding of North America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008

Jacques Mathieu, “HÉBERT, LOUIS,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed April 15, 2026, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hebert_louis_1E.html.

Ethel M. G. Bennett, “HÉBERT, GUILLEMETTE (Couillard de Lespinay),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed April 15, 2026, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hebert_guillemette_1E.html.
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The Jesuit priest Father Jean de Brebeuf spend over 20 years in Wendake and New France with a deep desire to suffer for the glory of God. Saving souls and martyrdom were never far from his mind. When the Haudenosaunee made there large scale attack in 1649 martyrdom also came knocking for Jean de Brebeuf. Or was it martyrdom at all?

****Very graphic descriptions of torture in this one - I didn't leave anything out

Sources:
Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie
The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce Trigger
The Jesuit Relations: A Biography by Micah True
Carson, James Taylor. “Brébeuf Was Never Martyred: Reimagining the Life and Death of Canada's First Saint.” Canadian Historical Review 97, no. 2 (June 2016): 222-243. utppublishing.com

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