François Poulin de Francheville

François Poulin de Francheville, Seigneur de Saint-Maurice (7 October 1692 – November 1733) was a Montreal merchant who was granted permission by the King of France to mine the iron ore deposits on his seigneury in 1730.[1] In 1730, Francheville founded the Compagnie des Forges de Saint-Maurice,[2][3] but he died three years later.[4][5]

The ironworks Forges du St-Maurice built near the town of Trois-Rivières (in present-day Quebec), were the only iron industry enterprise in New France. In 1736, the ironworks were taken over by a company that went bankrupt in 1741. The ironworks then became the property of the Crown, and began producing artillery pieces and objects of everyday use, such as pots and stoves.[3]

Francheville had bequeathed ownership of his slave, Marie-Joseph Angélique, to his wife; the following year, Angélique was convicted for starting the 1734 fire of Montreal.[6]

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