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E. Daily Life in New France
From HCO Jr
| Part 3. New France → A. Founding of New France → B. Acadian Saga → C. The Royal Colony → D. Fur Traders & Missionaries → E. Daily Life → F. Wars with the English |
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Introduction: Life in New France
Contents |
New France was never a very big colony. Compared to the English colonies in the south it was small. However, life in this small colony was very different from how Canadians live today. Settlers in New France did not have the same life style that we have. They had jobs that no longer exist today, or very few people work in that field.
Part of understanding the past is learning how people lived. This helps us understand how our lives are different today. It also helps us appreciate how Canada has changed over time. Sometimes people think that life in the past was very similar to how Canadians live today. This is not true.
The Seigneurial System
Imagine that you want to buy a house. You find a house that someone wants to sell. If you like the house you offer that person money for the property. If the owner agrees he/she transfers ownership (sells) the house and the land to you. That house and property now belongs to you until you decide to sell it to someone. This is called the freehold tenure system.
Settlers in New France did not buy land like we do today. They rented their land from a large landowner. They paid rent as long as they lived on that land. Settlers in New France were called habitants. They received this name because their land was called a habitation in French. Habitants was a slang term for farmers. Their proper name was censitaires. However, we will call them habitants since this is what most people called French farmers.
The landlords were called seigneurs. This system of renting land to habitants is called the seigneurial system.
How did the Seigneurial System Work?
All of the land in New France belonged to the King of France. The king gave this land to the Church, and to wealthy people in the colony. They became seigneurs, and rented the land out to habitants. Sometimes habitants did not rent from just one person. Some of the religious orders in New France, like the Ursuline Nuns, owned seigneuries and rented the land to French farmers. Not all the seigneurs were men. By 1663 more than 50% of all seigneurs were women.
Seigneuries were both small and large. Some were 10 square kilometers in size. Others were over 200 square kilometers in size.
Seigneurs did more than just collect rent. They had duties to perform. These were:
- Build a large house called an estate house on their land.
- Provide money to build a church for the people on the seigneury.
- Build a mill for farmers to grind their wheat and corn.
- Report to the intendant about the seigneury and how it was doing.
Habitants also had certain duties:
- They paid rent (usually they gave the seigneur some of their flour).
- They worked for the seigneur a few days a year (called a corvée).They might help to build or fix roads, work in the seigneur's fields, or build ditches.
- Habitants had to grind their grain at the seigneur's mill. They paid to do this. This was called a banalités. Since people had very little money they gave the seigneur some of their flour as payment.
Seigneuries looked very different compared to modern farms. For example, all of the land was divided into long strips. The best land was on the St. Lawrence River, or one of the rivers that drained into the St. Lawrence. Habitants wanted their land divided like this. Roads in New France were not very good. They were so muddy when it rained that wagons would get stuck. Rivers were a better way to travel. Farmers loaded boats to take things from one place to another. It was an easier way to travel than on foot or by wagon.
In the winter the habitants used sleighs to travel. Sometimes they could travel on the roads because they were covered with snow. The easiest way to travel was on the frozen rivers.
Farmers also needed water for farming. It was easier to take water from the river than dig a well. Farmers built irrigation ditches to bring water to their fields when there was not enough rain. Farmers could also fish if they needed food, and some farmers caught and trapped other animals that lived on or in the river.
Habitants used many natural resources to help them farm. Marshes near the riverbank provided long grasses to feed cattle and livestock. Habitant did not clear all the trees from their farms. They keep woodlots. This gave them firewood, and they cut the wood into lumber to build furniture, homes and barns.
Habitant Life
Habitant lives were different from ours. They did not have many of the modern machines that we have. They did not have electricity or gasoline engines. Habitants worked using their own muscles, or with the help of animals. Many jobs people do today that can be done quickly took many days for the habitants. Habitants worked all year long on their farms. There was always work to be done at different times of the year. Habitant families worked from sun up to sun down (and even longer sometimes).
For many years the habitants spent their time clearing the land. When a new settler arrived on his land it was covered with trees. Before he could plant crops he had to cut down the trees. Then he had to pull out all of the large stumps. He used oxen to pull out the stumps. Large boulders in the fields were also dug out. At first settlers planted their crops between tree stumps so they could grow some food.
Habitant men used these trees to build homes. Habitant houses were simple at first. Rough logs were used for the walls and the roof. Mud, straw and moss was put in between the logs to keep out the cold winter air. This was called chinking.
As the colony grew people built better homes. They dug small basements to store food since it was cooler in the basement. Some habitants built their houses out of stone. These houses were still very small compared to modern homes in Canada. Most homes did not have a second floor. Parents might have their own bedroom while all the children slept in a single room (sometimes in the same bed). The kitchen and family area was one large room.
