Seignory of Bic
The seignory of Bic was a seignory during the French colonisation of New France. It was located in present Rimouski-Neigette Regional County Municipality in Bas-Saint-Laurent.
History
[edit]
The maritime site of Bic became a ships mooring location as soon as first French explorers came to North America.[1]
The seignory was granted on May 6, 1675, to Charles Denys de Vitré who belonged to an important French family and who was a member of the Sovereign Council of New France since 1673.[2] According to the historian Jos D. Michaud, Jean Gaignon was the first inhabitant of European descent to establish himself in the territory of the seignory around 1680 as a fisherman.[1] A census conducted in 1688 reported one family of 12 members living in Bic.
In 1688 Charles Denys de Vitré sold the seignory to Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye, reimbursing a debt of 2050 livres. Gaignon died in 1699 and his family left the seignory. After that the seignory remained uninhabited until 1750.
Territory
[edit]At the time of its first granting in 1675 the seignory covered two by two leagues along the Saint Lawrence River. Its territory also included the Bic Island.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Fortin, Daniel; Belzile, Louis (1996). Le parc du Bic (in French). Saint-Laurent, Quebec: Éditions du Trécarré. p. 69. ISBN 2-89249-661-6.
- ^ a b Gouvernement du Québec. "Seigneurie du Bic". Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French). Retrieved May 21, 2013.