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Seignory of Bic

Coordinates: 48°21′00″N 68°42′00″W / 48.3500°N 68.7000°W / 48.3500; -68.7000
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Seignory of Bic is located in Quebec
Seignory of Bic
Seignory of Bic
Seignory of Bic (Quebec)

The seignory of Bic was a seignory during the French colonisation of New France. It was located in present Rimouski-Neigette Regional County Municipality in Bas-Saint-Laurent.

History

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Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye, second seignor of Bic

The maritime site of Bic became a ships mooring location as soon as first French explorers came to North America.[1]

The seignory was granted on May 6, 1675, to Charles Denys de Vitré who belonged to an important French family and who was a member of the Sovereign Council of New France since 1673.[2] According to the historian Jos D. Michaud, Jean Gaignon was the first inhabitant of European descent to establish himself in the territory of the seignory around 1680 as a fisherman.[1] A census conducted in 1688 reported one family of 12 members living in Bic.

In 1688 Charles Denys de Vitré sold the seignory to Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye, reimbursing a debt of 2050 livres. Gaignon died in 1699 and his family left the seignory. After that the seignory remained uninhabited until 1750.

Territory

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At the time of its first granting in 1675 the seignory covered two by two leagues along the Saint Lawrence River. Its territory also included the Bic Island.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fortin, Daniel; Belzile, Louis (1996). Le parc du Bic (in French). Saint-Laurent, Quebec: Éditions du Trécarré. p. 69. ISBN 2-89249-661-6.
  2. ^ a b Gouvernement du Québec. "Seigneurie du Bic". Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French). Retrieved May 21, 2013.

48°21′00″N 68°42′00″W / 48.3500°N 68.7000°W / 48.3500; -68.7000