-Government

-Seigneurial System

-Church

NEW FRANCE

GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE

In charge of New France while king was in France

Had a lot of power because communication with France was diffi cult

New France and France sometime did not have communication with each other from more than 6 months

New France’s government was expensive and ineffi cient

The Royal Government was replaced by the British government in 1763

SOVEREIGN COUNCIL

Governor GeneralFigurehead of the king in New France – living symbol of king’s authority

Had the most power in New FranceNobleman with military background

Responsible for: military planning, making a good relationship with First Nations people, seeing that other officials did their job

SOVEREIGN COUNCIL

Comte de Frontenac (1622-1698)Became Governor General in 1672Was 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

GOVERNOR GENERAL

The BishopRepresented Catholic church in New France

Ruled over the priests and nunsWas in charge of hospitals, , churches, schools and missionaries

Chosen by the kingMade sure the communities were getting along

SOVEREIGN COUNCIL

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

THE BISHOP

Intendant: Supervised the colony in issues of finance, and law and order

NoblemanCommunicated with the king about what happened in New France

SOVEREIGN COUNCIL

Jean Talon (1625-1694)New France’s first intendantWanted 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

INTENDANT

-Structure-Women-France-Famrland

SEIGNEURIAL SYSTEM

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

STRUCTURE OF THE SEIGNEURIES

Women could have landEncouraged to marry at 16 years old

If their husband died, the woman would inherit the land Some women took control of the landOthers gave it to their sons

WOMEN IN THE SEIGNEURIES

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

COMPARED TO FRANCE

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

OBTAINING FARMLAND

- In the Towns

- On the Seigneuries

- Role in Education and Health Care

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

THE CHURCH

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

IN THE TOWNS

Seigneuries provided habitants with a church

Churches were either wooden or stoneEach area supposed to have own

priests, but there were often not enough priests

Priests performed services for people:Spiritual service – baptism, marriage, funeralLegal service – wills, business transactionsGovernment service – registered births and deaths, gave government announcements

Personal services – provided news and gossipChurch was centre of religious and

social life

ON THE SEIGNEURIES

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 EDUCATION

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

ROLE IN HEALTH CARE