José António Brandão uproots the ‘Mémoires of Michilimackinac’

For those interested in the history of Fort Michilimackinac, a new study published by MSU Press provides new insight into French-Indian relations by bridging the gap between what we know of French colonialism and the dominant narratives told by British historians.

In 1991, a research project guided by the Mackinac State Historic Parks sought to locate, copy, translate and publish all available French language documents in order to better understand and interpret French-Indian relationships. The microfilm collection, one of the largest in the United States, now exists for the public at Western Michigan University Archives.

The third, but certainly not final, published edition from the project was a primary source for José António Brandão, a professor and researcher at Western Michigan University. His new book, “Mémoires of Michilimackinac and the Pays d’en Haut,” has provided a badly needed, corrected, edited and annotated version of documents written by French researchers and historians such as Pierre Margry, Francois Begon de La Picardiere and Antoine Laumet dit de Lamothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit.

Mackinac State Historic Parks’ project was actualized by historians looking to learn more about the relationship between the French and Indians in “New France,” dating back to the French’s first visits and then presence at the Straits of Mackinac in 1671 until the British conquest in 1761.

It has proved a daunting project notwithstanding the documents were written in 17th and 18th century French. Early work by the late Joseph L. Peyser and later work by Keith Widder, curator of history at the Mackinac State Historic Parks, paid great dividends that resulted in three books co-published by Michigan State University Press.

While researching the documents, Brandão soon discovered existing English translations were questionably translated, altered, abridged or interpreted from the original French documents, resulting in spurious information. 

Brandão found the translations of a 19th century researcher, Margry, especially egregious.

The new translations Brandão writes in his book, have a “specific focus on Michilimackinac, the pays d’en haut, its people and their place in French imperial plans.” Pay d’en haut translates as “upper country.”

The French were no different from the British, who later sought to maximize profits from the fur trade and forge alliances. However, the new translations show they went about it differently than the Redcoats.

“The new translations are one of the few places we hear Indian voices, their reaction to policy and what the French hope to accomplish,” Brandão said. “The French were not shy about giving credit to their Native allies. Their importance in French schemes comes through in collections.”

The author-historian described the Franco-Indian relationship as “symbiotic,” largely due to interracial marriages. “Inter-marriage,” he said was encouraged, but “the Indian had to become a Catholic.”

The new translations also provide a first-person, original look at the natural environment of the Great Lakes region, and the Indians or “sauvages,” as the French called them.

Describing the area, Cadillac wrote in one missive back home, “Moreover these are the finest lands one can ever see. They are broken up by an infinitude of very beautiful and large rivers that replenish all the lakes I have mentioned. They are covered in fine hardwood forests, such as elm, walnut chestnut, oak cherry and hazel.”   

Based on Brandão’s translation, Cadillac said “all the sauvages are very skilled and expert in healing all kinds of sore and wounds … and that is by the virtue of (medicinal) herbs, of which they have a marvelous knowledge.”

Some segments of Cadillac’s translated documents on waging war and torture of enemy captives by Indians are especially brutal and graphic. However, it is unlikely that Cadillac observed the torture directly and was repeating descriptions by other observers.

Brandão’s book includes the original French with English translation side by side. Still waiting for translation are more than 470 reels of microfilm and dozens more volumes in microfiche.

“There is an incredible cache of French records, despite a lot being lost during the French Revolution,” the author said. He added it is his goal to clean up previous translations “which may have had an agenda or to make them more palliative, literary or pleasant.”