Fleury Mesplet ( 1734-1794) and the Birth of Freedom of Expression in Quebec (1776)

1. Fleury Mesplet (1734-1794)and the Birth of Freedom ofExpression in Quebec (1776) Jacques G. Ruelland HistoryDepartment, Université de Montréal Translated by Marc David UniversalCraftmen Council of Engineers Friday, March 14th, 2014.

2. A tradition • Since1776, the master printer tradition has marked an important page in the history of intellectualprogress in Quebec. This tradition has endured due to itslegacy: alongwithletters, the mostbeautiful gift possible: freedom of expression. The beginnings of this tradition finds the first french speaking printer-bookseller in Canada, Fleury Mesplet (1734-1794), with direct links to the birth of freedom of expression in Montreal.

3. Fleury Mesplet • Fleury Mesplet was born in Marseille, France on January 10th, 1734, to Antoinette Capeauand Jean-Baptiste Mesplet, a master printer from Agen, whowashimself a printer’s son. He died in Montreal on January 24th, 1794. He married Marie-Marguerite Piérard, in Avignon on August 17th, 1756; Marie Mirabeau, in Lyon around 1765, and Marie-Anne Tison, in Montrealon April 13th,1790.

4. Fleury Mesplet (1734-1794)

5. A young printer • Fleury Mespletwastrained in hisfather’s shop on Mercière street in Lyon. This streetwasknown for its printing shops and bookstores in Lyon, and rivaled Paris in the world of printing and bookshops in France. He wasonlytwentyyearsoldwhenhetook over hisAunt Marguerite Capeau-Girard’s printing shop in Avignon.

6. Mesplet’s printing press

7. Familyties • Mespletreturned to Lyon around1760, fromwhereheleft for London in 1772. The Mesplet’swerelinked to the bookstorekeepers/printers, Aimé de La Roche, founder of the first Lyon newspaper and Jean Deville, the owner of an important bookstore. Fleury Mesplet’sbrother-in-law, bookshopownerFrançois de Los Rios, wasfriendswith Joseph Vasselier, a writer and Voltaire’s main Lyonnais correspondent.

8. Bloody Louisiana • The first known book to bepublishedunderMesplet’snamewasprinted in London in 1773. It was an historicalworkcalledLa Louisiane ensanglantée (Bloody Louisiana). It tells the story of a knight, Jean de Champigny, who calls uponEngland to help the inhabitants of Louisiana, abandoned to the Spaniards by the government of Louis XV. By this time, Mespletwasalready an experienced printer.

10. Benjamin Franklin • Benjamin Franklin, the internationallyrenowned American writer, politician and scientist, wished to convinceMontrealersthattheir future restedwith the American Revolution and thatQuebecshouldbecome the 14thcolony of the United States of America. To do this, heneeded a printing press. He met Mesplet in London, where the latter had a printing shop in Covent Garden. After a year in Great Britain, Mespletdecided to move to Philadelphia wherehebecame the American Congress’ French language printer in 1774.

11. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

12. Franklin in Montreal • At the start of the American Revolution, Quebechad not alliedwith the thirteen colonies and had not renounceditsallegiance to the Crown. Montreal wasinvaded by the American army, whichthenconqueredQuebec. The military occupation was not enough to convinceMontrealers to join the Revolution. Theyhad to bepersuaded. To this end, in the Spring of 1776, Congress sent Benjamin Franklin to Montreal endowedwithspecialpowers for initiating the democraticprocess in the province of Quebec, whichatthat time was the only British colonyunder a feudal system. Franklin stayed in the Château Ramezay on Notre-Dame street in Montreal.

13. Franklin arrives in Montreal

14. The power of the press • As an experienced printer himself, Benjamin Franklin understood the power of the writtenword. Since Montreal did not have either a printer or a press, bothneeded to bebrought in. Prior to leaving for Montreal, Franklin hadsat on a Congresscommitteespeciallyconvened for the purpose of choosing a printer for this mission. As a bilingual printer havingworked in three countries, Mespletwas more experiencedthananyother.

15. The power of the press: “I accuse…!” (« J’accuse…! ») by Émile Zola (January 13, 1898)

16. Mesplet, printer to Congress • As the printer to Congress, Mesplethadalreadyprintedthreeletters to inhabitants of Quebec in an attempt to incite them to join the liberationmovementawayfrom British rule. He hadskillsthatweredeemedexceptional.

