Skip to content

Joseph-François Lafitau

Free World Class Education
FREE Catholic Classes

Jesuit missionary and writer, born at Bordeaux, France, 1 January, 1681; died there, 1746. He entered the Society in 1696, and the general, Tamburini, yielding to his entreaties, sent him to Canada in 1711. Appointed to the mission of Sault Saint-Louis (Caughnawaga), he made a thorough study of Iroquois character and usages, as a preparation to his great work "Mœures des Sauvages américains comparées aux mœurs des premiers temps:, publishedin 1724. It was then that he discovered ginseng, a root highly prized as a panacea in China and Tartary, one ounce selling for as high as three ounces of silver. This discovery created an excitement comparable to that caused later by the finding of gold in California and Australia ; but the exportation of the root, after promising immense profits to Canadian trade, rapidly decreased, owing to over-production and inferiority of qualitydue to hasty and artificial desiccation. Lafitau's treatise on ginseng (1718) drew public attention to this apparent source of prosperity. In 1717, Lafitau returned to France in the interests of the mission, chiefly toobtain authorization from Court to transfer the Iroquois settlement to its present site, which was preferable to the former on account of its greater fertility. He likewise pleaded for the repression of the liquor traffic. In spite of his wish to return to Canada, where his knowledge of Italian languages and customs rendered him so valuable that Father Julien Garnier wished him to have him recalled, he was retained in France, and there his later years were spent in writing several works, among which, besides those already mentioned, figures his "Histoire des découvertes et des conquêtes des Portugais dans le Nouveau-Monde" (1733). After Charlevoix, Lafitau was the most remarkable historian and naturalist ever sent to Canada by the Society of Jesus.

Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.

Prayer of the Day logo
Saint of the Day logo

Catholic Online Logo

Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.

Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.