Pierre Esprit Radisson

French explorer and trader

• Born: c. 1636
• Birthplace: Probably Paris, France
• Died: c. June 21, 1710
• Place of death: London, England

With his brother-in-law, Pierre Esprit Radisson explored the Canadian wilderness and led the way in organizing trade with the region’s indigenous tribes. As a founder of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the oldest company in Canada, Radisson helped to promote settlement and commercial development.

Early Life

Pierre Esprit Radisson (pyehr ehs-pree rah-dee-sohn) was born probably in Paris. Nothing is known about his parentage or his early years, but scholars assume that he would have had a typical middle-class education, which focused primarily on reading and writing. At about fifteen years of age, he would have stopped his formal schooling and begun a kind of apprenticeship, often with a family member. Letters from relatives in New France, the huge French colony that included eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region, apparently stimulated the boy’s interest in the region.

In the spring of 1651, he arrived in Trois-Rivières, northeast of what is now Montreal, where his half sister Marguerite Hayet lived with her husband Jean Véron, a fur trader known as Grandmesnil. During his first year there, Radisson learned how the fur-trading business was conducted, and he also picked up two skills that would prove to be critical to his success: He became an excellent hunter, and he learned the Algonquian language.

The following spring, Radisson was captured by a party of Mohawks. Although his two companions were slaughtered, Radisson so impressed the tribe that they decided to take him in, making him a substitute for a young warrior who had been killed. During his two years with the Mohawks, Radisson made two attempts to escape. The first time, he was recaptured, tortured, then welcomed back into the tribe. For a time, he was happy. As a Mohawk warrior of proven courage and skill at hunting, he had a status he had never before enjoyed. However, after a visit to a settlement, he felt compelled to return to his own people. This time he managed to evade his pursuers and reach Fort Orange. Almost immediately, he sailed back to France.

Life’s Work

During the first year of Pierre Esprit Radisson’s captivity, a number of French colonists were massacred by the Mohawks, among them his brother-in-law, Jean Véron. His widowed half sister Marguerite married Médard Chouart (1625-1698), who elevated his own social stature by giving himself the title Sieur des Groseilliers. Groseilliers was a highly respected fur trader, about ten years older than Radisson. He had much to teach his younger brother-in-law. However, during the next sixteen years, Groseilliers would find that Radisson, too, had much to contribute to the partnership. Both men were courageous and intelligent, but where Groseilliers was often unbending, Radisson could adapt and compromise.

Radisson was a prolific writer of journal entries, but, one suspects, he had a flair for fiction as well, so scholars have learned to check his statements against outside sources. However, it is certainly true that during the next six years, the men made fur-trading trips to the west and as far south as what is now Minnesota. At first, they remained loyal to New France, but when the authorities in Montreal took most of their profits, using as a pretext that Groseilliers and Radisson had been trading without a license, they decided to transfer their allegiance to the English.

Accordingly, in 1663, Groseilliers and Radisson slipped off to Boston. There they likely made influential friends, for when they arrived in England in December, 1665, they were immediately put into contact with men close to English king Charles II. By 1668, they had persuaded Prince Rupert, the king’s cousin, to finance a trading expedition that would take them to Hudson Bay, though Radisson had to turn back. In 1670, they both returned to Hudson Bay, and that same year, the Hudson’s Bay Company was chartered. Two years later, John Kirke, who was one of the members of the company’s steering committee, agreed to let Radisson marry his daughter Mary, thus ensuring the Frenchman’s place in English society.

Nevertheless, because of the growth of anti-French and anti-Catholic sentiment in England, along with drastic changes in the company’s steering committee, Radisson and Groseilliers felt they could no longer remain in England. In 1675, they crossed to France, then separated, Groseilliers returning to New France and Radisson investing in and serving in a French expedition against Dutch shipping, which in the end proved disastrous. While in France, Radisson was told that he could expect no favors unless he proved his loyalty by bringing his wife and children to live with him, but Mary’s father adamantly refused to let her go. Inquiries to the company were unsuccessful; they would not have Radisson back. Finally, the French agreed to let a group of merchants in New France send Radisson and Groseilliers to Hudson Bay in order to establish a trading post on the Nelson River. During the winter of 1682-1683, they first made allies of the indigenous peoples and then proceeded to outwit a group of men from New England and another from the company, each of them building a fort and hoping to take over the territory.

