Maple History: A Canadian History Podcast

New France was slowly attracting colonists in 1660 but one of the young women who came to the colony in those early days soon became tormented by demons set upon her by a jilted suitor. There were many people who tried to help her but the successful exorcist may come as a surprise.

Sources:

The Possession of Barbe Hallay: Diabolical Arts and Daily Life in Early Canada by Mairi Cowan

Marie-Emmanuel Chabot, o.s.u., “GUYART, MARIE, named de l’Incarnation (Martin),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed July 1, 2026, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/guyart_marie_1E.html.

Mary Dunn, "Sixteen and Possessed," Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality 22, no. 2 (Fall 2022): 232-251.

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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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