New France
The Sovereign Council
Fur Traders
Soldiers
Farmers
The Catholic Church/Clergy
Habitants
Seigneurs
Intendant
Bishop of Quebec
Governor
Merchants
Voyageurs
Coureur de Bois
Governors represented the king, controlled the military, and 7
looked after the defence of the colony.
They also dealt with "external relations," such as trade with First Nations.
Intendants are the the chief administrator of the colony.
They worked to keep the colony in good order, and make the colony less dependant on France.
They also kept their eye out for new ways to exploit the colony for the benefit of France.
They represented the Catholic Church.
They provided moral and spiritual guidance.
Francois de Leval was a bishop and had a lasting effect on Canada. For example, he established a seminary to train priests in New France---today's Laval University.
Coureur de Bois means "runner of the woods".
The term comes from the way some men in New France engaged in the fur trade by "running in the forest" to seek and trade with First Nations.
The coureurs worked independently-----for themselves.
The king offered seigneury to officers, which encouraged their soldiers to settle on their land.
Many men had chosen a military career only because they needed someway to make a living.
Many soldiers came to New France to defend the colony against the Haudenosaunee and against the British.
The church also played an important role in governing the colony.
The Catholic Church played an important role in the identity of France. The church established schools, hospitals and orphanages in New France.
The habitants barely owned anything, and most of the time the seigneurs mostly owned them.
Habitants are people who inhabit the land and are often known as peasants, or in France they would be called paysans (peasants).
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Seigneurs are landowners that own large plots of land called seigneuries.
The received the seigneuries as grants from the King of France.
Seigneurs have to recruit settlers for farming to keep their land grants. The settlers are also known as habitants.
In exchange for the right to establish a farm, habitants had to clear the land, plant crops, and build a house.
They imported goods from France, and traded these goods with the Innu, the Ouendat and the Anishinabe, among other First Nations for furs.
Many merchants made their living in the fur trade.
The also bought furs from Coureur de bois and other colonists who traded in furs for extra income.
They also traveled to the fur trade posts of the Great Lakes, and eventually further west.
Voyageur means "traveller".
The voyageurs were men from New France who traveled between the fur merchants of Montreal.
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The clergy were among a small group of educated people who could read and write. Many people consulted them before making important decisions.