Despite their success, Radisson and Groseilliers were still virtually ignored by the French, so they decided once again to try their luck with the company. Returning to the Nelson River, Radisson persuaded Jean-Baptiste des Groseilliers, the son of his old friend, to throw in his lot with the company, and in 1684, Radisson took the Frenchmen and their furs to England. During the next four years, Radisson had considerable authority in the company. However, after the shift of power that came with the Glorious Revolution of 1688, he was never again employed by the company he helped found. In 1700, when he applied for a position as warehouse keeper, he was turned down. He even had to sue the company to keep his pension from being reduced. According to a church record, this “decay’d Gentleman” died—or at least was buried—on June 21, 1710.

Significance

Pierre Esprit Radisson remains a controversial character, not only because there are so many inconsistencies and actual errors in his journals but also because it is difficult to ascertain the motives for his actions. Thus, although he has been portrayed as an adventurer who did not know the meaning of loyalty, more recently it has been argued that he changed masters only when he was ignored or betrayed. Radisson appeared to prefer absolutism to more democratic forms of government, but he behaved more like a New World revolutionary than a blindly loyal subject of an Old World regime.

Radisson was also a person torn between identities. It has been noted that not only did this Frenchman learn to adapt himself to English society, but during a formative period in his life he also did not merely live as a Mohawk, but, according to his own account, virtually became a Mohawk warrior. However, if the study of Radisson’s life leaves one with more questions than answers, there is no doubt he was, at minimum, an important business figure. With Groseilliers, he focused the attention of the Old World on the economic possibilities of the New World and demonstrated how to organize trade so as to maximize benefits for traders, investors, and governments.

Bibliography

Fournier, Martin. Pierre-Esprit Radisson: Merchant Adventurer, 1636-1710. Translated by Mary E. Brennan-Ricard. Sillery, Quebec, Canada: Septentrion, 2002. This impressive biography of Radisson explains his changes of allegiance and also argues that the inaccuracies in his writings were necessitated by events beyond his control. Maps and bibliography.

Hudson’s Bay Company. Lords and Proprietors: A Reader’s Guide to the Hudson’s Bay Company Charter. Toronto: Quantum Books, 2004. A modern translation of the company’s charter. Includes annotations and illustrations.

Laut, Agnes C. Pathfinders of the West: Being the Thrilling Story of the Adventures of the Men Who Discovered the Great Northwest, Radisson, La Vérendrye, Lewis, and Clark. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1969. First published in 1904. The first half of this volume is a detailed account of Radisson’s life. Illustrated.

Lopez, Barry. Arctic Dreams. Reprint. New York: Vintage, 2001. In this now-classic book, Lopez reviews the history of explorers in the far north, including the fur-trading activities of Radisson and Groseillers in the subarctic hinterlands.

MacKay, Douglas. The Honourable Company: A History of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1970. First published in 1936, this work contains a wealth of factual, detailed information, such as reports of profits, and a useful chronology. Maps, illustrations, and index.

Newman, Peter C. An Illustrated History of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Toronto: Penguin Books Canada/Madison Press, 2000. A lively narrative history of the Hudson’s Bay Company from its beginnings to the end of the twentieth century.

Nute, Grace Lee. Caesars of the Wilderness: Médard Chouart, Sieur des Groseilliers, and Pierre Esprit Radisson, 1618-1710. 1943. Reprint. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1978. A comprehensive biography of both Groseilliers and Radisson, covering the discovery and exploration of New France and the development of the fur trade. Extensive bibliography.