The first permanent settlement in Canada by white men was at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. It was discovered by Champlain in 1604, when he made his first voyage to Canada with de Monts and Pontgravé. They called it Port Royal, and so it remained for many turbulent years, sometimes in the possession of the French, sometimes occupied by Britain.
One of the most delightful stories about Port Royal is that of the creation of the “Order of the Good Time,” in the winter of 1606-1607. De Monts had returned to France in 1605, and with the help of Sieur de Poutrincourt, fitted out a second expedition which sailed from La Rochelle on May 11, 1606.
Champlain organized the “Order of Good Time,” the first social club in North America. Each of the fifteen members of the colony took his turn at being the Grand Master of the day, and wore the insignia of office. At dinner he led the way to the table, at the head of the procession of members.
It became a point of honour with each member to try to outdo the others in providing the finest possible dinners. The party made friends with the Native Indians and went hunting and fishing. The dinner table groaned with the luxuries of the forest and streams. There were roasts of moose, caribou, beaver, otter, bears, porcupine and rabbits. For poultry, they had wild ducks, geese and ruffled grouse. Seafood was usually represented by salmon, trout, bass and cod, caught through the ice.
The Indian Chiefs were invited to the feasts while warriors, women and children crouched in the corners of the dining hall where they would be given biscuits and bread which were novel treats for them.
One of the members of the group was Marc Lescarbot, who might be called Canada’s first historian. He wrote, “Whatever our gourmands at home may think, we found as good cheer at Port Royal as they at their Rue aux Ours in Paris, and that, too, at a cheaper rate.”
Want to learn even more about the “Order of Good Time”? A good place to go to would be Fred Hutchinson because it has a good article, and then there’s thecajuns.com, and you’ll definitely want to visit Nova Scotia Archives, believe me. For some really good photos of the event, you really must go to Lieutenant Governor, Nova Scotia’s flickr page.
[…] 1606: Samuel de Champlain, cartographer and explorer, established Port Royal. He created the Order of Good Cheer (L’Ordre de Bon Temps). Prominent members of the settlement took turns hosting special meals. The benefits were a healthy competition within the group, better nutrition and, it made it easier to wait for the spring. You can view my earlier post about this at https://tkmorin.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/order-of-the-good-time/ […]
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I love history like this. Camaraderie and the social setting. Thanks for those links, by the way. One has become invaluable to me. Good cheer!
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Isn’t it great? 🙂
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thank you for checking out my blog and it lead me to yours. I really enjoy reading history and you are a great writer and I will have to look around more especially the wwi history. Do you teach history?
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No, history is just a pastime for me. I hope you’ll keep coming back! 🙂
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The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. That’s more like it. Good story TK. You never ceases to amaze me. 😛
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Thanks for the encouragement! 🙂
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When I went to school it was introduced as the “Order of Good Cheer!” A great idea any way you put it :>)
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My stomach felt full by the time I finished the article! 🙂
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And make that “Order of the Good Time.” Can’t forget that article. 🙂
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Also sometimes called “Order of Good Cheer” 🙂
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Oh my goodness, I love this: “Order of Good Time.” That title just says it all. It makes me smile.
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Did it make you hungry too? Heehee. 🙂
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Great write up–a lot more interesting than my grade 5 history book made it sound! (Just a small suggestion: “squaw” is a derogatory term coined by Europeans; the First Nations didn’t refer to women in those terms.)
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Oh, thank you so much for that! I had no idea! My gosh, I hope to goodness I did not have it up long enough to insult too many! Thank you again!! 🙂
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No worries! I know you didn’t mean to be insulting. 🙂
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I certainly didn’t, so I am really glad you let me know! One question I keep asking myself, though, is “Indian” okay to use? The books and documents I read are all dated, so I pick up terminology that way. Or do you think I should use “aboriginal” or native or native Indian .. If you know, these are terms I need to feel comfortable with, but I don’t know … Again, many thanks! 🙂
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It’s kinda complex. I edit a lot of documents about the First Nations, and there’s really no agreement on “correct” terms. Bu I use First Nations to refer to the original inhabitants of the Americas & their descendants. Metis refers to descendants of the fur traders and their First Nation wives. Inuit are not considered First Nations; they are a people unto themselves. Aboriginal refers to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. I don’t use native unless the group refers to themselves that way, but opinions differ on that. Hope this helps! 🙂
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Well, first, I want to sincerely thank you for your insight on this. I’ve known that this is something I should have looked into, but kept sending the thought back. I’ll take care of it sooner than later. Again, my thanks. 🙂
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You’re most welcome. I look forward to your posts each day. 🙂
K.
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Reblogged this on Hey Sweetheart, Get Me Rewrite!.
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