Life in New France

The Political Structure of New France Ultimately, the French king in the home country and his advisors were the ultimate authority “in” New France Any decisions by the king would be passed on to the colony by the advisors In New France itself, the highest authority was the sovereign council (later called the superior council) It consisted of 5 councillors, the intendant, governor general, and a bishop

The Governor General Represented the king in New France Considered to be a symbol of the king’s authority He was typically a military officer and a nobleman as well His responsibilities were military planning, relationships with the indigenous people, and ensuring that other officials were doing their jobs Frontenac, New France’s first governor, wanted to expand the fur trade

The Bishop Represented the church in New France Had more power than it seems Ruled over all of the priests, parishes, and nuns who were in New France Despite having to be a priest himself, he was often a nobleman as well Francois de Laval, New France’s first bishop, founded a seminar which would eventually become Laval University

The Intendant Was the head of New France’s civil administration Managed the day-to-day affairs and responsibilities of running the colony Was particularly responsible for increasing settlement and the colony’s economic development Jean Talon, New France’s first intendant, tried to increase the colony’s population by arranging for the filles du roi to come to the colony Also tried to diversify the colony’s economy by introducing new crops, building a shipyard, and building a brewery

Women in New France The first female immigrants to New France were nuns; they were sent to help convert and educate the indigenous peoples of the area However, many more women began to arrive as part of part of Jean Talon’s filles de roi They were typically poor women, often orphans who had few options back in France They were sent to New France to both marry the colony’s bachelors in the hope that they would start families, increasing the colony’s population Furthermore, more women in the colony would make it a more appealing destination for male immigrants

The Lives of Women in New France As New France was meant to be a copy of ‘Old’ France, women seemingly had few rights It was difficult for married women to run a business, participate in the legal system, or sell property without her husband’s permission However, the French legal system contained one particular law that helped women in this regard, they could hold seigneurial land If a woman’s husband died, she could inherit it herself While many only held it until a son was old enough to run it himself, some women ended up running seigneuries on their own

The church was extremely important in New France Virtually all of its settlers were Roman Catholic, as Cardinal Richelieu and the King had made it a law that only Roman Catholics could travel to the colony The church was mostly concerned at first with missionary work and converting Native people But as the colony continued to grow, the church began to take on more and more responsibilities within the colony Role of the Church

Church Services in New France Churches provided spiritual services like mass, confessions, baptisms, marriages, and funerals Churches also provided legal and government services like creating wills, recording business transactions, registering births and deaths, and spreading government announcements The Church was also the only source of education, as priests and nuns taught religion, math, and how to read and write in French and Latin Girls often received a better education than boys; typically only boys who were planning on becoming priests would get an education Finally, the church was also the only institution in New France that provided some form of health care Nuns especially would care for sick, the elderly, orphans, and those with disabilities

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