Meet New France
Social Studies 7
Pages 88-103
What was the Social Structure of New
France?
• People were classified according to levels of
importance within the colony.
– The most important people were born into the ruling
class (nobility)
– Wealthy people were next (merchants were rich)
– Everyone else made up the bottom levels of society.
• The Catholic Church organized French Society.
• The Church provided moral direction, hospitals,
orphanages and schools.
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac
1622-1698
• A French nobleman who went into debt
because he loved the rich life
• King Louis XIV appointed him Governor of
New France which got him out of debt
• His grand ideas for New France caused
problems with the Sovereign Council
• King was displeased with conflict, called him
back to France.
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac
1622-1698
• King took away position, Frontenac lived in
poverty for a while.
• After releasing him from his position, New
France became severely threatened from the
Haudenosaunee and the British.
• The King sent Frontenac back to New France
as a commander of the army because he was
experienced.
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac
1622-1698
• Frontenac attacked the Haudenosaunee
• His attack contributed to the formation of the
Great Law of Peace made with the French
• Successfully defended New France
Marie-Claude Chamois 1656-1705
• She was a “Fille du roi” (daughter of the King;
orphan) sent to New France to marry soldiers
• Married Francois Frigon and had 7 kids
• Known as “habitants”- cleared, cultivated,
domesticated the land they were given.
• Learned how to survive from Innu and
Kichesiprini (food, clothing and shelter)
• First nations traded back with Habitants
Pierre-Esprit Radisson 1636-1710
• He was a “Coureur de Bois” (runner of the
woods) seeking trade with First Nations
• Stuck to no “side”. He would side with
whomever would offer him the best return for
his skills (French or British)
• Kidnapped as a young teen by
Haudenosaunee, details are few. Not sure how
he was released? Escaped? Ransomed?
Pierre-Esprit Radisson 1636-1710
• Explored west with his Brother In Law, where
they returned with many Beaver Pelts
• Expecting to become wealthy, they were instead
arrested and fined for trading without permission
• In a defiant retaliation, Radisson told the British
what had happened so the British sent him to
claim the land around the Hudsons Bay for
Britian. Which they did.
• They built forts in direct competition with New
France called the Hundon’s Bay Company.
Pierre-Esprit Radisson 1636-1710
• After 5 years, Radisson returned to New
France to make a complaint about his fine for
trading in the west 5 years prior.
• Governor Frontenac refused to hear it.
• While in New France, Raddison and his
brother in law met Charles Auber de la
Chesnaye who started a fur trading company
called Comagnie du Nord (Company of the
North)
Pierre-Esprit Radisson 1636-1710
• This company competed with the Hudson’s Bay
Company.
• Radisson and Medard planned the surprise attack
and captured a cargo of beaver pelts.
• Frontenac was not impressed, even though
Radisson and Medard were now on their side. He
ordered them to pay a hefty tax on their captured
furs.
• Radisson angry, again returned to work for Britian
and never returned to New France.
Agathe de Saint-Pere 1657-1748
• A woman of New France who, from a young
age, raised her brothers and sisters, married a
French Military Officer and raised 8 children of
her own.
• A shortage of linen and wool inspired Agathe
to create material from locally grown plants
(nettles, bark fibre, cottonweed, etc)
• She had 9 captured weavers work for her to
make and sell material.
Jean-Alexis Lemoine 1680-1754
• Voyageur and Fur Trader
• Travelled the St. Lawrence River trading with
many forts along the way. They would trade
for furs the First Nations had traded over the
winter.
• He made little money doing this so he opened
a small shop in Montreal that sold supplies to
voyageurs and local french troops.
Jean-Alexis Lemoine 1680-1754
• He traded for money and furs in his shop. He
would sell the furs to bigger merchants who
shipped them to France.
Francois-Etienne Cugnet 1688 - 1751
• Involved in several businesses in New France
(glue, tobacco, ironworks)
• Opened his own Ironworks business in 1730 and
was granted license by France to supply the royal
shipyards.
• His business struggled to make a profit so he
needed loans from the government.
• He eventually claimed bankruptcy and the
government took over the company until 1883
(more than 150 years)
Marguerite d’Youville 1701-1771
• Married a nobleman in New France, 6 of her 8
children died in infancy. Her husband also died.
• She pledged her life to helping the poor and sick.
• The government of New France asked her to take
over Hopital General in Montreal.
• She employed the poor and sick to sew clothing,
make sails, tents, candles, cure tobacco and make
bread.
• She and her fellow workers became known as the
Sisters of Charity, also known as The Grey Nuns.
(who now have hospitals all over Canada)
The Sovereign Council
• King made the Council to rule New France. It
included:
– Governor
• Represented the King
• Controlled military and defense of colony
• External relations (trade with First Nations)
– Intendant
• Chief administrator of the colony
• Kept colony in good order, less dependent on France
• Exploited the colony for the benefit of France
– Bishop of Quebec
• Represented the Catholic Church
• Spiritual and moral guidance, started schools, hospitals, orphanages
• Was always called upon when important decisions in the colony were to be made.
Soldiers
• Under Frontenac, many soldiers came to
defend the colony against the Haudenosaunee
and the British
• King wanted soldiers to stay and settle in New
France so he offered them seigneuries.
• A seigneury a piece of land along the St.
Lawrence River offered to the soldiers to live
and build a life upon. They could also own the
land and charge “rent’ to others to live on it.
Habitants
• Farmers who lived on seigneuries.
• Habitants means “inhabitants” (people who inhabit the
land)
• If they were in France, they would have been known as
paysans (peasants)- people who rarely own anything.
• Clearing the land, planting crops, building houses and
paying a seigneurs miller to grind their grain were done
in exchange for the right to establish and live on the
farmland.
• Habitants who rebelled became “Coueurs de Bois” and
formed alliances with groups that used and
appreciated their skills and knowledge.
Seigneurs
• Owned large plots of land called “seigneuries”
• Usually from noble families but futher along in
history, common people could become Seigneurs.
• They were like landlords and allowed Habitants to
live on land as long as they took care of the land.
• To keep their land, they had to recruit settlers,
build a house for themselves, a flour mill and a
church for the Habitants.
Merchants
• Shops including blacksmiths, shoemakers,
masons, bakers and butchers.
• Made their living on the fur trade. They
imported goods from France and traded with
the First Nations.
• They also took in furs, then sold them back to
France where they hoped to make a profit.
Catholic Church
• Played a very important role in the identity of
New France.
• In Europe, there was a very big rivalry between
Catholics and Protestants. People were often
discriminated against because of their religion.
• The Jesuits (Catholic Religious Order) came to
New France in the early 1600’s.
• They worked with the First Nations and converted
them to Catholicism.
Catholic Church
• Established schools, hospitals and orphanages
in New France.
• The Clergy were a small group of educated
people who could read and write. They were
consulted by the government before making
important decisions.