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Promoters of Colonization
In the early seventeenth century, France decided to launch a colonial enterprise of its own in North America. With a view to settling and profiting from this vast addition to the royal lands, the French state took over a system that had its origins in feudalism: the seigneurial regime. In the new context, however, the seigneur was transformed from a feudal lord into a mere agent of the state in its relations with the colonizers. In a territory where everything had to be built and organized from nothing, the seigneurs' principal role was to act as promoters of colonization, as historian Marcel Trudel has called them. |
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| Map of New France in 1541. First attempt to establish a settlement in Canada |
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Thus land was given to the seigneurs so that they might help colonize New France. It was their duty to provide immigrants with favourable conditions for the settlement and agricultural development of a portion of the colony. The early seigneuries were all established along the St. Lawrence river, around the town of Quebec and the outposts at Trois Rivières (called Three Rivers by the English) and Ville Marie (now Montreal). Later, from 1670 onwards, new seigneuries were granted with a view to starting settlement in the Richelieu valley, Beauce and Lake Champlain regions. By the time the French regime came to its close, a population of 65,000 was spread over 250 seigneuries. The latter covered a territory extending from La Malbaie (Murray Bay in English) to the borders of present-day Ontario. |
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Last update: September 10, 2001 © Museum of New France – Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation |
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