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Increasing
and Assembling the Population
Too
Many Young Men and Too Few Women
One of the first demands placed on Talon by Louis XIV was to count
the precise number of settlers in New France, as well as their ages
and occupations. The Intendant undertook a first census in 1666,
counting 3,215 settlers — of whom 73% were under 29 years of
age. This was not surprising, given that the average lifespan was
only about 54 years at the time. The population was also predominantly
male at 63%, and the number of unmarried men under the age of 29
was 791 for only 257 women. Complicating matters, France was almost
continually at war during the seventeenth century, and the King
was reluctant to depopulate the home country in favour of the colony.
The Intendant's population efforts would thus have to rely on natural
population increases within the colony, rather than on massive immigration.
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Preparing
the Soil and Laying the Groundwork
One of the measures taken by Talon and Colbert to increase the population
of New France was a policy of selective immigration. As a result,
between 1,500 and 2,000 colonists arrived in New France from 1665
to 1672, including complete families and — more importantly —
skilled craftsmen and contract workers. The contractors — also
called "thirty-six monthers" — were hired primarily
to clear land and prepare lots for future settlers. As their name
indicates, they were hired under contract for a period of three years.
The King defrayed their travel expenses and paid them a salary, while
also ensuring their lodging, food and clothing, and furnishing them
with crop seed and tools. When their three years were up, they could
either choose to settle in the colony or return to France. Most chose
to return home. In fact, historian Jacques Mathieu reports that, "as
many as half or even two-thirds of the contract workers and other
people who came to the colony returned to France after a stay of a
only a few years."
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Welcoming
Prospective Brides
New France had a great need for women of marriageable age given that,
in 1663, there was only one woman for every six young men. Between
1663 and 1673, more than 770 young women — most of them orphans
under 25 years of age — were recruited either by parish priests
or at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. They travelled
to the colony at the King's expense, and were also provided with a
dowry to encourage their marriage. Many of these "Daughters of
the King" married soldiers from the Carignan-Salières
regiment, thus encouraging the military men to remain in the country
following the pacification of the Iroquois and the disbanding of their
regiment.
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Marry
Quickly and Have Many Children
The active population measures taken by Colbert and Talon relied as
much on restrictions as on encouragement. To promote early marriages,
Talon offered a "present from the King": a sum of 20 livres
paid on the day of the wedding to young men of 20 years old or younger,
and young women of 16 or younger. Families with ten living, legitimate
children — as long as they had not been promised to the Church
as priests or nuns — would receive an annual "family allocation"
of 300 livres. This sum was raised to 400 livres for families with
12 or more children. In addition, civilian and religious honours —
such as being named churchwarden or captain of a militia — were
reserved for the heads of large families. |
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He
Who Hesitates is Lost
Under the colony's restrictions, fathers who did not marry their children
off young enough — before 20 for boys and before 16 for girls
— were required to explain their reasons to the Intendant, and
could even face fines. As for confirmed spinsters and bachelors, they
might see their rights to hunt, fish and trade with Native peoples
suspended or revoked.
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Results
that Spoke for Themselves
Although it was often difficult for a settler's son to establish himself
before the age of 20, the Intendant's matrimonial and birth policies
soon began to bear fruit. Between 1664 and 1674, the average number
of births tripled, compared to rates during the previous ten years,
and the population of New France grew from 3,200 in 1666 to 6,700
by 1672.
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