Citizens of the Atlantic: Examining the Compagnie de Caen in Seventeenth Century New France

Scholarship on early New France has been rooted in Catholic folklore, largely shaped by heroic figures like Samuel de Champlain. While Champlain's contributions to New France must not be ignored there remained in New France, particularly in the early seventeenth century, a substantial role for Protestant merchant families, both within New France and within the larger Atlantic community. This study examines the Compagnie de Caen and its substantial role in the formative years of New France arguing that groups like the de Caen family should serve to redefine standard conceptions of identity in this period. Ultimately the story of the early modern Atlantic world is far less restrictive and rigid as conventional scholarship has led us to believe.