The French In New Mexico: Four Centuries Of Exploration, Adventure, And Influence

François-Marie Patorni Independent Scholar and Author

The history of the French, French Canadians, and other French-speaking people
in New Mexico covers the last 400 years and all areas of New Mexico. After introducing the speaker’s great chase for the French in New Mexico, we will remember the lives of a few of the most influential, unusual, or colorful individuals, through stories of love and death, of chases and hunts, of successes and failures, illustrated by images rarely seen before. Thousands of New Mexicans have French ancestors. This talk is offered as a contribution to their cultural resurrection.

François-Marie Patorni, a French American, is an independent scholar specializing in the history of the French-speaking people in New Mexico and the American southwest. His book, “The French in New Mexico – Four Centuries of Exploration, Adventure, and Influence,” was published in April 2020. After a career at the World Bank in Washington D.C., he moved to New Mexico in 2004, where he realized the extraordinarily rich history of the French, French Canadians, and other French-speaking people in New Mexico.