The Change to Royal Government, New France, 1663
King Louis the XIV decided to take over control of New France in 1663. He did this
because the chartered companies, The Company of 100 Associates and later The
Communaute des Habitants, were failing to live up to their side of the bargain. They
were required to populate, protect and manage the territory of New France in exchange
for their monopoly over the fur trade.
Consider you are King Louis, and you must now find ways to increase the population of
New France, guarantee its protection and manage the territory.
1. Firstly, as New France now requires a form of government, would you as King Louis
A) divide the responsibilities into internal and external affairs, appointing a person
for each? They are responsible to you and the naval minister.
B) take complete control of New France, doing all the work yourself.
C) allow the people to elect who will be in charge of themselves, where you have no
say in the results.
D) hire/appoint someone to control all of New France for you. He/she is responsible
to you.
2. The chartered companies failed to protect the colonies, and you need to find a way to
make sure the colony is protected. How would you do this?
A) Would you have people try and recruit First Nations to your army?
B) Would you send some of your trained army over to New France in order ensure
the protection?
C) Would you make it so that the settlers who were already there form an army, even
though the population was very low?
D) Would you attempt to send citizens from France over to New France, telling them
that they were there to populate and become an army?
3. The chartered companies also failed to populate the colony. As King, you realize that
this makes you vulnerable to invasion, and that you need to populate the colony to have
enough of a work force to profit economically. What methods would you use to populate
the colony? (3 right answers)
A) As men far outnumbered women, would you encourage the colonizers already in
New France to reproduce with as many Aboriginal women as possible?
B) Would you have traders transport people from France to New France in order to
provide cheap/free transportation to those who could normally not afford to move
to New France?
C) Would you offer the soldiers that were in New France seigneuries to encourage
them to stay?
D) Would you send over women from France to marry the men there and provide a
dowry for Aboriginal converts (to Catholicism) to promote marriage between
French men and Aboriginal woman.
4. Your intendant (Jean Talon) would like to ensure New France’s subsistence. If you
were the intendant, how would you accomplish this? (2 right answers)
A) Would you encourage King Louis to send over different seeds and livestock to
experiment with in the harsh Canadian climate?
B) Would you order the population to search the forest for more food?
C) Would you take away the land of the seigneurs (landlords) who did not develop
and grow food on their land properly?
D) Would you try and force people to raise cattle and pigs in order to use them for
meat?
5. You are the intendant (Jean Talon) and you would like to diversify the economy (have
more than one economic activity). How would you accomplish this? (2 right answers)
A) Would you establish shipyards and tanneries (to prepare skins into leather) along
the coast?
B) Would you attempt to buy factories and businesses from the British colonies?
C) Would bend some of the mercantilist rules to allow the economy of New France
to benefit itself and not just the mother country?
D) Would you decide to bring businesses that were based in France over to New
France and make them work there?