Habitant farms were different than Canadian farms today. Modern farms often grow only one type of food, or raise one kind of animal. Habitant farmers grew many types of food: wheat, corn, peas, and vegetables. Farms often had different types of animals: oxen, chickens, pigs, goats, and cows. If one crop failed one year there was always other types of food for the family to rely on. Families grew most of the food they ate.
Oxen were used as work animals. They pulled the plough through the tough soil. This turned the soil over and made it easier to plant seeds. Oxen also pulled anything that was heavy. If a farmer need to pull logs to his house for firewood he used oxen. They also pulled sleighs and wagons. Wealthier families had work horses to do certain jobs.
Habitant Food
Habitant food was simple because all of it was made by the mother and daughters. Bread was very important. Farmers worked very hard, and ate as many as two loaves of bread each day. This meant the women baked fresh bread every week. Some bread was baked at home. Most families had large outdoor ovens made of clay to bake bread in. Fresh milk and cheese was also made by women in a family.
Families ate fresh vegetables in the summer and fall. In the winter and spring families ate root crops such as: potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets, and onions. Dried pease were another important source of food. Families could not store frozen food like your parents can because they had no way to keep food frozen. Root crops stay fresh for a long time if stored in a basement.
Women gathered berries from the forests in the summer. Some were eaten right away, but some berries were dried for the winter time. Other berries were made into jam.
In the fall the habitants would kill a pig or cow for food, and cure the meat. Men placed the meat in a very small building. On the floor a small fire burned. Smoke from the fire dried out the meat, and kept flies off of it. Heat from the fire cooked the meat very slowly. Cured meat can be kept for a long time. Other meat was covered with salt. This dried the meat out so it lasted longer.
Almost every part of the animal was used. Pig intestines were cleaned, and used to make sausages. Pig heads were boiled. The meat was removed and pressed into head cheese. Pig ears were dried, and pig feet were put in vinegar to be pickled. Other animals provided food or material year round.
Other animals were kept year round to provide food. Chickens provided eggs for the family the entire year. Milk cows were kept to supply milk for butter, cheese and ice cream. Goat milk was also used. Sheep provided wool for clothing.
Habitant families also hunted and fished. Moose and deer hunting was important since this provided a lot of meat. This meat was eaten or cured. Fish could be cured or salted to last through the winter. Habitants also caught eels in the St. Lawrence River. These were salted and stored.
As you can see a lot of food was dried or cured to preserve it, or it was pickled. Without refrigerators they stored food differently than we do today. In the winter meat was stored outside in small sheds so it would freeze., The shed protected it from animals. Without cold weather, however, food had to be preserved or eaten right away.
Habitant families made maple syrup and sugar in the spring. Today your parents buy sugar at the store. For settlers the only sugar they had came from maple trees. Families tapped maple trees (nail a small tube into the tree) in April, and hung a bucket from the tap. Maple sap fell into the bucket.
Settlers collected the sap and put into a large pot to boil. This removed water from the sap and left syrup in the pot. If the sap boiled longer it created maple sugar. As a treat people poured maple syrup on the snow. When it froze children could eat it like a popsicle.
Maple syrup was always made outside in a small shack (called a sugar shack). You cannot boil maple sap in your kitchen. The steam that rises from the pot is very sticky. It covers everything in your house and is very hard to clean off.
Family Life
Habitant families were very large. Many people in the past had larger families than today. Some families had as many as ten children. Large families were useful because everyone worked to support each other.
Everyone in a family had work to do. All of these jobs were important if the family wanted to do well. Men and women (and boys and girls) had different jobs. This is not true today as men and women are equal. In the past, however, work was divided between men and women.
Fathers and sons worked in the fields. They planted crops, and harvested them (the women often helped). Men also looked after the livestock (although women did this too). Men made furniture, built homes and barns, and repaired things. They also hunted and fished for extra food. Men also cut down trees and split them into firewood.
Women and girls did other kinds of work. They tended the vegetable garden. Women also did all of the cleaning, cooking and baking. All of the family's clothes were made by the women. Women also spun all of the wool used to make clothes (and the men sheared the sheep). Women also made soap and candles.
Once a child was old enough to work they helped their families. Very few children went to school in New france. If they did attend school it was only for a few years. They learned basic reading and writing, and maybe math. Many children never attended school. They worked on their family farm as soon as they were old enough to help. Children only left their farm when they married. Often people married when they were teenagers.
Hunting was also very important to the habitants. In France very few people could hunt or fish. Wealthy nobles owned most of the land. If someone hunted or fished without permission (poaching) they might be arrested and put into prison. In New France people hunted and fished when they wanted. This provided them with important sources of food. Habitants also learned what types of berries they could eat from First Nations as well as other types of food.
