Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville
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Jacques-Rene de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville 10 December 1637 – 22 September 1710 was Governor of New France from 1685 to 1689.
Replacing Joseph Antoine de LaBarre, Denonville set out to make King Louis XIV proud. The Iroquois Confederation had been a nuisance for half a century, hampering New France's efforts to establish itself as a profitable colony. Although France and England were at peace, Denonville sent Sieur de Troyes north from Montreal with a hundred men (most likely the Troupes de la marine), to capture the English fur trading posts on the Hudson Bay. The victory was swift and profitable; word of the French attack would not reach the English for months. Denonville then set out with a well organised force to Fort Frontenac where they met 40 envoys from the Onondaga. Dononville recaptured the fort for New France and seized, chained, and shipped the Onondaga to France as galley slaves. He then crossed Lake Ontario and ravaged the land of the Seneca.
The destruction of the Seneca land infuriated the Iroquois Confederation who considered the Seneca the most honoured nation of the Confederation. They set out to terrorise New France as never before. Denonville's regulars were dissolved and dispersed to towns across the land, attempting to protect New France's homes and families. Forts were abandoned. The Iroquois destroyed farmsteads and whole families were slaughtered or captured. On August 4, 1689 Lachine, a small town adjacent to Montreal, was burned to the ground. Denonville, exhausted and defeated, pleaded with France and successfully returned the surviving Onondaga from the galleys to their land. With the Onondaga, returned the more mature Frontenac, who would replace Denonville as Governor for nine years (1689–1698).
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| Preceded by Joseph-Antoine de LaBarre |
Governor General of New France 1685 – 1689 |
Succeeded by Louis de Buade de Frontenac |
