Albanel, Charles

Albanel, Charles

Albanel was tapped to lead an expedition to Hudson Bay in 1671. After false starts and hardships he set out with his party in 1672. Through his diplomacy and relationship with the Indigenous people not only did Albanel reach Hudson Bay but he established ties with the Indigenous people there, baptized 200 people (by his own account), and discovered the British ships he had been sent to find.
Tasked with a second expedition in 1673, Albanel was unsuccessful. He suffered great injury and hardship and after seeking refuge with the English was captured and sent to England. This led to suspicion of his allegiances, which were eventually absolved. He did not return to Hudson Bay.

1671-1673

Jesuit order, Hudson Bay/Canada

Georges-Émile Giguère, “ALBANEL, CHARLES,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed September 30, 2021, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/albanel_charles_1E.html.

1616 (or 1613)

Auvergne, France

d. 1696

Sault Ste. Marie, Canada

Jesuit teacher; missionary; parish priest; explorer; superior

French; English; Indigenous languages (is noted to have had exceptional skill with languages)

Albanel was born in France to French or English parents in either 1616 or 1613. He studied in the Jesuit order and taught throughout France at various Jesuit colleges. In 1649 Albanel travelled to Canada; arriving in Quebec he travelled to Montreal where he ministered to the people there. He travelled to the Tadoussac mission in 1650 and returned there many times over the next 10 years, making missions there for the winter and returning in the spring/summer to Quebec. He spent many years travelling around Canada as a missionary, priest, and military chaplain. In 1671 he was chosen as one of two men to travel to Hudson Bay to determine if it was the rumoured Northern Sea. He was selected in part due to his dealings with the Indigenous people familiar with Hudson Bay. He was successful in this endeavour and attempted to repeat that success in 1674. However, this journey was unsuccessful as Albanel was injured and then captured by the English and subsequently sent to England. Returning first to France to clear his name, then to Quebec with the suspicion of his treachery lifted. He was sent to Sault Ste Marie as a the superior and spent the rest of his life in that area as a missionary and priest. Dying at the age of 80 on January 11, 1696.

Conflict and Change in Early Canadian History (Carleton HIST 1301)

Bryan Clarke