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I had occasion to look at death records of Acadia from about 1702 onwards: and I was struck by how few deaths were recorded.........and the ones that were seemed to be primarily infants and old people........a sign of a very healthy and peaceful population
The leading cause of death for young men seemed to be drowning accidents.
so, I was curious: what killed Pierre Sirre in 1679 area?
looking for historical clues: there seems to be no crisis or disaster recorded such as a shipwreck or other event of war or raids.......
However, that year 1679 started popping up quite a bit for deaths of young men in particular from Beaubassin......a tiny isolated village....how odd
Lost at this time were:
Pierre Sirre
Jean Boudrot
Francois Pellerin
Michelle Richard
Martin Dugas
and
Madeleine Blanchard
all young adults
likely there are more: my search was not exhaustive
Why?
What I did find was that during the years of 1679-1680 there was a smallpox epidemic in Boston: brought to the region via the slave trade coming in from the Caribbean.
We know that Beaubassin was the hotbed of trade with Boston: ships running back and forth on a regular basis...furs, lumber, fish, beef,,,,,,all manner of goods moved back and forth to Boston as well as people.
To think of Beaubassin as some quaint remote peasant village would hardly do it justice: Jacques Bourgeois was the kingpin of illegal (to the French anyway) "privateer" freebooters.......
Bourgeois along with the originals of Beaubassin that included Pierre Sirre were first of all men of international trade: albeit on a "small" level .......Bourgeois spoke English well.......
In fact French traders envious of the success of Beaubassin called the residents "scum" and lobbied to shut them down.
Boston itself kept not only warehouses in Port Royal but agents in Acadia and Beaubassin.
Relations with Faneuil, the richest citizen and French Huguenot of Boston along with Nelson operated an intense trade with the men of Beaubassin.
Thus, contact was so intense between Beaubassin and Acadia, one has to wonder:
was it smallpox that spread to Beaubassin that killed Pierre Sirre and these other young adults in 1679-1680?
Perhaps someone has more detailed info. to share.
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