Seigneuries of New France By Robert Weston

A Seigneur and his Seigneury  Seigneur (Lord of the land)  Land was given by government  Lord attracted settlers to live on his LAND  If successful he made money paid by the dues of his farmers

Did the system work?  Settlers found a way to obtain land of their own  Lords found a way to make a good living

Seigneury Foundation  The land was called the “Domaine”  Bordered a river (mainly St. Lawrence or the Richelieu)  Stretched inland from the river  The seigneuries varied in size usually 3 arpents wide by 30 arpents in length ( 175 meters by 1755 meters)  Once all the land was occupied, the Seigneur opened up a new Rang (Range)  Montées were roads that connected the Rangs  Odd shapes of land were called abouts

How the system worked  Government issued land to a man who then became the Lord  The Lord (Seigneur) then attracted settlers to come and farm on his land so that he may make his living running the land  Seigneur owned a piece of the land and called it the ¨Domaine¨  Seigneur built a manor for him and his own family  Seigneur built a grist mill to grind farmers` grain, this would be also known as a windmill

A Seigneury`s Community  The community of the Seigneury consisted of a Manor for the Lord and his family  It had many farm houses  It has a church and houses for the priests  The church was the place to go for activities and meetings

A look at the Seigneury layout This is what a seigneury layout would look like

History of the Seigneury  The first seigneuries were granted in  By 1633 there were 53 seigneuries  British took over the colony in 1760, now there was 250 seigneuries  The system was abolished in 1854, ending the system for good

Seigneur Rights & Duties Seigneur agreed to.. for the government & church  Be faithful to the king  Keep an account of the seigneury  Bring in settlers and clear the land  Pay a tax if he sold the seigneury  Build a church and pay church taxes To his farmers (censitaires)  Grand land and have roads built  Build a mill for grinding grain and hold a court for disputes

Church Duties & Rights The church agreed to the following in return for the Lord`s service  A special pew (seat) at the front  To be served first at church  To be buried inside the church The church also gained respect on May Day (May 1 st ) from its people From the farmers they received..  Annual rent and taxes, (corv ée) 3-4 days free labour  Grazing fee, 1/14 of the wheat, 1/11 of fish caught  1/12 of the value of land if sold, the right to reposes

Censitaires Rights And Duties The Censitaries (farmers) also had rights and responsibilities  Agreed to clear his lot and grow crops  To grind his grain at the Lords mill  Maintain the road by his lot in good condition  Pay church taxes and homage to the Lord  Give the Lord the first chance to buy the land if sold The Censitaire also enjoyed his rights  Granted land, use of the mill, use of the common pasture  Protection by the Lord, keep profits, sell his land whenever or leave it to his family

Censitaires paying their dues  This is how the Censitaires would have paid their dues

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