17. Letteraddressed to the inhabitants of the Province of Quebec (1774)

18. Mesplet arrives in Montreal • Mespletfollowed Franklin to Montreal, slowed by hiscumbersomeequipment. For thisreason, hearrivedjust as Franklin waspreparing to leave the city. The Americans’ situation wasworsening and theyhad to retreat. Mespletcould not follow, constrained by hisequipment and materials. He could not evenship the materials, havingonly in his possession American money issued by Congress, whichwas not acceptedanywhere in Montreal.

19. The British in Montreal • The British reached the entrance to Montreal. Benjamin Franklin fled the city with the retreating American troops; onlyMespletstayed. As the British troopsrecaptured the territory, theyforced the American militiaoutside of the Canadian borders. Havingstayedbehind, Mesplet and hisworkerswereimmediatelyaccused of tradingwith the enemy and wereimprisoned for 26 days. Welcome in Montréal!

20. Montreal, a Medieval city • In 1776, Montreal conjured images of the Middle Ages. To visitors, itrecalledOld Europe withitsnarrowstreets, its long stone walls, itschurchbelltowers and steeples, eachhavinglittle to do withAmerica. On the edge of a continent whoseimmensitysurpassed the imagination, by the shores of the St. Lawrence, the colonistsbuilt a city by thatrecalledthosetheyhadknown in theirpast: a city with homes builttightlytogether, whereeachparcel of land wascarefullymeasured and structures werebuilt to last. The city’sgrey and sombre appearancewasaccentuated by the heavyironshutters over dwellingwindows, used as protection against the ravages of fire. During the daytheywereopened to admit light.

22. Montreal, a border city • Montrealwasatthat time a border city on the edge of the new world. Atitsdoorstep to the Northwest, the West and the Southwestwas the immense unknownthatattractedexplorers. It was a rich country and Montreal served as a fur trading post.

23. Richelieu Valley, Montreal, Three Rivers, by Louis Brion de la Tour, 1777.

24. The port • Communications with the Old Country were rare and oftendelayed. The shipsthatwere able to navigatetheirway up to Montrealthrough the narrow, winding and shallow St. Lawrence river were few and far between. Thosewhichsucceededonlystayed a short time beforewinterbesieged the city.

26. Capital street • Uponarriving in Montreal in 1776, Mespletset up his printing presses inside the walls, on the Northside of Capital street, at the Southwest corner of the Chagouamigonalley. Stilltoday, Capital street, only a shadelargerthan an alleyway, goesfrom West to East between St. Sulpice and St. François-Xavier streets, and parallel to the South of St. Paul street. It was the most central location possible. As itissometimesbelieved, the streetnamedoes not have reference to the “streetof the Capital,” thatis “Quebecstreet” the Capital, but rather “Capitale street” describes the “Main street.”

27. Map of OldMontreal

28. Place Royale • The city wasteemingwithactivity. A few stepsawaywas Place Royale, the main gathering place, where the marketwaslocated. It was a place for sellinggoods, meeting people and sharing the latest news. The battlementsranalong the South side of the market and a door gave access to the shoreline. There was no wharf and the shipshad to drop anchornear the muddy river shore. Goodswereloaded and unloaded on catwalks.

29. Furs • After the market, the shorelinewas the most active part of the city. Everyyear, commercial fairswere set up for the fur trade. Native Americanswouldtravelfrom the Great Lakes and beyondwithcanoesloadedwith furs and camp along the shoreline. Traders would set up their stands to trade all sorts of goods for furs, fromblankets, to earrings, to teapots, to cosmetics.

30. The Public Market

31. Rum • Rumwas an important item within the fur trade. Natives wouldat times consume it to theirheart’s content. A trader recounted: “They drink rum straight from the barrel and swallowitat once until the barrel isempty. Then sets in a temporary state of dementia.”

32. The fortifications • In 1776, Montrealerswereundoubtedlycomforted by the presence of fortifications around the city. At night the city’sdoorswereclosed and the natives werekeptoutside the walls. Otherwise, as mentioned by a citizen of that time, the residents “wouldbeveryworried.”

33. Montreal’s fortifications (1760)

34. Mespletfreedafter 26 days • After 26 days, the authoritiesfeltMesplet’s services couldbe of use in a city without a printer. He seemedharmless, sotheyreleasedhim. Mespletabandoned the thought of leaving Montreal. Stillrelativelyyoung in hisearlyforties, hestillhadseveralyearsahead of him. He openedhis printing shop and started printing religiousworks for the Sulpicians, Jesuits and Recollets, as well as for the Archbishop of Quebec.

