Examine the role of the Jesuits and the Recollects in New France.

The question requires that candidates consider the interrelationship between the actions taken by the Jesuits and the Recollects in New France. Candidates may refer to the first Jesuits arriving in New France in 1611 and the settlement of the Recollects in Acadia, Newfoundland and Québec from 1516 onwards. Both religious orders’ main purpose was to convert the indigenous population to Catholicism and both were aware of the language barrier between them and the indigenous communities. The Jesuits settled among the Huron, learning their language and culture and building a number of missions that initially had little success. A significant part of the Jesuits' evangelical work involved education and the founding of parishes and schools. For its part, the Recollects considered that French settlers were of primordial importance to Christianization and promoted mixed marriages with natives. They also recruited truchements, men from humble origins from France that helped them to communicate with the local population through gestures and miming. The stay of the Recollects and their achievements were jeopardized in different moments by French policy and the Anglo-French War. Jesuits were also destabilized by the Papal suppression in 1773. Since Britain refused to allow the Jesuits and the Recollects to recruit new members, both orders declined. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates consider the interrelationship between the actions taken by the Jesuits and the Recollects in New France.