The Torment of Father Francis Joseph Bressani

The Torment of Father Francis Joseph Bressani. Read for an amazing (and pretty infuriating) story of survival.

http://books.google.com/books?id=iegNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA117&dq=Father+Bressani&as_brr=1&ei=bShSS-m2CZ7ozAT4kfSVDA&cd=7#v=onepage&q=Father%20Bressani&f=false

Francesco Giuseppe Bressani was an Italian Jesuit missionary who traveled to New France (Canada) in the early 1640s to evangelize Indigenous peoples, particularly the Huron (Wendat). In 1644, while en route from Trois-Rivières to Huron territory, Bressani was captured by a Mohawk war party, part of the Iroquois Confederacy, who were at war with the Hurons and hostile to French allies.

Here is a summary of his captivity narrative:

Capture and Initial Torture:

• Bressani was seized along with several Huron allies.

• His captors tortured him severely: he was beaten, burned, mutilated, and had his fingers crushed or cut off.

• Despite this, he survived the ordeal due to his physical resilience and spiritual faith.

March to the Mohawk Village:

• He was marched over 600 miles to a Mohawk village in present-day New York State.

• Along the way, he endured further abuse and starvation.

Life in Captivity:

• Once in the village, he was paraded and further tortured in public rituals.

• Surprisingly, he was not killed—likely because of his youth, weakened condition, or potential value in ransom.

• He was held for about two months, during which he observed and recorded the customs of the Mohawk people.

Ransom and Release:

• The Dutch at Fort Orange (modern Albany), who were trading partners with the Iroquois, intervened.

• Bressani was ransomed and handed over to the Dutch, who then arranged his return to Europe.

Return and Writings:

• He returned to France and published a detailed account in 1653, titled "Breve Relatione d'alcune missioni".

• His narrative is a valuable source for early contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples, providing both ethnographic detail and insight into missionary struggles.

• Despite his suffering, Bressani returned to New France in 1645 and continued his missionary work for several more years.

Legacy:

• Bressani’s account is one of the earliest and most graphic descriptions of Iroquois captivity practices.

• His narrative also underscores the cultural and religious tensions of the time and the harsh realities of frontier missionary work.