The People of New France

The Sovereign Council

Fur Traders

Governor

  • Represented the King.
  • Controlled the military and looked after the defence of the colony.
  • Dealt with external relations (First Nations).

Bishop of Quebec

  • Represented the Catholic Church and provided spiritual and moral guidance.
  • Founded schools, hospitals and orphanages.
  • Played an active role in governing colony.
  • Consulted the clergy before making important decisions.

Intendent

  • Chief administrator of the colony and kept the colony in good order.
  • Made the colony less dependent on France for meeting basic needs.
  • Looked for new ways to exploit the colony for the benefit of France.

Soldiers

  • Defended the colony against the Haudenosaunee and against the British.
  • The King offered seigneuries to officers who encouraged soldiers to settle on their land.
  • Soldiers chose a military career because they needed a way to make a living.

Farmers

Seigneurs

Habitants

  • Farmers who lived on seigneuries.
  • People who inhabit the land.
  • Had to clear the land, plant crops and build a house.
  • Had to give a few days labour each year to seigneurs.
  • Men from noble families, but women and commoners could also become seigneurs.
  • Had to recruit habitants to farm their land.
  • Had to build a house for themselves, a flour mill and a church for habitants.

Merchants

Voyageurs

Coureur de Bois

  • Runner of the woods (seek trade with First Nations).
  • Worked independently for themselves.
  • Sold furs wherever they could, even in British colonies.
  • Blacksmiths, shoemakers, masons, bakers and butchers.
  • Made their living in the fur trade.
  • Bought furs from Coureur de Bois and shipped furs to France for a profit.
  • Means traveller.
  • Men from New France who travelled between the fur merchants of Montreal and the fur trade posts of the Great Lakes and further west.

The Catholic Church/Clergy

  • Played an important role in identity of New France
  • Placed a high priority on converting First Nations to Catholicism.
  • Established schools, hospitals & orphanages in New France.
  • Important role in governing the colony.