Thalour du Perron
Governor of Plaisance, 1662-1663
This young native of Nantes became governor of Plaisance (Placentia) in 1662. Accompanied by a group of soldiers and colonists, his chaplain and his brother, he set sail for Newfoundland in July 1662 aboard the Aigle d'Or.
Once in Placentia du Perron was little interested in governing the settlement and spent a lot of time hunting game with his brother and the chaplain. Ill feelings abounded among the colonists and members of the garrison. Living in inadequate shelters, they came to regard their new home as a place of exile. At the end of the autumn, a mutiny erupted and du Perron, his brother and his chaplain were executed by the soldiers. When a supply ship arrived from Québec in the spring of 1663, only a handful of hungry survivors remained. Some of the mutineers were taken to Québec for trial.
