New France Letter’s Home Assignment
Step 1: Choose to be a man or a woman
Step 2: Give yourself a name. Remember these are immigrants from 17th century France
so they have to have French names. For example instead of John Allen, it could be Jean
Alain. Instead of Fatima Ahmad, it could be Francine Archambault.
Step 3: Decide how old you are. You should be somewhere between the ages of 16 and
20. People older than their early twenties did not usually migrate because they would
have already started families of their own in New France by then.
Step 4: Decide which family member you are writing to. Is it your mother, father,
younger brother, older sister? Depending on who you are writing to, you may want to use
different language and tone. For example, maybe you don’t want to worry your mother
about how you are not eating well or you want to tell your sister about the lack of good
looking men in New France. Who you are writing to should make a difference in the way
you express yourself.
Step 5: Decide on what kind of role your character has in New France
Roles for young women in New France during the 17th century
Les filles du Roy – Young Frenchwomen, either orphans or beggars, who were sent to the
colony at the state’s expense in order to marry colonists. These women were provided
with dowries by the French state for their marriage in New France.
List of Marriages of Les Filles du Roy
http://municipalite.yamachiche.qc.ca/toponymie/genealogie/section3.html
Married woman – Subservient to their husbands. Expected to the produce children
immediately after marriage and often. It was not uncommon for a woman to give birth to
10 children in as many years. Once the children are born, a married woman was expected
to care for all the children as well as work the family censive on the seigneury that they
lived on. In addition to their troubles, it was not uncommon for husbands to die or
abandon their families to return to France, leaving women with no other choice to
remarry. Women were also under the scrutiny of the Catholic Church in New France and
constantly being reminded of how to be good Catholic women.
Roles for men in New France during the 17th century
Censitaire – A young man that is married who farms a small piece of land (censive) that
he rents from a seigneur. Young men were pressured to get married and start a family
because there were incentives provided by the government for families with a certain
amount of children. They also felt pressure to marry from the Catholic Church as well.
Due to the lack of French women in New France, many young men married Aboriginal
women who converted to Christianity. Having a large family also meant having more
people to help out with the work of the family. They did not own their land and were
required to work for the seigneur’s benefit.
Voyageurs - Instead of getting stuck in the life of a farmer working for a seigneur, some
young men, lured by the profits of the fur trade, started traveling on their own to trade
directly with the Aboriginals. They led a much more adventurous life than the farmers.
They learned the language and customs of the Aboriginals in order to make trading with
them easier. They too were also forced to marry or otherwise they would lose fishing and
hunting rights. They would often marry Aboriginal women that converted to Christianity.
Step 6: Think of an important event to describe in the letter
Some examples are: The arrival and first week in New France, getting married, Christian
holidays (Christmas, Easter, Lent, etc.), leaving for a trade mission, harvesting season,
pregnancy
You can use this important event as way to describe some the emotions and feelings that
people living then might have felt.
Here is an example:
Dear mama,
I am writing you from what is to be my new home, Taddousac. It has been only a
few short days since I arrived in New France with the other girls but already I am soon to
be married. It is unbelievable how one day I could be Marie Gosselin one day and the
next I will be Marie Beauchamp. I don’t know much about my new husband but the
priest here has told us that all the men here are good Catholic men. I miss you and the rest
of the family terribly but the priests have assured me that those feelings will fade as soon
as I have a family of my own to love and take care of.
Step 7: Describe the day-to-day life of your character
What sort of chores are they doing? Are they outside or inside? What are there houses
like?
Step 8: Describe their emotions
Do they feel excited about being in New France or do they miss France? Are they happy
with the opportunity they have in New France or do they feel like resentment for their
place in society? How do they feel about the people around them? Etc.
Step 8: Sign off
Ex: “Your’s truly” “Love, Claude”
Your letter should be 250 words.
I will be marking your letter on two categories: Correct use of historical facts, creating
plausible story of the life of a young person living in New France. 5 marks each.