Pierre Boucher

Pierre Boucher de Boucherville (born Pierre Boucher; 1 August 162219 April 1717) was a French settler, soldier, officer, naturalist, official, governor, and ennobled aristocrat in Nouvelle-France or New France (in what is now Canada). Early life Pierre emigrated from France to New France in 1634 with his father, Gaspard Boucher, a carpenter. At the age of 18, he entered the services of the Jesuits and spent four years with the Huron missions at Georgian Bay (see Sainte-Marie among the Hurons). He spoke fluent Iroquoian languages, of which Huron is a dialect. From Corporal to Governor In 1641, Governor Charles Huault de Montmagny took him into his service as a soldier in the garrison of Quebec city, but especially as an interpreter and agent to the Indian tribes due to his familiarity with the Huron dialect. In this capacity, he took part in all the parleys of the authorities with the Indians. In 1645, Boucher was appointed official interpreter of Indian languages at Trois-Rivières. He rose through the ranks first as corporal, sergeant, and then as commissioned officer. He was appointed commissary-general of the trading post in 1648 and elected captain of the militia in 1651. While in this capacity, he distinguished himself against an attack by the Iroquois in 1653 and concluded a peace treaty with them on favourable terms. The next year, owing to this success, he was named governor of the settlement.