Nicolas Forget, sa vie, ses exploits ...

Nicolas Forget arrived in New France in the early 1650s, and farmed for Abraham Martin, of the 'Plains of Abraham' fame. In February 1653 Nicolas married (whatever that meant then) Abraham's 12 year old daughter Madeleine, but he was soon off on a great adventure. In 1654 Nicolas arrived in Montreal, teaming up with Des Grosseilliers, who, with Pierre Radisson, were joint founders of the great Hudson Bay Company. That summer they set off together, travelling by land and the river systems, to the western wilderness and Great Lakes region, in search of adventure and wealth. Two years later, in 1656, being given up for lost, there was great jubilation when they returned to Quebec with 50 canoe loads of furs. Furs were the mainstay of the fragile economy, but resistance to incursion from ferocious Iroquoi tribes-people had caused a virtual halt in trading, and the colony's future was in doubt. So their great success was viewed as the salvation of New France, at least for the immediate future.