Toudji’s thesis is, Marriages and sexual intermingling created strong and enduring networks that tied the Quapaw’s and French together. There were many ideas on why the French men took Quapaw woman as wives. White suggested it was so the native women could secure their economic diplomatic advantages and establish alliances with the French. While Father Henri suggested it was because the French needed to populate the colony. But according to Diron d’Artaguiette the native women did anything for the French men. Whatever the intention the marriages made a lasting bond between the French and Quapaw’s. This article uses many secondary sources from the beginning to the end. One is Daniel Usner, Toudji put his statement in her article that, “Unlike…show more content… Father Henri recalls that he blessed a marriage between a Frenchman and a native American. This helped Toudji maker her case because Father Henri was the priest, he was the witness. Another primary source is Diron d’Artaguiette, he was a French officer who testified that the Illinois Indian women were, “Mistresses of their own bodies,” and they, “Generally like all the Frenchmen, to whom they refuse no favor.” This helped Toudji pled her case because his testimony is evidence that the Native women were interested in the Frenchmen, they were not enemies of them, rather they liked them. One primary source was Joseph Key, he noted that, “Marriages enabled the Quapaw’s to create stronger bonds with the French creoles.” This source was important to Toudji’s article because it was the foundation of what her argument was based on. The most important primary source Toudji cited was Jean Bossu, a French officer. He had saw the Quapaw and French connection over time. He visited the Quapaw in 1751, 1756, and then 1770-1771. The Quapaw wanted to know all about him, if he had a wife, if he was married, how long he would be there. After attending a ritual and getting a tattoo they even made him the war chief and was asked to choose one of the Quapaw women as his wife! Even more importantly he noted that, “many of our compatriots married these women at the beginning of settlement, in the absences of whites.” This quote was very important to Toudji’s case because it was an accurate source that claimed the Quapaw’s and French married. Bossu affirmed it was, “A pleasure seeing these women who were showing a great affection toward the
