Ghost Empire: How the French Almost Conquered North America
by Philip Marchand
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Description
After he explored the Great Lakes and the entire Mississippi, Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was murdered by his own men when he led them on a disastrous mission to Texas. But the vast land he claimed for France in 1682 could have become-had it not been for a few twists of history-a French-speaking empire extending more than a thousand miles beyond Quebec. This alternative North America would have been Catholic in religion and granted Native peoples a prominent role. Philip show more Marchand probes the intriguingly flawed character of La Salle and recounts the astonishing history of the Jesuit missionaries, coureurs de bois, fur traders, and soldiers who followed on his heels, and of the Indian nations with whom they came into contact. He also reports on the ways in which the drama of this ghost empire continues to be played out in battle reenactments and in parish churches and wayside restaurants from Montreal to Venice, Louisiana. Throughout the book, Marchand draws on memories of his own Catholic childhood in Massachusetts to interpret the lingering attitudes, fears, hopes, and iconography of a people who, more deeply than most, feel the burdens and the ironies of history. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Unusual book as it shifts gears from modern day to events that happened two, three hundred year ago. A real eye opener, one doesn't realize how violent the past was. And one doesn't read a book nowadays that has a lot sympathy for the Catholic Church and the French.
History of La Salle's explorations in North America and a record of current
visits to some of the key sites. Gives some idea of the considerable extent
of French settlement at the time of La Salle.
visits to some of the key sites. Gives some idea of the considerable extent
of French settlement at the time of La Salle.
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Author Information
6 Works 198 Members
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle; Louis Joliet; Jacques Marquette; Louis XIV, 1638-1715
- Important places
- North America; Canada; Great Lakes Region; Québec, Canada; New France; Mississippi River, USA (show all 8); Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Important events
- French and Indian War
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 51
- Popularity
- 595,018
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.60)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 1
