NEW FRANCE IN 1665
Let us take a glance over the colony at the time when
Courcelle and Talon landed at Quebec after an ocean
journey--there were no fast lines then--of one hundred
and seventeen days.
In 1665 Canada had only three settled districts: Quebec,
Three Rivers, and Ville-Marie or Montreal. Quebec, the
chief town, bore the proud title of the capital of New
France. Yet it contained barely seventy houses with about
five hundred and fifty inhabitants. Then, as now, it
consisted of a lower and an upper town. In the lower town
were to be found the king's stores and the merchants'
shops and residences. The public officials and the clergy
and members of the religious orders lived in the upper
town, where stood the principal buildings of the
capital--the Chateau Saint-Louis, the Bishop's Palace,
the Cathedral, the Jesuits' College and Chapel, and the
monasteries of the Ursulines and of the Hotel-Dieu sisters.
Francois de Laval de Montmorency, bishop of Petraea and
vicar apostolic for Canada, was the spiritual head of
the colony. He had arrived from France six years earlier,
in 1659, and was destined to spend the remainder of his
life, nearly half a century, in the service of the Church
in Canada. Because of his noble character and many virtues,
his strong intellect, and his devotion to the public
weal, he will ever rank as one of the greatest figures
in Canadian history. His vicar-general was Henri de
Bernieres, who was also parish priest of Quebec and
superior of the seminary founded by the bishop in 1663.
The superior of the Jesuits was Father Le Mercier. The
saintly Marie de l'Incarnation was mother superior of
the Ursulines, and Mother Saint Bonaventure of the
Hotel-Dieu.
It may be interesting to recall the names of some of the
notable citizens of Quebec at that time, other than the
high officials. There were Michel Filion and Pierre
Duquet, notaries; Jean Madry, surgeon to the king's
majesty; Jean Le Mire, the future syndic des habitants;
Madame d'Ailleboust, widow of a former governor; Madame
Couillard, widow of Guillaume Couillard and daughter of
Louis Hebert, the first tiller of the soil; Madame de
Repentigny, widow of 'Admiral' de Repentigny, to use the
grandiloquent expression of old chroniclers; Nicolas
Marsollet, Louis Couillard de l'Espinay, Charles Roger
de Colombiers, Francois Bissot, Charles Amiot, Le Gardeur
de Repentigny, Dupont de Neuville, Pierre Denis de la
Ronde, all men of high standing. The chief merchants were
Charles Basire, Jacques Loyer de Latour, Claude Charron,
Jean Maheut, Eustache Lambert, Bertrand Chesnay de la
Garenne, Guillaume Feniou. Charles Aubert de la Chesnaye,
the stalwart Quebec trader of the day, was then in France.
In the neighbourhood of Quebec were a few settlements.
According to the census of the following year there were
452 persons on the Island of Orleans, 533 at the Cote
Beaupre, 185 at Beauport, 140 at Sillery, and 112 at
Charlesbourg and Notre-Dame-des-Anges on the St Charles
river.
Three Rivers was a small port with a population of 455,
including that of the adjoining settlements. The governor
in charge of the local administration was Pierre Boucher,
already mentioned as a delegate to France in 1661. The
Jesuits had a residence there and a chapel which was the
only place of public worship, for the colonists had not
as yet the means to erect a parish church. In the vicinity
there were the beginnings of settlement at Cap-de-la-
Magdeleine, Batiscan, and Champlain. Among the important
families of Three Rivers were those of Godefroy, Hertel,
Le Neuf, Crevier, Boucher, Poulin, Volant, Lemaitre,
Rivard, and Ameau. Michel Le Neuf du Herisson was juge
royal, and Severin Ameau was notary and registrar of the
court.
