Was Oscar Wilde inspired to write The Selfish Giant by his visit to Montreal in 1882? |
Montreal
is a top LGBTQ tourism destination, but the city wasn’t always the gay mecca it
is today. Back in the 17th century it was just a tiny outpost
of the French Empire, surrounded by fields and valleys as far as the eye could
see. It was here in 1648 that a gay military drummer with the French garrison
stationed to protect the Sulpician Order of priests — the seigneurs of Montreal
— was charged by the Order with committing “the worst of crimes” and sentenced
to certain death in the galleys.
“The
drummer’s life was spared after Jesuits in Québec City intervened on his
behalf,” Québec Gay Archives co-founder Ross Higgins said. “He was given a
choice by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Québec: die or become the colony’s first
executioner.”
The
unidentified drummer took the executioner job.