Habitant families were always busy. There was always work to do the entire year because everything was done by hand, or made by the family. Look around your house at the things that you use. Imagine if your family had to make everything. For example, your parents could not buy bread at the store. They could not even buy flour to make bread. Your parents would grow wheat, grind it into flour, and then bake bread. Your parents could not buy you any clothes. Your family would raise sheep, gather the wool, spin it into thread, and then your mother would make you clothes.
There was time for fun. Since the habitants were very religious people Christmas and Easter were two very important holidays. There were also two other important festival days: November 11 and May 1. On November 11 all of the habitants paid their rent and taxes. Afterwards they held a large gathering to celebrate. May 1 was considered the first day of spring. A large pole was place in the ground, and a festival was held. People tied ribbons to the pole, and danced around it (it was called the May Pole).
Life was very hard for the habitants. Some historians, however, think the habitants had a better life than farmers in France. Habitants in Canada had larger farms. They could grow more food. They could hunt and fish. Some of the men worked in the fur trade during the winter to make extra money. Life was difficult, but in some ways it was better in Canada than in France.
The Role of the Church
In another chapter you read about the Catholic Church and its missionaries with First Nations. Catholic priests and nuns also lived among the habitants and settlers of New France. They did many different things in the colony.
Priests and nuns were important for their religious role. People in New France were Catholic. They needed the priests to perform certain ceremonies such as baptisms, confirmations, marriages and funerals. Priests also gave mass. There were not enough priests for all of the churches in New France so they often had to travel to different areas to perform these ceremonies.
Priests and nuns were often the only people who could read in a community. Settlers needed them to write letters home to their family in France or other parts of the colony, or read letters that arrived. They also helped settlers understand contracts and agreements they signed. If a habitant needed to create a contract between himself and other people the priest helped create the contract.
Nuns ran two very important institutions in New France: schools and hospitals. Boys and girls did not receive very much education. Boys often did not learn to read because there was no need. Some girls received basic education from nuns. Girls and boys from wealthier families had a much better education than boys and girls from poorer families.
Nuns also ran hospitals. There were only two hospitals in the colony by 1659. Medicine at that time was very basic, but the nuns did the best job they could to help people.
Town Life
More than 75% of the people in New France lived in the countryside. There were only a few towns in the colony. Although few people lived in these towns they were still an important part of the colony.
Quebec was the capital and the largest town. Two thousand people lived in Quebec in 1700, and over 5000 people by 1750. Montreal was the second largest town. Trois-Rivières was the third largest town.
Both wealthy people and poor people lived in the towns. In Quebec the town was divided into two sections. Wealthy families lived in Upper Quebec. Poorer families lived in Lower Quebec near the riverfront. Many people worked in this part of Quebec loading and unloading ships that came to the colony.
Many business people built their factories and warehouses in Lower Quebec. It was easier to ship out wood, furs and other things if your business was located close to the docks. Government buildings and large churches were built in Upper Quebec.
Montreal was different from Quebec. When Montreal was founded in 1642 (and called Ville Marie) it very quickly became part of the fur trade. Fur trading and shipping was a big part of Montreal's economy. It grew very quickly. By 1750 over 4000 people lived in Montreal.
Towns in New France were very simply compared to modern towns and cities. People did not have running water or toilets in their house. People used well water, or had water brought to them. Houses had outhouses, or they used chamber pots if they had to go to the washroom. In the morning people would simply throw what was in the chamber pots into the street. People also threw garbage in to the streets. There was no modern garbage pick up at this time. The streets of New France were very dirty and smelly. Rats and flies were a constant problem.
Roads were usually dirt that became muddy in the rain. There were no sidewalks. Very few streets were made of stone (called cobble stone).
At first most homes were made of wood. This was very dangerous. If one house caught on fire it spread very quickly. Eventually the government passed laws stating that new buildings had to be made of stone.
Sickness spread very quickly in towns. Sometimes the sickness came from dirty water. There was no way to make the water safe to drink. When it rained the water would run through the garbage and sewage in the streets. This water would drain into peoples' wells. People did not understand that dirty water can make you sick. A disease called cholera killed many people in Quebec, Montreal and Trois-Rivières in the 1800s. Cholera is caused by sewage getting into drinking water.
| Daily Life - Gallery | Stories & Texts | Web Links | Vocab | Student Activities | Class Projects |
| Part 3. New France → A. Founding of New France → B. Acadian Saga → C. The Royal Colony → D. Fur Traders & Missionaries → E. Daily Life → F. Wars with the English |
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