35. A printing shop, 16th to 18th Century Tabular printing Two-sided printing withfrisket, after 1600

36. 1777, 1783

37. Freedom? Never heard of it! Mgr Jean-Olivier Briand (1715-1794), Archbishop of Québec (1766-1784) Mgr Étienne Montgolfier (1712-1791), Lord of Montreal and Head of the SulpicianOrder (1759-1791)

38. Mgr Étienne Montgolfier (1712-1791), Lord of Montreal and Head of the Sulpicianorder, was the uncle of the Montgolfier brothers Joseph-Michel (1740-1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (1745-1790), inventors of the montgolfière (1783). The Montgolfier brothers Annonay (France), June 4th, 1783

39. A busy printer • Between 1776 and 1794, Mespletprinted 96 books and brochures. It was a record: printer William Brown of Quebecproducedonly 47 worksbetween 1764 and 1789. It must beaddedthatMespletpublished (similarly to Franklin) the first French language almanach in America. He alsoproduced the first illustrated book in Canada. He not onlyprinted French and English works, but alsoworks in Latin and Iroquois, as well as the first literary journal (1778-1779) and the first newspaper(1785-1794).

40. A newspaper • Aftertwoyears of general printing, hehadgreater ambitions and decided to launch a newspaper in addition to his printing activities. This was a relatively simple tasksincehealreadyhad all the necessaryequipment.

41. The Commerce and Literary Gazette -La Gazette du commerce et litttéraire On June 3rd, 1778, helaunched the The Commerce and Literary Gazette, whichlaterbecame the Literary Gazette, the first solely French languagenewspaper.

42. Word of mouth • It was not surprisingthatMontrealdid not yet have a newspaper in 1778. In a smallcommunitywhereeachpiece of news wouldtravellikewildfire, therewaslittle use for a writtenpress. In fact, 95% of the population wasilliterate.

43. Publishingwhatis not alreadyknown • The editor’s challenge was to find information to publishthatwas not alreadyknown by the public. Veryconscious of this challenge, Mespletwrote the following in hispaperusing the vernacular of the period: “I hadexpected to fill the public advertising and commerce sections withtrade-related items. However, material for both sections isinsufficientat the present time. There islittleadvertisingsince the paperis not yetknown and you are also as familiar as I, dear Sirs, of the present situation surrounding commerce. Consequently, I believethatthereislittlereproachthat I shouldreceive for thesetwo sections.”

44. An uncertain venture • It wasclearthatMespletwas living in a city thatwasbustling and picturesque. But thisenvironmentalonedid not addresshisproblem as a newspaper editor. Montreal wasstillreallytoosmall to support a profitable newspaper. Editing a newspaperunderthese conditions wasfilledwithuncertainty and wasequivalent to placing a riskybet.

45. Language • Despiteeverything, therewas one aspect thatdid not cause anyproblems, that of language. In 1778, Montreal wasunilingual French. The English population was made up of a small group of businessmen who, irrespective of theirorigins, lived in total immersion. They all spoke French.

46. Repulsion • Expressed by a visitorfrom Ireland: “The majority of residents of Montreal are undoubtedly of French origin. These French people have a total repulsion to the idea of learning English, and itis rare to findanyone able to properlyspeakit. The English, for the most part, are able to speak French withoutdifficulty.”

47. A smallrun • In the beginning, the newspaper’s output was to be minimal: 300 copies per run. With a population of only 7 000 inhabitants, 95% of whomwereilliterate, subscriberswould have been few in number. The newspaperwas made up of four pages in-quarto format, and the size of an ordinary book. Sincemost of the published news wasalreadyknown and the newspaperwasprintedonly once a week, no one wouldhurry to purchase the paper. Single newspaperpurchaseswere rare. Mespletrelied on annualsubscriptions to maintain the newspaper.

48. The peso • Hissubscriptionfee: “Two and a half dollars a year in Spanishcurrency.” Canada did not have itsowncurrency and all different types of money were in circulation. Spanishcurrencyhowever, was the mostprevalent, the famous peso described in the legends of the Corsairs.

49. A monopoly • Fleury Mespletcould not earnhislivelihoodwith the newspaperalone. He primaryearnings came fromhisgeneral printing work. He had a monopoly in Montreal and hispresswas the only one in the City. He thereforedid not have to worry about anycompetition.

50. Enlightenment and Revolution • Mespletwasmainly an entrepreneur, however, heleft none in doubt of his support of the values whichcharacterized the Age of Enlightenment. Since the American Revolutionwas not yet over and because of hisprevious associations, hewasstillthought to have revolutionary sentiments.