Life in New France

Life in New France Alanna, Megan, Leasa

Contents • Seigneuries • The Habitants • Early towns • Roles of Women • Old vs. New France

SeigneurieS • Seigneuries are lands arranged in long narrow strips • They were located along the banks of the St Lawrence River • All the land was owned by the King of France, but maintained by a landlord or SEIGNEUR (pronounced seg-nuur)

St Lawrence River • 67 Seigneuries were around the St. Lawrence River between 1634 and 1633. They Lived Here!

Things the Seigneurs had to do • Some of the responsibilities of a seigneur were to: • Pay the King money for land and taxes • Provide habitants with land to work and live on • Organized recreational activities on the common land for the habitants in their spare time

They Built: • Mill for the habitants to use • Churches for the people to worship in • A court house in his lot for his habitants to solve their problems and disputes

Feudal system VS Seigneural system • In the European feudal system, the lord could fine the workers • In the Seigneural system, only the Intendent who was appointed by the king had the power to fine

Habitants or Tenants • Each seigneur divided his land among habitants • The habitants paid taxes to the seigneur called cens. • Habitants were required to work for their seigneur 3 days a year, often building roads • The habitants would divide their land for their children once they had families of their own

Things they did • The Habitants did 5 main things. They would: • 1. Clear the land, • 2. Build houses and other buildings, • 3. Farmed the land for the lord • 4. Built roads and • 5. paid rent to the seigneur (gave the seigneur some of their flour).

HOW THE HABITANT LIVED The habitant lived like the seigneur. The home was the same and the daily fare. Becoming a seigneur was simple, just by saving enough money. People took the social rank seriously, though the life pattern didn’t change. Work would still be the same. However, to be a seigneur was always an honor, for the manor-house was the social centre of every neighborhood.

The Housing --Seigneurs The manor-house was not a mansion. It was made of stone. Simple, but comfortable. There were 3 or 4 rooms on the ground floor. The furniture often came from France, and its quality gave it the sense of importance.

The Habitants home The habitants houses were also of stone or timber. There were narrow structures, heavily built, and low. The houses stood very near the roadway, with scarcely ever a grass plot or single shade tree before them.

Farm products that were abundant • wheat, corn, peas, vegetables and milk were a huge part of their diet. Habitants grew most of the food they ate. • Farms often had different types of animals: oxen, chickens, pigs, goats, and cows. • Mills were incredibly important for grinding wheat and corn.

Luxuries • The wealthiest of the habitants even had ice cream…which was unheard of in old France • Free time was also a luxury, one that was not wasted. • They would use free time for recreational activities

Regular things they did • Smoking was a ‘regular’ in New France • The men of New France smoked a great deal, and the women sometimes followed their example. • Children learned to smoke before they learned to read or write. • Tobacco was grown in the colony, and every habitant had a patch of it in his garden

Early towns • Only a small part of the population lived in the towns. • At the beginning of the eighteenth century the census showed a total of 16,417 people in New france • Less than 3000 were in the three main towns: Québec, Trois-Rivières, and Montréal

Quebec and Montreal • Quebec, the capital and largest town, had a population of about two thousand in 1700 and grew to more than five thousand by mid-century. • Montreal rapidly developed into the second largest town in large part because it became the center of the fur trade.

Town Life • Merchants located their buisness places near the waterfront in the Lower Town • The rich and the church were located in the Upper Town. • Most of the houses were made of stone because of many house fires with wood ones • Most of the buildings were lodgings, because most of the population was renting rather than owning homes because of high cost

Disadvantages of towns • Garbage was thrown into the streets • The dirt streets were narrow and bustling with people and animals. • In the heat, they turnedincredibly dusty • After a heavy rain they turned into mud bowls. • There was considerable violence, fire, and theft.

Transportation • Transportation within New France was very limited • The water highway, the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries, provided the best transit system. • The aboriginal peoples taught the French about the use of birch bark canoes, and they became greatly used in 3 out of 4 seasons. In winter they used snowshoes

Roles of Women • In 1633 half of the Seigneuries of New France were managed by women. This is when the immigration peaked, from around 1630-1662 • The seigneruies were run by women because they were more literate, and women could inherit their husbands land if he died, taking it for their own • They still did all the things that you would expect a woman to do

Women’s Jobs • Women were more literate then the men, so they handled all the business side of things, • They did the housework , sewing, cooking, and washing • They were responsible for the education of their children. • They worked in the fields and gardens beside their homes alongside their husbands as well.

First women in New France • When people first arrived in New France, there were very few women. • Some of the first women there were (Marie Anne) Louise de Ramezey and Marie L’incarnation

Marie L’incarnation • Marie de L'incarnation was named Marie Guyart when she was born in Tours, France on October 28, 1599. • Her father was a successful baker, and her mother was of noble birth. Because of this, she was able to get a proper education. • Marie married a silk worker in 1617, but he died two years after their marriage, leaving her to care for her 6 month old son • She also took responsibility for her brother-in-law’s carrier buisness, because she had remarkable buisness skills.

Marie’s religious life • At the age of 27, she decided to join the Ursulines, (more commonly known as nuns) a Roman Catholic order for pious women • She left her son in the care of her sister, and became a nun in 1633 • When she became a nun, she changed her name to Marie L’incarnation

Marie Sails to New France • On May 4, 1639, she sailed to New France after God told her to in a dream. • All of her fellow nuns sailed there as well. • The nuns had built a huge convent under Marie’s leadership • Here they trained other young women to be nuns. Taught some native girls as well. • Marie died after being in New France about 30 years.

Louise de ramezey • Louise de Ramezey was born on July 6, 1705, in New France. She was born into a noble family, as daughter of the governor. • She was educated in the convent that Marie L’incarnation had founded, so she was single all her life • Her father died in 1724, and she slowly began to become involved in the buisness side of the family.

The Sawmill • One thing that really grabbed her attention was the sawmill that her father had built on the Huron River • The sawmill took the rich timber of the Richelieu River and Lake Champlain area, and was turned into lumber for French ships at Quebec. • In 1745, she opened a new sawmill on the seigneury of Rouville with Marie-Anne Legras

Other Facts • She died on October 22, 1776 • She loved New France so much that she stayed there even after most of the nobles fled to Old France, including her brother, because the British defeated them in Quebec

Filles de roi • There were a lot more women in 1663, when young women were given free passage to New France, and provided with a dowry. Some were shipped out as young as 12. • These women were know as “filles de roi” • The women were expected to bear and raise children in the colony • They also had to do the housework, both in the house, and in the garden

Unusual things they did • Some women were in charge of political afairs • Others were part of the military • They had some of the same responsibilities as the men • Some of them owned their own properties

But their power wasn’t unlimited • Married women couldn’t be sued or sue other people. Not being sued was good, but they couldn't’ sue others, no matter how much they wanted or needed to. • They couldn’t dispose of any of their husband’s property either, unless they had the husbands permission.

Old vs New France • women did things that they never did before, like running businesses, which never happened in Old France • Women could own things that never would’ve been possible before • Towns were smaller in New France than in Old France WOMEN’S RIGHTS!

Old vs. New France cont. • In New France the Habitants could have free time, and the rich could even have ice cream! • In New France their obligations were few in number, and weren't burdening , unlike in Old France • New France had better roads than Old France, incredibly better! • New France was in Quebec, known to them as the new world, and old France was in actual France

Old vs. New France cont. New France was in Quebec, known to them as the new world, and old France was in actual France New France was a lot more different than Old France It changed France in itself a ton, for the better

Any Questions?

Life in New France