Cadillac’s Relation on the Beaver Islands, 1718; 1902 translated extract

Source

Date: 1718
Eras: French era
Concepts: agriculturetoponymyhistoriographymaritime
Within: Beaver Island archipelago

Summary

The held English selection is headed 1718 and attributes its source to the “Relation of Sieur de Lamothe Cadillac.” In its geographic sequence around Lake Michigan, it begins at the Beaver Islands [Isles du Castor], saying that “some families have their cabins and fields of Indian corn.” It is a direct early French-name attestation for the group and a source-bounded report of cabins and maize cultivation there.

The Wisconsin volume’s editor says the selection translates portions of the Relation as printed in Margry’s nineteenth-century edition. The archive does not currently hold the French manuscript or a page image of that edition, so this record does not treat the 1902 wording as an independently verified diplomatic transcription.

Evidence and limits

This is evidence of what the translated extract reports under its 1718 heading. It is not proof of a particular island, exact number of families, year-round occupancy, land tenure, community identity, or a continuous settlement history. “Indian corn” and “families” are retained as the translation’s historical language, not as a present-day community label or an archaeological finding.

The record should be read alongside the distinct 1721 Charlevoix travel account. The two texts both matter to the early written history of the archipelago, but they are not interchangeable observations or confirmation of every detail in each other.

Read the document

593 pages, rendered from the held scan.

Cadillac’s Relation on the Beaver Islands, 1718; 1902 translated extract — p. 1 — Page 1 of 593[Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac], “Relation of Sieur de Lamothe Cadillac,” headed 1718, in *The French Regime in Wisconsin* (Wisconsin Historical Collections XVI, 1902), pp. 350–360; relevant Beaver Islands passage p. 359.Open the page image · Download this page

Jump to a page — 593 in all

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 39 45 51 57 63 69 75 81 87 93 99 105 111 117 123 129 135 141 147 153 159 165 171 177 183 189 195 201 207 213 219 225 231 237 243 249 255 261 267 273 279 285 291 297 303 309 315 321 327 333 339 345 351 357 363 369 375 381 387 393 399 405 411 417 423 429 435 441 447 453 459 465 471 477 483 489 495 501 507 513 519 525 531 537 543 549 555 561 567 573 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593

139 of 593 pages linked here — every page to 32, then every 6th, then the last 16. With JavaScript, every page.

Sources

[Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac], “Relation of Sieur de Lamothe Cadillac,” headed 1718, in *The French Regime in Wisconsin* (Wisconsin Historical Collections XVI, 1902), pp. 350–360; relevant Beaver Islands passage p. 359.
Held Internet Archive text derivative. The volume identifies this as a selected and translated extract from a Relation published by Margry, *Découvertes et établissements*, vol. V, pp. 75–132. The held text is the 1902 English editorial presentation, not the manuscript or an unabridged French edition.
internet_archive · frenchregimeinw02thwagoog
Project provenance sidecar for the held Internet Archive DjVu XML derivative of *The French Regime in Wisconsin* (1902), retrieved 28 July 2026.
Records the Internet Archive derivative URL, retrieval time, checksum, file size, and public-domain/open-access status. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
internet_archive · frenchregimeinw02thwagoog

Added 2 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Cadillac’s Relation on the Beaver Islands, 1718; 1902 translated extract”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/documents/cadillac-relation-beaver-islands-1718/, accessed [date], citing [Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac], “Relation of Sieur de Lamothe Cadillac,” headed 1718, in *The French Regime in Wisconsin* (Wisconsin Historical Collections XVI, 1902), pp. 350–360; relevant Beaver Islands passage p. 359. (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-02. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

BibTeX for “Cadillac’s Relation on the Beaver Islands, 1718; 1902 translated extract”RIS for “Cadillac’s Relation on the Beaver Islands, 1718; 1902 translated extract”