-Government -Seigneurial System -Church New France -Government -Seigneurial System -Church

Governmental Structure

Sovereign Council In charge of New France while king was in France Had a lot of power because communication with France was difficult New France and France sometime did not have communication with each other from more than 6 months New France’s government was expensive and inefficient The Royal Government was replaced by the British government in 1763

Governor General Sovereign council Figurehead of the king in New France – living symbol of king’s authority Had the most power in New France Nobleman with military background Responsible for: military planning, making a good relationship with First Nations people, seeing that other officials did their job

Comte de Frontenac (1622-1698) Governor General Became Governor General in 1672 Was made to return to France in 1682 when he fought with the bishop and intendant Returned to New France in 1689 to attack the British and expand fur trade

Sovereign Council The Bishop Represented Catholic church in New France Ruled over the priests and nuns Was in charge of hospitals, , churches, schools and missionaries Chosen by the king Made sure the communities were getting along

Francois de Laval (1623-1708) The Bishop Jesuit priest Started living in Quebec in 1659 Became Bishop in 1674 Wanted to make First Nations people Christians

Intendant: Sovereign Council Supervised the colony in issues of finance, and law and order Nobleman Communicated with the king about what happened in New France

Intendant Jean Talon (1625-1694) New France’s first intendant Wanted to move colony away from being based in fur trade to being based in agriculture (farming) and industry, but population was too small Encouraged population growth through marriage grants (money for getting married) and baby bonuses (money for having babies) Introduced new crops (flax and hops), started lumber and shipyard industry, encouraged mining

Seigneurial System -Structure -Women -France -Famrland

Structure of the Seigneuries New France built along St. Lawrence River

Structure of the Seigneuries Long, narrow strips of land Land passed on through generations King owned all the land and allowed seigneurs to use it Seigneurs hired habitants to farm the land

Structure of the Seigneuries Duties of Seigneur Divide land and give it to habitants Build house and flour mill on land/seigneury Help with building of church Give Intendant information about land, money and population Duties of the Habitant Pay taxes to seigneur Build a house and farm the land Unpaid labour for seigneur a few days a year Give some produce (fish, crops) to seigneur every year

Women in the Seigneuries Women could have land Encouraged to marry at 16 years old If their husband died, the woman would inherit the land Some women took control of the land Others gave it to their sons

Compared to France Rulers of New France tried to copy the systems of France The seigneurial system in France only benefitted seigneurs – a lot of profit from cheap labour In New France, seigneurs and habitants both benefitted Seigneur had power and status Habitant had freedom, wealth and land Seigneurs in New France not as wealthy as seigneurs in France Taxes were low and habitants could keep most of their produce St. Lawrence river made travel easy

Obtaining Farmland As more habitants came to New France, new land was needed and new seigneuries started Many First Nations people moved because of fur trade – slowly started losing land Many habitant men married First Nations women and worked as farmers or fur traders

The Church - In the Towns - On the Seigneuries - Role in Education and Health Care The Church

The Church Roman Catholic Church was very important – almost everyone in New France was Catholic Only Roman Catholics could emigrate to New France Church business included: missionary work, education, hospitals and charity work Church influenced the government through the Bishop People of New France limited Church’s power and income by refusing to pay taxes

In the Towns Three main towns: Quebec, Montreal, Trois Riviéres Located along St. Lawrence River Quebec was military centre of New France

In the Towns Montreal was started in 1642 - centre of fur trade by 1660

On the Seigneuries Seigneuries provided habitants with a church Churches were either wooden or stone Each area supposed to have own priests, but there were often not enough priests Priests performed services for people: Spiritual service – baptism, marriage, funeral Legal service – wills, business transactions Government service – registered births and deaths, gave government announcements Personal services – provided news and gossip Church was centre of religious and social life

Role in Education Church was only source of education in New France Taught children how to read and write Latin and French, about Catholic religion and math Many children did not get an education – in Quebec, only boys who wanted to become priests received an education Many boys were illiterate because they needed to work on farms Girls often had better education than boys

Role in Health Care Church was only organization that cared for sick people, people with disabilities, orphans, and the elderly Nuns usually responsible for caring for the sick Ursuline Nuns made colony’s first hospital in Quebec in 1639 1659 – Montreal’s first hospital