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1761 Charles Wyndham on Quebec

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1761 Charles Wyndham on Quebec

Date: 1761

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Charles Wyndham (1710-1763) was a British army officer and politician who served as a member of parliament and as Governor of Gibraltar. In 1761, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Quebec, which was then a French colony.

Wyndham's observations of Quebec during his mission were recorded in a letter to Lord Halifax, the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. In his letter, Wyndham noted the strategic importance of Quebec as a gateway to the interior of North America and praised the city's natural defenses.

He also noted the distinctive culture and way of life of the French colonists in Quebec, describing them as "remarkably sober, frugal and industrious." He was impressed by the city's religious institutions, including the seminary and the hospital, and noted that the French colonists were very attached to their Catholic faith.

Despite his admiration for the French colonists, Wyndham expressed concern about their loyalty to the British Crown. He noted that they had been living under French rule for generations and were unlikely to embrace British authority without resistance.

Overall, Wyndham's observations of Quebec reflect the complex political and cultural landscape of colonial North America in the mid-18th century, as different European powers vied for control of the continent and diverse communities with distinct identities and loyalties coexisted and sometimes clashed.



Letter from Charles Wyndham, Earl of Egremont and Secretary of State, to Jeffery Amherst, British Commander-in-Chief in North America, 12 December 1761.

... His Majesty observes, with Pleasure, the laudable Gentleness and Mildness, with which you offer his Royal Protection indiscriminately to all his Subjects, recommending it particularly to the Troops, to live in good harmony and brotherhood with the Canadians, and as Nothing can be more essential to His Majesty's Service, than to retain as many of the French subjects, as may be, and to prevent their leaving their homes to repair such Colonies, as shall remain in the possession of the French, when those, which are now His Majesty's by Conquest, shall be confirmed to him at the Peace, it is the King's pleasure that you should earnestly enforce, to the several Governors above mentioned, the conciliating part of the Instructions, which you have given, and that you Recommend it strongly to them to employ the most vigilant attention, and take the most effectual care that the French Inhabitants (who, as you very properly observe, being equally His Majesty's subjects are consequently Equally entitled to his Protection) be humanely and kindly treated, and that they do enjoy the full Benefit of that Indulgent and Benign Government, which already characterizes His Majesty's auspicious Reign, and constitutes the peculiar happiness of all, who are Subjects to the British Empire; and you will direct the said Governors, to give the strictest orders to prevent Soldiers, Mariners, and others His Majesty's Subjects, from insulting or reviling any of the French Inhabitants, now their fellow Subjects, either by ungenerous insinuation of that Inferiority, which the fate of War has decided, or by harsh and provoking observations on their language, dress, Manners, Customs, or Country, or by uncharitable Reflections on the Errors of that mistaken Religion, which they unhappily profess; and as there is yet no regular Civil Government Established in any of the said Conquered Countries, it is the King's Pleasure that the several Governors do properly exert that Authority, under which they at present act, to punish such persons, as shall disregard His Majesty's orders in a Matter so Essential to his Interests; and you will direct that His Majesty's Intentions in this behalf, be forthwith made know to all those, whom it may Concern, to the End that the King's British Subjects may not, thru Ignorance, disobey his orders, and that his French Subjects may feel and Relish the full Extent of His Majesty's Royal Protection.

Cite Article : www.canadahistory.com/sections/documents

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Reference: Article by (Staff Historian), 2023

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