Marguerite de la Roque was a 27-year-old wealthy landowner in the Kingdom of France who in 1542 boarded a flotilla of three ships filled with 200 people, including a few other women and children, setting sail for the New World in an attempt to once again found a colonial settlement. Previous attempts had failed miserably, and once an entire ship disappeared into the North Atlantic, with all hands, on its way. We will not ever know why she left her comfortable life to do that, except that the expedition was headed by her uncle (some say cousin), Jean Francois de la Roque, Sieur de Roberval, a distinguished nobleman and soldier personally selected by King Francis I to be "Lieutenant-General" of New France. Jacques Cartier, much more able and the more obvious choice for leader, was subordinated to be ship captain and pilot.
Marguerite never made it.
On the seven week voyage westward, she became involved with a young gentleman on board and scandalized the others, but especially embarrassed her uncle, which was a big mistake. After landing on the southern shore of Newfoundland, the Sieur Roberval decided to maroon the pregnant Marguerite, her lover and her maid Bastienne on the legendary Isle of Demons as fit punishment. It was well-known to be infested with malignant, evil spirits and ships avoided going near it after hearing the demons' howls whirling around. The castaways were provided with muskets and some supplies, and were last seen standing on the forlorn shore as the ships left to sail down the St. Lawrence River to the site of today's Quebec City. Punishment was harsh in those times, especially when dealt out by someone whose entire character was stern, haughty and unyielding. During the one-year life of the new settlement, Roberval hanged a petty thief, put miscreants in irons and whipped both men and women. One survivor of the expedition, on his return to France, said six men were shot in one day.
While the Isle appeared on maps from 1508 to 1556, it was one of many imaginary lands portrayed not as actual discoveries but as a result of mistakes, fancy and invention or outright lies. They did make the maps more interesting; truth in reporting was pretty secondary. Many were set between Ireland and the coasts of North America. One of the most fantastic was Hy-Brasil, west of Ireland, depicted repeatedly for five centuries. The enduring legend was that a sorcerer lived there, immortal, accompanied by giant black rabbits. You can fool some of the people...
Quirpon Island
It is thought that the actual location of the marooning was Quirpon Island, to the far north end of Newfoundland. It is quite a way from the south shore where the ships made landfall, but there are no records to explain anything to us today.
On the rocky island, Marguerite and her small party, in no way experienced settlers or prepared to survive winters, built a hut and shot and skinned bears for food and furs. Scurvy, due to lack of fresh food, killed many in previous attempts at colonization in Canada, and Death had many other threats besides. Her newborn child, her lover and her maid all died in turn, leaving Marguerite on her own. At the end of two years, a fishing boat saw smoke rising, and conquering their deep fear of the demons, the crew rescued her after two unimaginably hard years.
Roberval met his end in Paris, beaten to death in the streets during an altercation. Marguerite did better upon returning to her old life in France, telling her story to many wide-eyed listeners.
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