The contribution of German immigrants to the peopling of Lanaudiere, Mauricie, Monteregie, Chaudiere-Appalaches and Bas-Saint-Laurent regions

The Quebec population descends in large part from a few thousand French immigrants who settled in St. Lawrence River valley during the seventeenth century. However, settlers from other origins have also contributed to the initial peopling of Quebec. A number of them were born in regions or countries whose main language was German. The best known are probably the German mercenaries who have taken root in Quebec during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Using genealogical data spanning over three centuries, this study aims to track these immigrants of Germanic origin and measure their contribution to the peopling of five Quebec regions (Lanaudiere, Mauricie, Monteregie, Chaudiere-Appalaches and Bas-Saint-Laurent). Results show that Germanic ancestors are found in the genealogies of all five regions. They represent between 0.9 % and 1.5 % of all immigrants and they explain a little less than 1 % of the regional gene pools but up to 2.7 % of paternal lineages.