ABSTRACT
FRENCH MISSIONARIES Along with fur traders, the French sent Roman Catholic missionaries to their American colonies. Among these was Jean de Brebeuf, a French Jesuit priest who lived for almost two decades among the Huron. Because of his mastery of and interest in native culture and language, he is known as Canada’s first ethnographer. De Brebeuf established the first French mission in North America and won the confidence of the Huron, though they resisted being converted. In 1649, the Iroquois, traditional enemies of the Huron, tortured and killed de Brebeuf in the course of a general war with their rivals.
