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The French Colonial Period In the Illinois Country,
1673-1765: A Select Bibliogrpahy
The purpose of this bibliography is to help the serious reader get started in exploring the French colonial period in the Illinois Country. It provides a list of basic, sometimes picturesque works that are accessible through public and academic libraries. Several of the works are out of print and may be obtained through interlibrary loans. Suggestions for changes or additions should be sent to bplebeau2@cs.com. |
Beckwith, H. W., ED. Collections of the Illinois State Historical
Library. Vol. I. Springfield: The H.W. Rokker Company, 1903.
This work contains major portions of Father Marquette's journal, various
papers regarding La Salle, Hennepin's narrative, Tonti's memoir of 1693,
Aubry's report concerning the building of Fort Massac, the account of George
Rogers Clark's conquest of Illinois, and a number of letters from the Canadian
Archives covering the English period.
Brown, Margaret F., and Dean, Lawrie C., eds. The Village of Chartres
in Colonial Illinois 1720-1765. Published for La Compagnie des Amis
de Fort de Chartres. New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1977.
Selected documents relating to the village of Fort de Chartres. Ste.
Anne church records, records of the Chapel of the Visitation, land and
notarial records from Randolph County Archives. A large number of
the documents are presented in the original French. All documents
are in English translation.
Finiels, Nicholas de. An Account of Upper Louisiana. Edited
by Carl J. Ekberg and William E. Foley. Translated by Carl J. Ekberg.
Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1989.
Written by an expatriate French engineer who served the Spanish monarchy
in Louisiana during the late colonial era, this memoir "provides important
information about Upper Louisiana in the late 1790's on subjects ranging
from great issues of geopolitics to details of domestic life."
The Kaskaskia Manuscripts, 1714-1816. Microform: civil documents
of colonial Illinois in Randolph County Archives, Chester, Illinois.
Compiled with introduction by Laurie Cena Dean, Margaret Kimball Brown.
Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives.
Documents of the French settlements on the banks of the Mississippi.
Mostly manuscripts of notarial transactions, wills and other legal documents.
Calendar is included.
Pease, Theodore C., ed. Anglo-French Boundary Disputes in the
West 1749-1763. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol.
XXVII, French Series, Vol. II. Springfield: Illinois State
Historical Library, 1936.
In addition to the selected British and French documents, the lengthy
introduction by T. C. Pease analyses the diplomatic struggles between England
and France for dominance in North America. This volume is useful
for the understanding of France's policy towards her possessions in the
Mississippi valley.
--- and Jenison, Ernestine, eds. Illinois on the Eve of
the Seven Years; War, 1747-1755. Collections of the Illinois State
Historical Library. Vol. XXIX, French Series, Vol. III. Springfield:
Illinois State Historical Library,1940.
This volume presents a fairly complete description of the political
and commercial scene in Illinois for the period going from the end of the
War of the Austrian Succession to the eve of the French and Indian War.
________ and Werner, Raymond C. eds. The French Foundations,1680-1693.
Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol.XXIII, French
Series, Vol. I. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1934.
Most of the documents pertain to the commercial and financial affairs
of La Salle and Tonti. The volume also includes the so-called "De
Gannes Memoir", actually an account by Pierre Liette of his experiences
in the Chicago area between 1698 and 1702. The period between 1693
and 1747 is not covered in the French Series.
Peyser, Joseph L., trans. and ed. On the Eve of the Conquest.
The Chevalier de Raymond's Critique of New France in 1754. East Lansing,
MI: Michigan State University Press, 1997.
A critical view by an officer of the Troupes de la Marine of French
trade practices, relations with the native Americans, and French social
customs.
Schultz, James, ed. Father Marquette's Journal. Lansing,
Michigan: Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State, 1990.
A first-hand account of Father Jacques Marquette's missionary explorations
between 1673 and 1675. Short, but instructive introduction.
Maps.
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