Italian travellers and the French presence in Canada (17th to 21st centuries)
A whole tradition of Italian travellers to New France, French Canada and Quebec allows us to follow the developments of the Italian perception of the French presence in Canada. We begin with accounts of the Jesuits (Father Francesco Giuseppe Bressani) and translations from Italian of memoirs from the 17th century (e.g., those of Henri Tonti, who was born in Italy, on explorations of the Mississippi and of Louisiana). We continue with reflections of “tourists” who, after the American Revolution, visit the Saint Lawrence River Valley in order to understand the difference between the United States and the new British colonies. We also present the reflections of exiles from the Italian Risorgimento, who arrive during the first half of the 19th century. Lastly, with regard to Quebec within the Confederation, we compare travel logs published by journalists and novelists with reports on the Province written by diplomats from Italy and the Vatican. Most of these diplomatic reports have never been published and had no direct influence on public opinion. However, they were conceived to be read and did influence the discourse among experts.