Baron de Lahontan
Baron de Lahontan, born Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce in 1666 in France, is recognized for shaping the concept of the "noble savage" during the Enlightenment. After losing his father at a young age, he joined the military and was sent to Quebec, New France, where he became fluent in the Algonquin language and immersed himself in the culture of Native peoples. His interactions inspired his notable work, "Nouveaux voyages," which consists of letters documenting his experiences and observations about life in New France from 1683 to 1694. Lahontan's writings highlight the contrast between Indigenous lifestyles and European civilization, contributing to the philosophical discourse of his time.
Throughout his life, he faced various challenges, including military assignments, political tensions, and personal conflicts, which led him to spend time in places like Portugal and Sweden. He ultimately settled in Hanover, where he became acquainted with influential figures such as philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Lahontan is believed to have died around 1715, leaving a legacy that continues to resonate in discussions on cultural identity and colonial perspectives. His work remains significant for its early commentary on Indigenous life and the European view of the New World.
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Baron de Lahontan
Armed Forces Personnel
- Born: June 9, 1666
- Birthplace: Mont-de-Marsan, France
- Died: c. 1715
- Place of death: Hanover, Germany
Biography
Baron de Lahontan, also known as Louis-Armand de Lom d’Arce, is best known for establishing the stereotype of the noble savage in the common consciousness during the Enlightenment. He was born in Mont-de-Marsan, France, in 1666, the only child of Isaac de Lom d’Arce, an engineer and the second Baron de Lahontan, and Jeanne-Françoise née Le Fascheux de Couttes. Lahontan’s father died when he was nine, leaving his family with accumulated debts and unresolved litigation. Lahontan enlisted in the Régiment de Bourbon, attaining the rank of marine lieutenant at seventeen and sailing to Quebec, New France (now Canada). His experiences in the New World are the inspiration for his Nouveaux voyages.
Lahontan became fluent in the Algonquin language and the ways of other native peoples, and for this reason he was considered too valuable to leave New France, despite his many requests to return to France to attend to his family’s deteriorating affairs. In 1688, while engaged on yet another raid against the Iroquois, he met Kondiaronk, a Huron Indian chief and Lahontan’s model for the character Adario, who is featured in the third volume of Nouveaux voyages. Lahontan retired his military post in the late 1680’s and moved to Michillimakinak. He explored Wisconsin and some of the Mississippi River confluences during one winter.
Lahontan returned to Quebec in 1689 as the guest of the governor. His savvy with the natives made him the best candidate to head the peace delegation to the Five Nations, but he declined to participate. Instead, he remained with the governor, and got his leave to France circuitously by being assigned with dispatches to the French court.
In France, he was knighted into the Order of St. Lazarus and promoted to captain, but he was ordered to return to New France, preventing efforts to resolve his family’s estate. Back in Quebec in the winter of 1691, he thwarted the governor’s arrangement for his marriage. The following summer, on his way to France with his defense plans for the Great Lakes, he earned a promotion to king’s lieutenant and an assignment to Newfoundland. His defense plans were shelved. Lahontan found Newfoundland’s governor unjust, responded rashly, and fled before the governor’s report would have resulted in his arrest. He chose refuge in Portugal, arriving in early 1694.
Information on Lahontan during his expatriate years is sketchy. He volunteered to spy for France, offered up intelligence to France regarding Louisiana, visited Holland, Denmark, and Germany, and spent the better part of a year in prison in Sweden. In 1702, he left his manuscript for Nouveaux voyages. . . dans l’Amérique Septentrionale with a bookseller in The Hague. It appeared in print the following year, dedicated to King Frederick IV of Denmark. The body of the text is twenty-five letters written from the period 1683 to1694, chronicling life in New France and making social commentary on the primitive lifestyle versus the more civilized. The book went through thirteen editions in fourteen years. Lahontan spent the final years of his life at the court of Hanover, where he was befriended by the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. It is believed he died in Hanover around 1715.