The Filles du Roi
(daughters of the king)
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In 1665, there were only seventy houses in Quebec. Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Secretary of State
for Louis XIV's navy, dreamt of making his country the dominant European power and mother
country of a great world empire.
"Monsieur Talon made it evident to us at the outset that the King loves this country, and has
great plans for its development. .. By his personal qualities, he makes us already taste the
sweetness of a governance so guided by reason,." wrote Fran�ois Le Mercier, Jesuit superior
in Qu�bec.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, wanted the already established colonies, such as New France to grow:
"The King has formed companies, which like the army, attack everywhere???, and as the important
part of this business consists of foreign colonies, we thought it necessary to think of
maintaining, protecting and increasing those that we have already established."
Jean Talon, the Intendant, thought the colony had good chances of flourishing:
"I believe that Canada has never been looked upon as it should be... in fifteen years there
will be enough overabundance... to supply the West Indies... I don't say this lightly and I
express this opinion after having closely examined the strength of the earth."
In order for New France to prosper, people were needed. Thus the King decided to send women to
the colony.
For a period of seven years, the King of France sent at his expense, several thousand young
women to New France, whom, the majority of, came from the Paris area or the diocese of Rouen.
They were poor, abandoned, with no future in France. The King bestowed upon them a dowry of
between 50 and 300 livres.
"The 100 girls sent over by the king this year have only just arrived," wrote Mother Marie de
l'Incarnation, on October 29, 1665, " and already they are almost all accommodated. He will
send another 200 next year, and even more in the years following, in proportion to the need.
He will also send men to marry withstanding those who are in the army. Truly, it is an amazing
thing to see how the country is becoming populated and multiplying."
The recruiting was often carried out by guardians, such as Anne Bourdon. She witnessed thirty
marriages.
Marguerite Jourdain
married
Bernard Delpeches dit B�lair [B�lair Ancestors] of the
Cariganan regiment;
Marie-Madeleine Boutet married Rene-Gervais Bisson;
Catherine Dupuy married Charles Martin;
Anne Perrot married Pierre Blais;
Marguerite Paquet married
Francois Biville dit Le Picard
[Girard Ancestors] of the
Cariganan regiment
&
Marie Bonheur Bonneville married
Paul Isnard dit Proven�al [St-Onge Ancestors]
also of the Cariganan regiment.
In 1665 the seigneury of Neuville, near Quebec, was virtually
uninhabited. Two years later, 40 married couples lived there. 37 of these brides were filles
du roi.
There were rumours that some of the girls sent to the colony had been prostitutes in France,
but Pierre Boucher defended the honour of his new compatriots.
"It is not true that this sort of women come here and those who say this are greatly mistaken,"
he wrote, "if, by chance, it happens that there are a few among those who come who are
discovered, or that during the crossing they behaved badly, they are sent back to France."
It was hard to live a scandalous life in such a small colony. What these young women had in
common was their poverty. Their fertility was proof of their good health.
Intendant Jean Talon
"The girls sent last year are married and almost all of them are with child or have had
children already, a sign of the fertility of this country," wrote Jean Talon to the king,
in 1670. Jean Talon actively encouraged their fertility, decreeing in an edict on April 5 1669
that all inhabitants having 10 living children, born of a lawful marriage, "will be paid a pension of 300 livres a year; and for those having 12 (children),
400 livres more; furthermore, all boys who marry at the age of 20 years or less and to girls
of 16 years and less, will be paid 20 pounds each on their wedding day."
This policy of increasing the birth rate did not take long to produce results. Catherine
Ducharme and Pierre Roy dit Saint Lambert had 18 children. Marie Hatanville, a widow with
11 children under the age of 15, married for a fourth time to a widower with 7 children.
Marie-Claude Chamois and Fran�ois Frigon had 7 children. They are the ancestors of every
Frigon in North America.
Return to B�lair Family Tree Page
Return to Filles du Roi
- from CBC - Canada: a People's History -
The filles du roi
RELATED LINKS:
The Virtual Museum of New France - Les Filles du roi. - very good; take a look