"Mitifs" family in Bay Chaleurs in 1760

This entry is from an important discovery that Victorin Mallet shared in his book: “Evidences de communautés métisses autour de la bais des chaleurs”.

On May 19, 1760 , as a writer of the French Navy, Bazagier is sent to the Restigouche, Quebec and the Acadian peninsula in New Brunswick, to make an inventory of the human and material resources, in the area. This region is one of the Mi’gmaq traditional district called: Gespegewa’gi.

After the English took possession of the territory in October 1760, a copy of the report is sent to Major Elliot, a British officer charged by Murray, who had become Governor of Quebec. In this entry Baszagier note;

“At Gaspay, Pabos, 17 familles Normandes et Mitifs faisant … 100”. It translate into; “in Gapsay, Pabos 17 Normand and Mitifs families winch total…100.”

France fonds des Colonies : Série C11A. Correspondance générale; Canada : C-2402 image 889

This affirmation is of great importance because it is the first time that we find in an official document of the era, the confirmation that there were “Mitifs” families living in communities in the Baie-des-Chaleurs. Also i find interesting that Bazagier the “mitifs” or “half-breed” as being descendants of the Normand, as it corroborate info in other entry on this site.

Another important fact is that Bazagier as early as 1760 makes a clear difference between the “french,” the “Sauvages” and the “Normands Mitifs.”