Marcel Trudel (May 29, 1917 – January 11, 2011) was a Canadian historian, university professor (1947–1982) and author who published more than 40 books on the history of

New France New France (, ) was the territory 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He brought academic rigour to an area that had been marked by nationalistic and religious biases. His work was part of the marked changes to Quebec society during the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...

. Trudel's work has been honoured with major awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction in 1966, and a second nomination for the award in 1987.

Early life and education

Marcel Trudel was born in Saint-Narcisse-de-Champlain,

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, ...

, northeast of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, the son of Hermyle Trudel and Antoinette Cossette, the ninth of eleven children. Orphaned at the age of five, he was adopted by a local couple in his extended family, Théodore Baril and Mary Trépanier.Marcel Trudel website: Biographie.
.Les Prix du Québec: Prix Léon-Gérin 2001.
/ref> He showed great academic progress and spent some months at a seminary at Trois-Rivières, but concluded that the priesthood was not for him. Rather, he had a particular interest in literature and hoped to make his living as a writer. He earned a '' licence ès lettres (cum laude)'' in 1941 and a ''

Doctorat ès lettres Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(magna cum laude)'' in 1945, both from

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

. He then had two years of post-doctoral studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

before returning to Laval to teach history.

Career

In 1947, Trudel was the first professor of history in Laval's newly founded Institute of History. He went on to become head of the History department. From 1955 to 1960, he published on many subjects that the Catholic hierarchy controlling the university found scandalous, such as: "Chiniquy" (the first French Catholic priest who became a Presbyterian minister), "The Canadian Catholic Church under the English Military Government, in 1759-1764", and "The Slaves in New France" (most of them being Amerindian and belonging even to the Catholic Church masters). As of 1962, Trudel was also president of the ''For Laïcité Movement'' in Quebec City. It was too much: in 1962, under pressure from the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Laval University demoted him from his position as head of the History department. In 1961, Laval University Press joined with the

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first s ...

in establishing the

Dictionary of Canadian Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; ) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a collaboration between the University of Toro ...

(DCB). Trudel served as the Associate General Editor from 1961 to 1965, working with the General Editor,

George Williams Brown George Williams Brown (1894–1963) was a Canadian historian and editor. Born on April 3, 1894, in Glencoe, Middlesex County, Ontario, and died on October 19, 1963, in Ottawa, Ontario. Early life and education The son of Charles William Brown, ...

, a historian at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. They collaborated both in organizing the over-all project, which has published 15 print volumes and is on-going, and in editing the first volume, which covered the period from 1000 to 1700 and was published in 1966. The DCB is published simultaneously in English and French and has been widely recognized as one of the most important scholarly undertakings in Canada. Beginning in the 1960s, Marcel Trudel publicly expressed his opposition to

Quebec nationalism Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

and the

Quebec sovereignty movement The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...

, seeing these ideas as a break with the other French-speaking communities in Canada, a fragmentation of these communities on the North American continent and a denial of the historical French and English duality that has shaped Canada. He maintained these opinions throughout his life. In 1965, Trudel left Laval University and Quebec City to live near Ottawa and taught at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

. The next year, he began teaching at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

after the Ontario government took over the university from the Catholic

Oblate In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are i ...

Fathers. Having reached age 65 in 1982, he was relieved of his lecturing duties, but he continued to write from his home near Montreal until the year he died; half of his books were published in retirement. In 1993, he also began lecturing at a university to seniors' groups. Trudel's life's work was the history of

, in particular his monumental and authoritative ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France''. Planned to be ten volumes in collaboration with another Quebec historian, Guy Frégault, Trudel wrote six volumes in the series, published between 1963 and 1999. Trudel meticulously reviewed the

primary sources In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

and criticized previous accounts in his effort to tell the colony's story without what he viewed as pious or nationalist bias.

Family and death

In 1942, Trudel married Anne Chrétien, with whom he had three children. He married again in 1970, to Micheline D'Allaire, who was also a professor of history at the University of Ottawa. Trudel died at the age of 93 on January 11, 2011, of generalized cancer. He left his three children, plus six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Selected Honours

* 1964: J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal by the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

* 1966: Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction * 1966:

Ludger-Duvernay Prize The Ludger-Duvernay Prize is a Quebec award created in 1944 and named in honour of journalist Ludger Duvernay. It is awarded by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal to recognize the merits of a person whose competence and influence in the ...

by the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

* 1971: Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Order of Canada * 1984: Sir John A. Macdonald Prize by the Canadian Historical Association / Société historique du Canada * 1985: Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

Ordre national du Québec : Marcel Trudel (1917-2011).
/ref> * 2001: Prix Léon-Gérin * 2004: Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec * 2008: Companion of the Order of Canada

Works and publications

Trudel was a prolific author. He worked primarily in French, but some of his works also appeared in English, via translation.Marcel Trudel website: Books in English (1954-2002)
.

