About this season
From 1535 to 1760, this story follows the Bellerose family, beginning with François Bellerose's arrival in New France with Jacques Cartier and culminating in Julien Bellerose's death. Through generations, the Belleroses embody the tenacity and courage with which families overcame adversity to build Canada, then known as New France. Each episode features a new generation.
Episodes (13)
1. The Canadian Man (Le Canayen)
Aired 28 December 1971 • 60 min
François Bellerose, wounded by two arrows during Jacques Cartier's Canadian expedition, loses consciousness as the French escape in the longboat. Indians carry him away, and delirium from fever sets in. Upon awakening, he faces his initial struggles to adapt.
2. The Canadian Woman (La Canayenne)
Aired 4 January 1972 • 60 min
François's fiancée, lost in Canada fighting Indians, joins settlers from France to find him living among them. She then reintegrates him into civilization.
3. The Girl of Tadoussac (La Pucelle de Tadoussac)
Aired 11 January 1972 • 60 min
Having escaped a ship, three bandits raid the Bellerose home, where only the women reside. Jean and Pierre Bellerose, aided by Iroquois Indians, pursue them to rescue the women.
4. The Cross of Mont Royal (La Croix du Mont-Royal)
Aired 18 January 1972 • 60 min
Jean Bellerose, a Frenchman, is the first casualty of the Iroquois resistance to colonial settlement, prompting a war between settlers and the Iroquois.
5. A Burning Winter (Un Hiver Brûlant)
Aired 25 January 1972 • 60 min
As Pierre Bellerose prepares to leave Santa Maria for Montreal with furs, the murder of a young Native American ignites tensions. Accusations fly against a French trader and even the mission's superior officer. Bellerose, witnessing the unrest, decides to investigate the murder himself.
6. The King's Daughter (La Fille du Roy)
Aired 1 February 1972 • 60 min
Arriving in Canada as one of 150 "filles du roi" sent to remedy the gender imbalance, Nicole d'Astier finds herself drawn to a solitary lumberjack who spurns her marriage prospects.
7. Three Thousand Soldiers, One Woman (3000 Soldats, Une Fille)
Aired 8 February 1972 • 60 min
François Bellerose rescues a drowning woman who claims to be from Boston and warns of an imminent English attack on Quebec, but the governor suspects she is a spy.
8. The Caribus (Les Caribous)
Aired 15 February 1972 • 60 min
Hudson Bay, 1694: Bellerose, a backwoodsman, must announce the French reoccupation of Fort Nelson (renamed Fort Bourbon) and renegotiate the fur trade with the Eskimos. Guided by a mixed-race Eskimo interpreter, Bellerose will face the daily struggle for survival in the unforgiving landscape.
9. The Lord Of The Forest (Le Seigneur De La Forêt)
Aired 22 February 1972 • 60 min
Canada, 1702. A suspicious death during a Bellerose logging operation ignites superstitious fears among the lumberjacks, who blame the "White Lady."
10. The Camel's Treasure (Le Trésor Du Chameau)
Aired 29 February 1972 • 60 min
Canada, 1725: Leon Bellerose, an informant for the governor, works with the chief engineer of the Cap Breton fortress, whose daughter is pursued by an officer, the son of a high-ranking official.
11. The Acadians (Les Acadiens)
Aired 7 March 1972 • 60 min
Canada, 1758. Major Evans, a British officer, is ordered to eliminate rebels evading deportation. Pierre Bellerose, with his brother and wife, seeks refuge in the woods alongside other locals.
12. The Fugitive (L’Évadé)
Aired 14 March 1972 • 60 min
Canada, 1758. Amidst fifteen years of conflict between the French and Canadians, young Quebec garrison officer Julian Bellerose is betrothed to his cousin. During a country walk, she encounters and hides a wounded, fugitive English officer, unaware of the peril she courts.
13. Farewell to the Fleur-de-Lis (L’Adieu Au Lys)
Aired 21 March 1972 • 60 min
England prevails in the war. Aunt Anne's death coincides with the Bellerose mansion becoming a refuge. Anne Marie returns, remorseful for her elopement, and seeks reconciliation with her former fiancé. (Final episode)