![[Berthierville flag]](../images/c/ca-qcber.gif)
Last modified: 2019-08-15 by rob raeside
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by Ivan Sache, 10 July 2019See also:
The municipality of Berthierville (4,228 inhabitants in 2018; 689 ha) is
located 25 km south-east of D'Autray, 70 km south-west of Trois-Rivières),
and 80 km north-east of Montreal.
Berthierville is named for Captain
Alexandre Berthier (1638-1708), first lord of the place in 1672. Born in
Bergerac (France) in a Huguenot family, as Isaac Berthier, he landed in Quebec
on 30 June 1665 among the troops sent from the Antilles by Alexandre de
Prouville de Tracy to submit the Iroquois. A few months later, he converted to
the Roman Catholic religion and changed his surname to Alexandre, which led
some historians to believe that there were indeed two captains named Berthier.
Commander of the Assomption Fort in Saint-Jean and of the rear-guard troops in
autumn 1666, Berthier was then repatriated to France with the Carignan
Regiment. Back to Quebec in 1570, he was granted on 29 October 1672 the domain
of Bellechasse (Berthier-en-bas) by Jean Talon, Intendant (Governor) of
Nouvelle-France (1665-1668 / 1670-1672). The next year, he acquired the domain
of Villemur (Berthier-en-haut) from Hugues Randin. Berthier settled and
increased his domains: the 1681 census records him as the most important
farmer in Villemur. He then settled in Berthier-en-bas where he commanded the
local militia. Member of the Quebec War Council in 1682, Berthier was proposed
as the Governor of Montreal in 1683, to no avail.
After Berthier's
death, his domain was acquired on 25 April 1718 by a merchant from Montreal,
Pierre de Lestage (1682-1743); on 7 March 1765, his nephews sold the domain to
James Cuthbert (1769-1849). Born in an old Scottish noble family, Cuthbert
served in the British navy and then commanded his own infantry company; he
left the army in 1765. Appointed member of the Quebec Council by General
Murray on 14 June 1766 and, the same year, Judge, Cuthbert was a main opponent
to Guy Carleton, Murray's successor as Lieutenant-Governor. Berthier was
captured during the 1776-1777 American invasion, while his manor was burned
down and his domain looted. Back to Canada, Berthier restored his domain and
seated at the Legislative Council, where he had been appointed in 1775. A main
opponent to Governor Haldimand, Berthier was expelled from the Council in
1786. A wealthy lord, Cuthbert had too many political enemies to be a
successful politician. He attempted in 1792 to be elected at the Chamber, to
no avail; his appeals at the local and European British authorities, as well
as his requests to be named Baronet and Colonel, were not considered.
The municipality of Berthier-en-Haut was established on 1 July 1845, to be
incorporated two years later to the county municipality of Berthier, which was
itself divided around 1850 into two municipalities, Berthier No. I and
Berthier No. II. The Village of Berthier was formed on 14 April 1852 from part
of Berthier No. I, to be transformed into the town ("ville") of Berthier on 18
September 1865. The town was eventually renamed to Berthierville in 1942.
http://www.biographi.ca/fr/bio/berthier_isaac_2E.html
http://www.biographi.ca/fr/bio/cuthbert_james_4F.html
Dictionnaire
biographique du Canada
https://www.ville.berthierville.qc.ca/
Municipal website
Berthierville is home of a museum dedicated to the iconic racing driver Gilles
Villeneuve (1950-1982), who resided in the town for most of his life.
Originally specialized in snowmobile racing, Villeneuve was hired by Ferrari
to compete in Formula One World Championship. He won six Grand Prix (1978:
Canada; 1979: South Africa, United States West and United States East; 1981:
Monaco and Spain). "The faster driver in the history of motor racing"
according to his former teammate Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve died in
1982 in a terrible crash during the qualifying session of the Belgium Grand
Prix in Zolder. His body, repatriated the next day by a Boeing 707 chartered
by the Canadian Army, was exposed in the Berthierville cultural center, where
more than 5,000 people paid him a last homage. His funeral was attended by
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, René Lévesque, Prime
Minister of Quebec, and Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger, Archbishop Emeritus of
Montreal. His son, Jacques Villeneuve (b. 1971) won 11 Formula One Grand Prix
(all with Williams-Renault; 4 in 2016 an 7 in 2017, the year he claimed the
title of Champion of the World in 1997).
http://museegillesvilleneuve.com,
Gilles Villeneuve Museum website
http://archives.radio-canada.ca/sports/course_automobile/clips/1507/ Radio
Canada, 12 May 1982
The legendary wheel-banging duel between Gilles
Villeneuve and René Arnoux happened on 1 July 1979 in Dijon, during the French
Grand Prix. Considered as the greatest duel in Formula One history, the duel
for the second position overshadowed the victory claimed by Jean-Pierre
Jabouille, the first win for him, for Renault, and for a turbocharged car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtZ0wv1I8yc
The flag of
Berthierville, as shown on a black and white photo featuring Gilles and
Jacques Villeneuve (Gilles Villeneuve Museum) is (most probably) white with
the municipal coat of arms in the center.
Photo:
https://museegillesvilleneuve.com/gilles-jacques-drapeau-berthier/
The arms of Berthierville, designed in 1950, recall the main events of the
history of the town. The arms are vertically divided into three equally wide
fields. In the first, red, field, the yellow dragon, a symbol of force and
pride, is the emblem of Bergerac, the birth town of Captain Alexandre Berthier.
The dragon holds a sword recalling Berthier's military value and bellicose
courage; the captain was gloriously injured when fighting for his faith and
his king. In the second field, the main, green part is charged with a gray
retort recalling the Melchers distillery, one of the town's two main
industries (founded in 1898 by Joseph-Marcellin Wilson in a former sugar mill
and closed in 1978, this was the first gin distillery established in Canada);
on the retort, the red flames represents the other industry, the match factory
ran by Eddy Match Co. Ltd. (1919-1957). The field's upper part, blue, is
charged with a gray sheep wearing a yellow halo. This is a symbol of Saint
Genevieve of Paris, the parish patron saint, who was a humble shepherdess. The
third division features the arms of Cuthbert, "Or a fess gules in chief a
wyvern vert". The Cuthbert claimed to descend from St. Cuthbert, a Scottish
monk (d. 681; Bishop of Lindisfarne and patron saint of the old Kingdom of
Northumbria) reputed to be the first human inhabitant of the devil and
snake-infested Farne islands. Beneath the shield, a scroll azure is charged
with "VILLE DE
BERTHIERVILLE" in letters sable.
https://www.ville.berthierville.qc.ca/decouvrir-berthierville/armoirie/
Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 10 July 2019
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