Alexandre Berthier (1638–1708) was a captain in the French army who was born Isaac Berthier and a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

. He became known as Alexandre after his arrival in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to King ...

in 1665. The name change appears to be because of his conversion to the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

religion. He was part of the

Carignan-Salières Regiment The Carignan-Salières Regiment was a Piedmont French military unit formed by merging two other regiments in 1659. They were led by the new Governor, Daniel de Rémy de Courcelles, and Lieutenant-General Alexandre de Prouville, Sieur de Tracy. ...

which arrived in Quebec that year from the West Indies under the command of Prouville de Tracy. Berthier's first posting was as commandant of Fort de l'Assomption and during Prouville de Tracy's 1666 action against the

Mohawks The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern Ne ...

, he and Pierre de Saurel were co-commanders of the rear-guard of troops. From 1674, Berthier spent most of his time settling and improving his seigneuries. He did lead a company of his own militia as part of an expeditionary force against the

Senecas The Seneca () ( see, Onödowáʼga:, "Great Hill People") are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west ...

in 1687. This was part of the Brisay de Denonville's expedition. He was also actively involved in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

along with some associates. His seigneury of Berthier-en-bas became his major project during his later years.

References

* * S.-A. Moreau, "''Le capitaine Berthier''," BRH, IX (1903) (French) 1638 births 1708 deaths People of New France 17th-century French military personnel Huguenots {{KingdomofFrance-stub