La médiation toponymique est l’un des ensembles relationnels qui font une terre habitée, ici le Québec et l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick. Trois souches linguistiques principales y ont déployé les lieux : l’autochtone, la française, l’anglaise. Les motifs de dénomination reliés à la propriété et la fréquentation, l’appartenance et l’événement, l’expérience directe et l’honorifique fondent la résonance des noms et de la terre. Les noms de lieux constituent un héritage à vivre et à transmettre. Corps, cœur et esprit alimentent une toponymie affective et sensible qui ressortit aux visions et perceptions du milieu naturel, s’exprime par l’anthroponynie (possessive et honorifique) et la consécration culturelle, imprègne la dynamique des changements de noms. En est une illustration le débat identitaire dans le contexte des fusions municipales au Québec. La dimension spécifiquement sémantique de la toponymie affective et sensible a permis d’établir trois grandes classes thématiques : empreintes possessives et identitaires, sens et sensations, ambiances et sentiments. Des profils régionaux apparaissent au Québec et des profils de comtés en Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick ; une toponymie des bonheurs et des malheurs se dessine. De cette mise en parallèle du Québec et de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick, il ressort des types toponymiques fortement contrastés qui témoignent de leur histoire politique respective et du rôle des autorités institutionnelles en la matière. / The toponymic mediation is one of the systems of relationships, which compose an inhabited land, here Quebec and Acadia of New Brunswick. Three main linguistic stems have influenced the construction of places : the autochthonous one, the French one and the English one. Denomination in relationship with property and socializing, belonging and event, direct experience and honours make the names resound with the earth. The place names offer an inheritance to live with and transmit. Body, heart and mind nourish an affective and sensitive toponymy, which relies on visions and perceptions of the environment. It expresses itself through anthroponymy (possessive and honorary) and through cultural consecration ; it influences the dynamics of changing names. An illustration of that is the debate on identity in the context of municipal mergers in Quebec. The specifically semantic dimension of affective and sensitive toponymy establishes three great thematic categories : imprints of possession and identity, senses and sensations, atmospheres and feelings. Regional profiles appear in Quebec and profiles of counties in Acadia of New Brunswick : it outlines a toponymy of happiness and sorrow. Very contrasted toponymic types stand out from this comparison between Quebec and Acadia of New Brunswick ; they testify to the respective political history of both regions and to the role of institutional authorities.

This dissertation explores how colonial administrators on each side of the Atlantic used the British Survey of North America to serve their governments’ as well as their personal objectives. Specifically, it connects the execution and oversight of the General Survey in the northern and southern theatres, along with the intelligence it provided, with the actions of key decision-makers and influencers, including the Presidents of the Board of Trade (latterly, the Secretaries of the American Department) and key provincial governors. Having abandoned their posture of ‘Salutary Neglect’ towards colonial affairs in favour of one that proactively and more centrally sought ways to develop and exploit their North American assets following the Severn Years’ War, the British needed better geographic information to guide their decision making. Thus, the General Survey of British North America, under the umbrella of the Board of Trade, was conceived. Officially sponsored from 1764-1775, the programme aimed to survey and analyse the attributes and economic potential of Britain’s newly acquired regions in North America, leading to an accurate general map of their North American empire when joined to other regional mapping programmes. The onset of the American Revolution brought an inevitable end to the General Survey before a connected map could be completed. Under the excellent leadership of Samuel Holland, the surveyor general of the Northern District, however, the British administration received surveys and reports that were of great relevance to high-level administration. In the Southern District, Holland’s counterpart, the mercurial William Gerard De Brahm, while producing reports of high quality, was less able to juggle the often conflicting priorities of provincial and London-based stakeholders. Consequently, results were less successful. De Brahm was recalled in 1771, leaving others to complete the work.