The First Lady of French Canada

Helene Bouille   (1598-1645)

Helene Bouille was the wife of Samuel De Champlain and while she would only spend a few years in Canada, she played an important role in the continuity of the first French settlement, and deserves to have her story told.

But when I tried to piece together her life, I could find very little.  History books are filled with 'Madame Champlain' this and 'Madame Champlain' that, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah; but very little on the young girl who was bartered to save French interest in the Canadian fur trade.

You might question why she would deserve more than honourable mention, but throughout our history, men who invested in the development of Canada, have pages and pages praising their generosity; even when they had a substantial return on their investment.  Helene got no such return, and the life story of this young woman was tragic, but indicitive of the role of French women during this era.

Helen Bouille was born about 1598 in Paris, the daughter of Nicolas Bouille and Marguerite Alix.  Her father was Secretary of the King's Chamber and as such would have access to the Royal Court and be privy to all of the 'who's who' of French society.  However, though wealthy, he had no titles, so the best that he could hope for his daughter, in a time of arranged marriages, was to negotiate a union with an up and comer who would eventually have the means to keep her in the life style she'd grown accustomed to. Who had suggested Champlain is unclear, but it may have been the King (Louis IV) himself, who was intriqued with the stories of Camplain and De Monts about their adventures in New France, but had recently refused to extend their monopoly for financial reasons.  Knowing that Bouille's daughter would come complete with a handsome dowry, may have been his way of tossing them a bone. Or it may have been De Monts, who like Bouille, was a Calvinist, and felt that the union could be beneficial to all concerned; just not the twelve year old who no doubt had her head filled with romantic notions of love and happily ever after. As for Champlain, he needed to do whatever was necessary to ensure the continuance of his beloved Kebec.  He had already converted to the Catholic faith, but also knew that he would have to settle down and marry if he really wanted to show good faith, and Helene was as good a candidate as any.  Her dowry would provide 6000 livres to the Kebec treasury, along with an income of 1800 livres per year for her upkeep.  Though not a love match, a contract was drawn up and the wedding took place on December 27, 1610; two days after Champlain’s 40th birthday. Fortunately for the young girl, she would not have to perform any wifely duties right away.  The terms of her marriage contract stipulated that there would be no consummation for two years, so she remained at home with her parents in Paris, where she might be able to find a way out of this.   Her husband and his new found wealth, left from Honfleur with De Monts and Pontgrave on March 1, 1611 and Helene went on doing the things that a girl of age should be doing. Not that twelve was considered too young to marry.  It was beleived at the time that a male was an adult by the age of ten, and a female, eleven; which was also the legal age for matrimony.

It wasn't her age that was such a devastating blow, but her father's choice of a husband.   Champlain was not the kind of man that girls dreamed of, and in fact, I believe that he may have been homosexual.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, and I only mention it because it explains a lot when it comes to their relationship, or in fact, any of his relationships.

But as the time drew near when she and Samuel would have to consummate their marriage, Helene was in a panic.  She may have hoped that he would be too busy with his pet project to claim his husbandly rights, but when visiting De Monts at Saintonge, a horse fell on him, so he was forced to remain in France until he was able to travel.  In desperation, Helene did the only thing that she could of.  She ran away. This did not bode well with her parents, and her father printed announcements, publicly declaring that he would be disinheriting her.  If in fact it was the King, or some other nobleman who had suggested the union in the first place, this was his only alternative to save face.  He did not renege on the contract and this was his way of saying so. Reluctantly, Helene returned home to take her place as Champlain’s wife, but it was never a love match. Whether they were ever intimate or not, was never mentioned, but the couple had no children to prove it one way or the other.  During the remainder of their time in Paris, her husband kept himself busy with his charts and musings, and published his first book:  Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain Xaintongeois, Capitaine Ordinaire Pour Le Roi, en la Marine. By all accounts the Champlains' relationship was more like brother and sister (or father and daughter), than husband and wife, which I'm sure suited them both just fine.

It would be several years before she would have to join Samuel in Canada, but she finally got her first view of his Utopia; when she arrived at Tadoussac on July 7, 1619, with three ladies in waiting and a maid.  How surreal it must have been, leaving behind her Paris lifestyle and entering a world that for her would have been beyond comprehension.  Fortunately, she had made two good friends: sisters; Marguerite and Francoise Langlois, who would become her confidantes during the years she spent at the settlement.   By then she already accepted her lot in life, and by all accounts was kind and gentle.  Once, when a little Canadian girl was puzzled about the images in Helene's hand mirror, she gave it to her as a gift.   She also got along well with the other settlers, who no doubt understood her repulsion for her husband, and when she returned home to stay a few years later, I'm sure that no one was surprised.

Though never officially divorced, the couple would spend the remainder of their lives apart.  When Champlain died he left Helene all of his papers, but since they've never been found, she may have burned them, not needing any reminders of her horrible life as 'Madame Champlain'.

On November 7th, 1645, she entered the monastery of St. Ursula at Paris, France.   After converting to Catholocism, she had become it's  benefactress, but now joined the order under the name of Hélèe de St. Augustin.  She later set up her own Convent at Meaux, France; where she died on the 20th of December, 1654.

And that is the tragic tale of French Canada's first, 'First Lady'.

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