Robert Giffard de Moncel

Who was Robert Giffard de Moncel?

Robert Giffard de Moncel was a French surgeon and apothecary who became a prestigious colonist and businessman and eventually a nobleman of New France.

As a naval surgeon, Giffard made several voyages to Quebec between 1621 and 1627, a year when it's known he had a cabin in the woods outside of the colony.

On a return voyage in 1628, he was captured by the English adventurer Sir David Kirke and lost considerable equipment for colonization. Giffard returned to France. Kirke later captured and held Quebec until its return to the French in 1632.