Charles Albanel facts for kids
Charles Albanel (1616 – January 11, 1696) was a French explorer and a Jesuit priest. He was born in Ardes or Auvergne, France. He became famous for his travels and missions in Canada.
Life of Charles Albanel
Charles Albanel joined the Society of Jesus in 1633. This is a religious group of Catholic priests. He taught at different Jesuit schools starting in 1635. He also studied philosophy and theology.
In 1649, he sailed to Canada and arrived in Quebec. Soon after, he was sent to Ville-Marie, which is now Montreal. He spent the winter living among the Montagnais people. In the spring, he traveled to Tadoussac to help people who were sick with fever.
In July 1660, Albanel was returning from Trois-Rivières with Governor Voyer d'Argenson. Their boat was attacked by the Iroquois. Later that year, another priest named René Ménard was going west from Montreal. He planned to start a mission among the Ottawa people. Albanel wanted to go with him, but the Ottawa people did not allow his companion to join their group. Ménard went on without Albanel and never returned.
Albanel became the parish priest at Cap-de-la-Madeleine until 1665. He still managed other missions too. In 1666, he worked as a chaplain for the Carignan-Salières Regiment. This group was fighting against the Mohawk people.
In 1668, Albanel was a leader at Sillery. But he returned to the Sainte-Croix mission near Tadoussac for the winter. There was a smallpox sickness spreading. Tadoussac was his main base as he traveled to other places where people were sick. He also got sick but got better. The next spring, he heard that English fur traders were in Hudson's Bay. In June 1670, he left Tadoussac to work with the Innu people of Pessamit.
In 1672, the Hudson's Bay Company was just starting. Albanel led a French group that traveled to Hudson Bay. They went by the Saguenay River, Lake Mistassini, and the Rupert River. Albanel was chosen because he knew the Indigenous tribes who knew the best routes. He might have been the first European to reach Hudson Bay from the Saint Lawrence River.
In 1674, Albanel went on another trip to the Rupert River. This time, the English captured him and took him to England. On his way to England, he convinced Medard des Groseilliers to return to working for the French. Albanel returned to Canada in 1688. He continued to serve at missions in western Canada. He died at Sault Ste. Marie when he was eighty years old.
Legacy
Lake Albanel, which is next to Lake Mistassini, is named after him. The Charles Albanel rose is a type of rose flower. It was developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and named in his honor.
See also
In Spanish: Charles Albanel para niños
