LE PORTUGAIS: THE FIRST COURIER OF NEW FRANCE

Author’s Note on Characters

This novel is inspired by the life of Pedro “Pierre” da Silva, known as Le Portugais, widely recognized as Canada’s first mail courier in New France.

At the heart of this story is a real man who lived in a time of uncertainty, danger, and transformation. His role as a courier placed him between worlds—between settlements, between languages, and often between loyalty and survival.

While Pedro da Silva is a historical figure, much of what is known about his daily life remains limited. For this reason, the narrative expands upon his journey through carefully imagined events, relationships, and conflicts that reflect the realities of the era.

Several characters in this novel are fictional or composites. They have been created to represent the people who would have shaped Pedro’s world:

- settlers struggling to build lives in an unforgiving land

- officials seeking order and control in a growing colony

- allies and adversaries navigating trust, power, and survival

- individuals whose paths cross Pedro’s as he carries messages that could change destinies

These characters are not meant to rewrite history, but to give voice to it—to bring emotion, tension, and humanity to a story that history only briefly records.

The goal of this novel is not only to tell the story of a man, but to illuminate the spirit of an era—and the quiet courage of those who carried more than messages… they carried the beginnings of a nation.