r/frenchempire

On March 17, 1560, a Portuguese military contingent led by the then Governor-General of Brazil, Mem de Sá, attacked and destroyed "Fort Coligny." Located on what is now Villegagnon Island (then known as Serijipe Island) in Rio de Janeiro, the fortification had been built by a group of French colonists led by Nicolas Durand de Villegagnon. They had named the region "France Antarctique" (1555–1560) in an attempt to establish a French colony in Brazil.

Alerted to the French presence in Rio de Janeiro, the Portuguese assembled a fleet of 26 warships to retake Guanabara Bay.

The Portuguese account of the confrontation comes from the writings of José de Anchieta, who was part of Mem de Sá's expedition. With a force of 120 Portuguese soldiers and the support of 140 Indian allies (Tupinambá and Temiminó) armed with arrows and traveling in canoes, they surrounded the island—where approximately 75 Frenchmen were entrenched, supported by about a thousand Tamoio warriors. They called upon the French colonists to surrender, but the latter refused. After a prolonged siege, a Portuguese sailor swam to the island and blew up the gunpowder magazine, forcing the French to abandon the fight and flee; most returned to France, while about 20 escaped to the mainland, taking refuge among allied indigenous settlements. The fortification thus captured (March 16) was razed, as Mem de Sá—hampered by damaged ships and a shortage of men—lacked the resources to establish a permanent settlement in Guanabara Bay; he returned to Salvador on April 3.

Despite being driven out of the city, the French did not abandon their efforts to conquer the site where Rio was founded. The two years following the Portuguese conquest were marked by intense attacks from the enemy. To assist the Captain-Major in maintaining control over the former France Antarctique region, a fleet from the Northeast, commanded by Cristóvão de Barros, arrived in Rio on January 20, 1567. This reinforcement proved crucial to the victories in the battles of Uruçumirim and Paranapuã Island, which were taking place at the time.

Image: Painting titled 'Madame Champlain enseignant aux enfants indiens, 1620' (Madame Champlain Teaching Indian Children) by Adam Sherriff Scott, published on January 1, 1931. Bibliothèque et Archives Canada.

Hélène Boullé (or Hélène de Champlain after her marriage), was born in Paris in 1598 and died on December 20, 1654, in Meaux, France; she was the founder of the Ursuline convent in Meaux. Her father, Nicolas Boullé, was a prominent figure in the Parisian bourgeoisie and held various positions within the royal administration, including that of secretary to the king. He married Marguerite Alix in accordance with the Calvinist Protestant tradition. Four children were born of this union, including Hélène Boullé, born in 1598 in Paris. In 1610, at just ten years of age, she married Samuel de Champlain at the Parisian church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois. As the young girl was not yet of marriageable age, the marriage contract required the couple to live apart for two years before they could reside together. At the age of fourteen, she fully embraced Catholicism. Champlain received 4,500 of the 6,000 livres promised as a dowry immediately after the wedding and pledged to pay 1,800 livres a year to support his wife while he was away from France. According to historians who have studied the matter, neither Samuel de Champlain nor Hélène Boullé found happiness in this marriage.

Boullé accompanied her husband to New France in 1620. During this visit, Champlain named the island southeast of present-day Montreal Island "Sainte-Hélène" in his wife's honor. As the explorer was often occupied by his duties as commander, she found fulfillment in spending time with the Indigenous people. Taking an interest in them, she learned enough the Laurentian language to teach the catechism to Indigenous children. Since the young woman remained in Quebec for only four years (1620–1624), historians believe she did not share her husband's enthusiasm for the colony. Harsh living conditions may have accounted for her departure.

Dissatisfied with the living conditions in the colony, she returned to France in 1624 and devoted herself to defending her husband's interests. Despite the distance separating the couple, she closely followed her husband's activities in the colony through correspondence. Acting on Champlain's behalf, she sued the merchant Guillaume de Caën to compel him to pay royalties to her husband. She also contributed 3,000 livres on her husband's behalf when Cardinal Richelieu asked each shareholder to invest that sum in the Company of One Hundred Associates.

Following Champlain's sudden death in 1635, she faced complicated succession issues regarding her husband's estate. In November 1645, long after her husband's death, Hélène de Champlain entered the Ursuline convent in Paris, taking the religious name Sister Hélène de Saint-Augustin. She later left the Paris convent to found another in Meaux. She passed away on December 20, 1654, following an eight-day illness.

Tributes to Hélène de Boullé

Île Sainte-Hélène (Saint Helen's Island) was named by Samuel de Champlain in honor of his wife during his voyage to the colony in 1611. Several place names keep her memory alive in Quebec, including the Hélène-de-Champlain Pavilion in Parc Jean-Drapeau, as well as about ten streets, a square, a school in Montreal, two lakes, and a park.

In the cultural sphere, writer Nicole Fyfe-Martel published a three-volume historical novel titled Hélène de Champlain.

Bibliography:

.- Rober le Blant, La famille Boullé 1586-1639. Revue d’histoire de l’Amérique française,‎ June 1963, p. 55-69

.- David Hackett Fisher, Le rêve de Champlain, Montréal. Les Éditions du Boréal, 2012, 1008 p., p. 467-468

.- Raymonde Italien et Denis Vaugeois, Champlain. La naissance de l'Amérique française, Québec et Paris. Éditions du Septentrion y Nouveau monde éditions, 2004, 398 p., p. 366

.- David Hackett Fisher, Le rêve de Champlain, Montréal. Les Éditions du Boréal, 2012, 1008 p., p. 432

.- Roman québécois: Les humeurs et les amours d'Hélène de Champlain. Ledevoir. August 6, 2005.