Works in French

1946-1949

* 1945: ''L'influence de Voltaire au Canada'', Montréal, Fides * 1946: ''Vézine : a novel'', Montréal, Fides * 1948: ''Collection de cartes anciennes et modernes pour servir à l'étude de l’histoire de l’Amérique et du Canada'', Québec, Institut d'histoire et de géographie de l'Université Laval * 1949: ''Louis XVI, le Congrès américain et le Canada, 1774-1789'', Québec, Éditions du Quartier Latin

1950-1959

* 1950: ''Lettres du Bas-Canada'', Montréal, L'Immaculée-Conception * 1952: ''Le Canada et la révolution américaine 1774-1789'', Québec, Presses Universitaires Laval * 1952: ''Histoire du Canada par les textes'' (with Guy Frégault and Michel Brunet), Montréal; Paris, Fides * 1952: ''Le régime militaire dans le gouvernement des Trois-Rivières, 1760-1764'', Trois-Rivières, Éditions du bien public * 1953: ''L'Affaire Jumonville'', Québec, Presses Universitaires Laval * 1954: ''Le Séminaire de Québec sous le régime militaire, 1759-1764'', Québec : .n.* 1955: ''Chiniquy'', Trois-Rivières Éditions du Bien public * 1956: ''Champlain'', Montréal, Fides, collection « Classiques canadiens », revised edition, 1968 * 1956: ''Les communautés de femmes sous le régime militaire, 1759-1764'', Montréal, Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française, collection ''Les études'' * 1956: ''Le régime seigneurial'' / ''The Seigneurial Regime'', Ottawa, Société historique du Canada / Canadian Historical Association (published bilingually), revised edition, 1971 * 1956-1957: ''L'Église canadienne sous le Régime militaire, 1759-1764'', Montréal, Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française, collection ''Les études'', Volume I : ''Les problèmes'', 1956; Volume II : ''Les institutions'', 1957

1960-1969

* 1960: ''L'esclavage au Canada français; histoire et conditions de l'esclavage'', Québec, Presses universitaires Laval * 1960: ''L'esclavage au Canada français'', Montréal, Éditions de l'Horizon (abridged edition) * 1961: ''Atlas historique du Canada français des origines à 1867'', Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval * 1963 to 1999: ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'', Montréal, Fides : ** Volume I : ''Les Vaines Tentatives, 1524-1603'', 1963 ** Volume II : ''Le Comptoir, 1604-1627'', 1966 (Winner of Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction, 1966) ** Volume III : ''La seigneurie des Cent-Associés, 1627-1663'' : *** Book I : ''Les évènements'', 1979 *** Book II : ''La société'', 1983 (Winner of Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, 1984) ** Volume X : ''Le régime militaire et la disparition de la Nouvelle-France, 1759-1764'', Montréal, Fides, 1999 * 1965: ''Histoire du Canada par les textes'' (with Guy Frégault and Michel Brunet) : tome 1 : ''(1534-1854)'', Montréal, Fides * 1966: '' Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. Volume premier, de l'an 1000 à 1700'' (Associate General Editor), Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval * 1968: ''Jacques Cartier'', Montréal, Fides * 1969: ''L'histoire du Canada; enquête sur les manuels'' (with Genevieve Jain), within Studies of the

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (, also known as the Bi and Bi Commission and the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission) was a Canadian royal commission established on 19 July 1963, by the government of Prime Minister Lester B. P ...

, Queen's Printer for Canada, 150 pages

1970-1979

* 1971: ''Initiation à la Nouvelle-France : histoire et institutions'', Montréal, Éditions HRW * 1972: ''Le Québec de 1663'', Québec, Société historique de Québec * 1973: ''Atlas de la Nouvelle-France'', Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval * 1973: ''La Population du Canada en 1663'', Montréal, Fides * 1973: ''Le Terrier du Saint-Laurent en 1663'', Ottawa, Éditions de l'Université d'Ottawa * 1974: ''Les débuts du régime seigneurial au Canada'', Montréal, Fides * 1976: ''La Révolution américaine : pourquoi la France refuse le Canada, 1775-1783'', Sillery, Boréal Express, 292 pages * 1976: ''Montréal : la formation d'une société, 1642-1663'', Montréal, Fides * 1978: ''La carte de Champlain en 1632 : ses sources et son originalité'', .l.s.n.

