EXCERPTS FROM THE ARCHIVES OF DIEPPE (FRANCE)

"The St-Jean Baptiste", a 300 barrel vessel which we have spoken about in the preceeding year, towards the end of the month of June left Dieppe proper, again for Quebec, which is one of the hamlet of Canada. On board is "le Sieur de la Bouteillerie", a young gentleman from the region of Caux, who had two carpenters, two masons, and four labourers to clear the land given to him by the King; at least a thousand acres, located between Trois-Rivieres and Montreal. It also brought to this country one hundred men and twenty-six girls, who were brought from Paris, ten mules and their offsprings, fifty sheep and lambs, draperies, dry goods, and blankets for the New-France and appropriate for trading on this vessel, which brought back to Dieppe, on the 10th of January in the year 1672, ten thousand pounds of beaver pelts, at 4 and a half francs per pound, four hundred moose pelts, stones, wood, pitch, and many more rare things, amongst which was a live moose, about six months old, a fox and a dozen large geese, which the "Sieur Lusson" presented to the King.⁽¹⁾

It seems that several French ships bore this name. The one which carried Damien in 1671 had been sailing for a few years. In effect, a ship arriving in New France in 1662 bore the name Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Flessingue.⁽²⁾ On the 30th of June 1664, a Saint-Jean-Baptiste of 300 barrels armed with 24 canons, having for captain Pierre Le Moine arrived in Quebec.⁽³⁾ On the 2nd of October 1665 a Saint-Jean-Baptiste, steered by Pierre Fillye, moored at Quebec with 82 women and 130 men on board.⁽⁴⁾ In 1671, the ship carried Damien and the seigneur de la Bouteillerie. On the 31st of December 1689 a hurricane washed ashore, on the coast of L'Ile Bourbon, a French ship named Saint-Jean-Baptiste crushing it against the rocks.⁽⁵⁾ In 1759, we find a Saint-Jean-Baptiste of 300 barrels amongst French army supply boats at the time of the battle of the Cardinaux.⁽⁶⁾

The dimensions of a boat of 300 barrels would have been 24.69 m. (76 feet) in length, 8.88 m. (27.33 feet) in width and 3.41 m. (10.5 feet) in depth if using George Fournier’s method which he described in his book, Hydrographie, published in 1643.⁽⁷⁾ This type of boat was called a galleon and could be armed or not depending on the need.