Daily Life in New France Mr. Rosse

Big Ideas The Sovereign Council The Seigneurial System The Role of Women

The Sovereign Council France needed a form of government in place in New France. The Sovereign Council-the governor, intendant and bishop were put in place in New France

Roles of Each Member The Governor: Represented the King Supervised defense Established treaties with the First Nations People.

Roles of Each Member The Intendant: Governed the local people. Controlled the colony's entire civil administration. Attention to settlement and economic development, and to the administration of justice.

Roles of Each Member The Bishop: Responsible for religious affairs. Catholic priests and nuns would come to convert Native people to Christianity. Nuns: Catholic woman who takes a vows and enters a religious community.

Sovereign Council

Think-Pair-Share Why was the sovereign council important to France?

Sovereign Council France wanted the colony to be a small copy of the home country. Would ensure control of land. People of New France would enjoy the same rights as those in France

Seigneurial System This system was used in New France. Lords would grant section of land to the farmers. The farmers would us the section in exchange for fees and service to the Lord.

Both the lords and habitants lived on the land. The system was relatively prosperous (somewhat profitable) Many worked part time in the fur trade Habitants: Residence (people who lived on the land)

By 1663, there were 104 Lords divided into more than 13 million square arpents and spread over 320 kilometers on both sides of the St. Lawrence. Arpents: A French land measure.

Why would France and their representatives worry about this system?

The business gave the people of New France an attitude of independence. This frustrated the representatives from France They began to think that the colonists had forgotten their place.

Life in New France The lives of the habitants were built around the manor and the Church. Life was based on the cycle of the farm. The habitants ate well, and shortages seem to have been rare.

Habitants enjoyed music and story-telling (winter evenings) Regularly went to Church Often worked together on joint projects (planting, clearing or harvesting)

Women in New France In the early days, New France had very few women. First female immigrants to New France were nuns. The lack of women in New France concerned the Council.

Women had few legal rights in New France. Married women could not own property or business. Despite the legal rights, women often worked as partners in the family business.

They worked the skills of buying and selling, investing and bookkeeping. With men went away travelling in the fur trade, women became more knowledgeable about the day to day business. Women also worked side by side men on the farms.

Women in New France Despite the rapid growth of New France, the number of women in New France were small. Hard to establish a society without women.

Letter To A Friend It is 1666 and you have been in New France for a year and a half. Your mom comes outside to tell you that she has just received a letter from France. It has the most exciting news - Your friend is going to be moving to New France in 6 months! Excitedly you start to list all the fun things you and your friend will do. Your mom reminds you how scared you were when you first came to New France and all the things you didn't know. You decide to write a letter to your friend to tell them what to expect

Your task is to write a letter to your friend. Tell your friend what to expect in New France.