1980-1989

* 1983: ''Catalogue des immigrants, 1632-1662'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, 570 pages * ''Mémoires d'un autre siècle'', Montréal, Boréal, 320 pages (nominated for the 1987 Governor General's Literary Award, French Non-fiction)

1990-1993

* 1994: ''Dictionnaire des esclaves et de leurs propriétaires au Canada français'', LaSalle, Hurtubise HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'', 1994, 520 pages * 1995: ''La Population du Canada en 1666 : recensement reconstitué'', Sillery, Septentrion * 1995: ''La Présence des noirs dans la société québécoise d'hier et d’aujourd'hui'', Montréal Ministère des affaires internationales, de l'immigration et des communautés culturelles * 1997: ''La Seigneurie de la Compagnie des Indes occidentales, 1663-1674'', Saint-Laurent, Fides * 1998: ''Le Terrier du Saint-Laurent en 1674'', Montréal, Éditions du Méridien * 1999: ''Les écolières des Ursulines de Québec, 1639-1686 : Amérindiennes et Canadiennes'', Montréal, Hurtubise-HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'', 440 pages

2000-2005

* 2001: ''Chiniquy : prêtre catholique, ministre presbytérien'', Montréal, Lidec * 2001: ''Saint-Narcisse-de-Champlain : au pays de la Batiscan'', Saint-Narcisse, Mairie de Saint-Narcisse * 2001-2003: ''Les mythes et la réalité de notre histoire du Québec'', Saint-Laurent, Éditions du Club Québec loisirs * 2001-2010: ''Mythes et réalités dans l'histoire du Québec'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'' : ** Book I : 2001, 312 p., 14,61 x 22,86 cm ** Book II : 2004, 264 p. ** Book III : 2006, 208 p. . ** Book IV : 2009, 192 p. ** Book V : 2010, 200 p. * 2003: ''La Nouvelle-France par les textes : les cadres de vie'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, collection ''Cahiers du Québec : Histoire'', 440 pages * 2004: ''Deux siècles d'esclavage au Québec'', Montréal, Hurtubise HMH, 408 pages ; updated 2009, by Micheline D'Allaire, including ''Dictionnaire des esclaves'' on CD-ROM, Bibliothèque québécoise * 2005: ''Connaître pour le plaisir de connaître : entretien avec l'historien Marcel Trudel sur la science historique et le métier d'historien au Québec'' (with Mathieu d'Avignon), Québec, Presses de l'Université Laval

Works in English

* 1954: "The Jumonville Affair", ''Pennsylvania History Quarterly Journal'' (1953), vol. 21, no. 4, 34 pages (originally published in French) * 1956: ''The Seigneurial Regime'' / ''Le régime seigneurial'', Ottawa, Canadian Historical Association / Société historique du Canada (published bilingually), revised edition, 1971 * 1967: ''Canada: Unity and Diversity'' (with P.G. Cornell, J. Hamelin, F. Ouellet), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Toronto, 530 pages. * 1968: ''Introduction to New France'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, 300 pages (condensed from the first volumes of ''Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'') * 1970: ''Canadian History Textbooks - A Comparative Study'' (with Genevieve Jain), within ''Studies of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism'', Queen's Printer for Canada, 150 pages * 1973: ''The Beginnings of New France 1524-1663'' (translated by Patricia Claxton), McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 324 pages, (Volume II of the Canadian Centenary Series) * 2002: ''Memoirs of a Less Travelled Road: A Historian's Life'', translation by

Jane Brierley Jane Brierley (born 1935) is a Canadian translator, translating from French to English. She received a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. from Bishop's University in 1956. During the early 1960s, while her husband was completing a degree at the University of ...

of his autobiography ''Mémoire d'un autre siècle'', Véhicule Press, 248 pages (winner of the

2003 Governor General's Awards The 2003 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (70 books) were announced October 20, the four children's literature winners announced and presented November 10, other winners announced and presented November 12. E ...

for French-to-English translation) * 2013: ''Canada's Forgotten Slaves: Two Hundred Years of Bondage'', translation by George Tombs of ''Deux siècles d'esclavage au Québec'', Véhicule Press,

References

External links

Marcel Trudel website: Home Page

Quebec historian put the facts before the church-approved version of the past
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' obituary, Feb. 3, 2011
Nele Sawallisch:
''Trudel’s Legacies: For a Critical Understanding of Slavery in Quebec'', Zeitschrift für Kanada-Studien, Wißner, Augsburg 2016 pp 86 – 101 {{DEFAULTSORT:Trudel, Marcel 1917 births 2011 deaths Deaths from cancer in Quebec Harvard University alumni 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Historians of Colonial North America Canadian writers in French Companions of the Order of Canada Governor General's Award–winning non-fiction writers Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Academics from Quebec Historians from Quebec Université Laval alumni People from Mauricie Academic staff of Université Laval Presidents of the Canadian Historical Association 21st-century Canadian historians Recipients of the Prix Léon-Gérin