SS9 – Mr. Bilan
Names/Block:______
Date:______
New France After Champlain
Use pages 232, 236-241 in Crossroads to fill in the blanks in your worksheet.
Settlement and Colonization
When Champlain died, other European countries were trying to extend their imperial interests around the world.
The Company of a Hundred Associates was required to bring settlers to Canada and establish seigneuries, or feudal-style manors.
The Royal Province of New France
In 1635, only a few settlers lived in New France. The Company of a Hundred Associates had failed to bring settlers.
Instead of the Huron, the Iroquois now controlled the fur trade and set higher prices.
But in 1661, Louis XIV and Jean-Baptiste Colbert, his minister of the marine were determined to make the colony strong and profitable
The theory ofmercantilism was popular in the 17th century; Louis and Colbert wanted to make Canada part of that for France.
France then sent aregiment of 1100 soldiers, which almost doubled the population.
They attacked the Iroquois until they got peace. The French opened up the fur trade to the west, and theIroquois could expand their territories elsewhere.
In 1663, France made New France a royal colony. It wanted the colony to be a small copy of the home country. The seigneurial system would ensure the colony’s aristocrats would control the land, just like in France.
Champlain wanted the Native people and French to intermarry and make one nation but this was replaced by a plan to make France a strong colony populated by French peasants.
The First Government
In order to increase the colony’s population, Jean Talon (New France’s first intendant)recruited women who had the least to gain by staying in France. They were often orphans and called filles du roi or the king’s daughters.
To increase the role of the colony in the mercantile system, Jean Talon established lumber mills, a tannery and a brewery in Canada. However, they did not compete with France, but traded within it.
Frontenac, New France’s first governor took the job to escape people that he owed money to. He fought with the Church and home government over the size of the colony. He ordered the coureurs de bois to look for more furs, extending the boundaries of the empire.
Life in New France
Life was firmly anchored in the seigneurial system. Lords were granted parcels of land, and habitants, or peasant farmers would cultivate the land in exchange for providing fees and services to the seigneur. This was like the feudal system, but unlike that system both groups were relatively prosperous.
By 1663, there were 104 seigneuries divided into more than 13 million square arpents that spread over 320 kilometers. The seigneur had to build and live in a manor house, hold court for disputes, attract more settlers, and build amill. The habitants had to pay rent, provide days of service, and serve in the militia.
The lives of the habitants was determined by the manor and the Church. Young people worked in the fur trade or in Quebec’s small industries. Women worked on the farm and usually had many childreb.
Life was based on the cycle of the farm. In spring, crops were planted, sugar was harvested, and the fishing season began. Habitants spent summers cultivating and weeding their fields, cutting wood, and clearing wasteland. Finally in fall, crops were gathered, animals were slaughtered, and food was preserved for winter
Habitants ate well, and raised animals like pigs, chicken, ducks, and some cows. Fish was a common dish, especially on Friday because that was the Catholic meatless day.