Maple History: A Canadian History Podcast

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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March 16, 1649 was a fateful day for the Wendat Confederacy. An attack by the Haudenosaunee led to difficult decisions needing to be made for the survival of the Wendat people.

Sources
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
Blackhawk, Ned. “The Destruction of Wendake (Huronia), 1647–1652.” In The Cambridge World History of Genocide, edited by Ned Blackhawk, Ben Kiernan, Benjamin Madley, and Rebe Taylor, 243–266. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Blick, Jeffrey P. “The Iroquois practice of genocidal warfare (1534–1787).” Journal of Genocide Research3, no. 3 (2001): 405–429.
Otterbein, Keith F. “Huron vs. Iroquois: A Case Study in Inter-Tribal Warfare.” Ethnohistory 26, no. 2 (Spring 1979): 141–152.

Magee, Kathryn. “They Are the Life of the Nation: Women and War in Traditional Nadouek Society.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 28, no. 1 (2008): 119–138.
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A fragile peace fails and the destruction of the Wendat Confederacy begins. In this episode, we cover the legendary battles, the winter assault on St. Ignace and St. Louis, and the catastrophic losses that sent thousands fleeing to Ste. Marie. Part One of a two-part series.

Sources
The Children of Aateantsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660 by Bruce Trigger
Dispersed But Not Destroyed by Kathryn Magee Labelle
Natives and Newcomers: Canada's Heroic Age Reconsidered by Bruce Trigger

Blick, Jeffrey P. “The Iroquois practice of genocidal warfare (1534–1787).” Journal of Genocide Research3, no. 3 (2001): 405–429.

Otterbein, Keith F. “Huron vs. Iroquois: A Case Study in Inter-Tribal Warfare.” Ethnohistory 26, no. 2 (Spring 1979): 141–152.

Magee, Kathryn. “They Are the Life of the Nation: Women and War in Traditional Nadouek Society.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 28, no. 1 (2008): 119–138.
Get extra content on Patreon or Substack
Follow me on TikTok @MapleHistoryPod
Follow me on BlueSky @MapleHistoryPod.bsky.social
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.