The habitants were farmers living on seigneuries, which are large amounts of land owned by landlords, or seigneurs. In France, habitants are called paysans. Habitants had to clear land, grow crops and build their own house. They had to give a few days of labour to the seigneur. This labour is called corveé. Some habitants gave up farming to work as coureurs de bois, runners of the woods, and hunted for furs to trade, sometimes illegally. The habitants that gave up farming sometimes became voyageurs too.