The Society of New France

Organization of the Governmentt

O The King and the Minister of the Navy remain in FranceO The Soverign Council (or Superior Council) complete the

orders of th King. It is composed of the Governor, the Intendant and the Bishop

1. The Governor of New FranceO Represents the King in New France, is responsible for the

relationships between New France and the other European groups in North America, makes sure that the Kings orders are followed,

2. The IntendantO Responsible for the day-to-day administrative work of the

government, responsible for the finance and justice and seeing that rules and laws are being obeyed.

3. The BishopO Represents the Catholic church in New France and is

reponsible for a diocese (a geographical area of churches)

The Governor of New FranceO Louis de Buade, Count FrontenacO Was a French noble who had a lot of

debt and wanted to make his fortune in the colony

O Founded the city of Kingston and Fort Frontenac.

O Held off two attacks from the BritishO In Montreal, where the British

retreated because they were not sufficiently organized

O At the seige of Quebec in Octobre 1690 which lasted 3 days. The British withdrew due to freezing temperatures

The Intendant

Jean Talon

Jean TalonThe Intendant de N-F, Acadia (the maritimes) and

Newfound Land from 1665-1672O Carried out survey to find out what resources New

France hadO Organized the construction of sawmills, shipbuilding

docks, the fishery, and a brewery.O Increased New France’s trade with the French

colonies in the CaribbeanO Increased immigration from France and was

responsible for setting up the filles du roi program

The Citizens of New France

O In addition to the seigneurs, habitants, coureurs des bois and First Nations were the trades people living in New France

O A census (large scale survey) was conducted in 1655-1665 to learn about the population

Results of the 1665-1666 Census

O 65 % of the population of New France lived in one of the four main settlements:O QuébecO MontréalO Trois-RivièresO Île d’Orléans

O 63.3% of the population was maleO Need to bring the filles du roi to make it

more even

Who was at the Bottom of the Hierarchy ?

O The majority of the population!O Indentured servants:

O Labourers who worked for a family for next to nothing.

O Worked usually up to three years then got freedom to look for regular, paid work

O Criminals:O Often they were French theives who chose life in

the colony over prison time in France.O Needed to work as indentured servants for three

yearsO Small number, rarelymore than 150 per year

O Slaves:O Some rich lawyers and merchants imported

slaves from the Caribbean as domestic servants

O There was never more than 402 slaves in New France

O First Nations:O Cree, Montagnais, Iroquois, Huron, Ottawa,

Mohawk, and othersO Fur trade depended on their hunting and

trapping skillsO Considered outsiders to the society of New

FranceO Vital to the survival of earliest newcomers to

New France

Trade and CommerceO Triangular commerce, established by Jean Talon

between France and its colonies: New France and the Antilles

The Mercantilist System

O Colonies (New France and the Antilles) provide the parent country (France) with cheap raw materials (wood, oil, fur, metal) and the parent country manufactures them into products (furniture, clothing, pots,) which it then sells back to the colonies for a profit.

O In this system New France did not trade with any country not in the French Empire.

Did New France make France Rich?

O Sadly, it did not make France as rich as Champlain had expected:O The King of France (Louis XIV) didn’t

invest enough money or people in his colony

O The population remained small compared to that of the British colony

O The climat was much harsher than in New England and the growing season was shorter for farming