Claude-Godefroy Coquart (February 2, 1706 – July 4, 1765) was a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest who probably arrived in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in 1739. He was almost immediately assigned to accompany

La Vérendrye La Vérendrye, La Verendrye or Verendrye may refer to: People *Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (1685–1749), French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer, often called simply "La Vérendrye". His sons were: **Jean ...

to the western forts. He was to replace Father

Jean-Pierre Aulneau Jean-Pierre Aulneau de la Touche (21 April 1705 Moutiers-sur-le-Lay, La Vendée, Kingdom of France – 8 June 1736 Massacre Island, Lake of the Woods, New France, now Ontario, Canada) was a Jesuit missionary priest from La Vendée and a pionee ...

who had died in the massacre on

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (; ) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,552 islands and of shoreline. It is fed by t ...

in 1736. They left for the west in June, 1741 and Coquart was left at either

Fort Michilimackinac Fort Michilimackinac (/fóːt ˌmɪʃələˈmækənɔː/ FAWT MISH-ə-lə-MAK-ə-naw) was an 18th-century French, and later British, fort and trading post at the Straits of Mackinac; it was built on the northern tip of the lower peninsula ...

or Fort Kaministiquia because of the riskiness of starting a new mission further west. We do know that he was aware of, and wrote about La Colle's raid on the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

of the Prairies in 1741. Coquart joined the La Vérendryes at

Fort La Reine Fort La Reine was built in 1738 and is one of the forts of the western expansion directed by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, first military commander in the west of what is now known as Canada. Located on the Assiniboine River ...

in 1743 and returned east when the Sieur de La Vérendrye lost the commandant post in 1744. He was the first recorded missionary in present-day Manitoba and the first to travel so far west.

References

*
''Metis Culture 1741-1742''
* * People from Melun 1706 births 1765 deaths Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada French Roman Catholic missionaries 18th-century French Jesuits Jesuit missionaries in New France {{NewFrance-stub

See also

References