Montreal or Ville-Marie was scarcely more important than
Three Rivers. The population of the whole district numbered
only 625. A fort built by Maisonneuve and Ailleboust at
Pointe-a-Callieres; the house of the Sulpicians at the
foot of the present Saint-Sulpice Street; the Hotel-Dieu
on the other side of that street; the convent of the
Congregation sisters facing the Hotel-Dieu; a few houses
scattered along the road called 'de la Commune,' now
Saint-Paul Street; and on the rising ground towards the
Place d'Armes of later years a few more dwellings--these
constituted the Montreal of primitive days. On the top
of the hill called 'Coteau Saint-Louis' was erected an
intrenched mill--'Moulin du Coteau'--which could be used
as a redoubt to protect the inhabitants. The Sulpicians'
house, the Hotel-Dieu, the convent of the Congregation,
and the houses of the Place d'Armes and of 'la Commune'
were connected with the fort by footpaths. Before 1672
there were no streets laid out. The only place of public
worship was the Hotel-Dieu chapel, fifty feet in length
by thirty in width. The superior of the Sulpicians was
Abbe Souart. Mother Mace was superioress of the Hotel-Dieu,
but the mainstay of the institution was the well-known
Mademoiselle Mance, who, by the aid of Madame de Bullion's
benefactions, had founded it in 1643. The illustrious
Sister Marguerite Bourgeoys was at the head of the
Congregation, which owed its existence to her pious zeal
and devotion to the education of the young. Among the
'Montrealistes' of note the following should be specially
mentioned: Zacharie Dupuy, major of the island; Charles
d'Ailleboust, seigneurial judge; J. B. Migeon de Bransac,
fiscal attorney; Louis Artus Sailly, who had been for
some time juge royal; Benigne Basset, at once registrar
of the seigneurial court, notary, and surveyor; Charles
Le Moyne, king's treasurer, interpreter, soldier, settler,
who was later to be ennobled and receive the title of
Baron de Longueuil; Etienne Bouchard, surgeon; Pierre
Picote de Belestre, a valiant militia officer; Claude de
Robutel, Sieur de Saint-Andre; Jacques Leber, a merchant
who controlled almost the whole trade of Ville-Marie.
Altogether the white population of Canada, including the
settlers and labourers arriving during the summer of
1665, numbered only 3215. Yet the colony had been in
existence for fifty-seven years! It was certainly time
for a new effort on the part of the mother country to
infuse life into her feeble offspring. This was a task
calling for the earnest care and the most energetic
activity of Tracy, Courcelle, and Talon.
One of the first matters to receive their attention was
the reorganization of the Canadian administration. We
have seen that in 1663 the Sovereign Council had been
created, to consist of the high officials of the colony
and five councillors. At this time, September 1665, the
five councillors were Mathieu Damours, Le Gardeur de
Tilly, and three others who had been irregularly appointed
by Mezy, the preceding governor, to take the places of
three councillors whom he had arbitrarily dismissed--Rouer
de Villeray, Juchereau de la Ferte, and Ruette d'Auteuil.
The same governor had also dismissed Jean Bourdon, the
attorney-general, and had replaced him by Chartier de
Lotbiniere. These summary dismissals and appointments
had arisen out of a quarrel between the governor and the
bishop, in which the former appears to have been influenced
by petty motives. At any rate Mezy had been recalled by
the king; and Tracy, Courcelle, and Talon had been
instructed to try him for improper conduct in office.
But before their arrival at Quebec, Mezy had obeyed the
summons of another King than the king of France. He had
been taken ill in the spring of the year and had died on
May 6. Mezy being dead, it was wisely thought unnecessary
to recall unhappy memories of his errors and misdeeds.
Sufficient would be done if the grievances due to his
rashness were redressed. Accordingly the dismissed
officials were reinstated, and on September 23, 1665, a
solemn sitting of the Sovereign Council was held, at
which Tracy, Courcelle, Laval, and Talon were present,
together with the Sieur Le Barroys, general agent of the
West India Company, and the Sieurs de Villeray, de la
Ferte, d'Auteuil, de Tilly, Damours--all the councillors
in office before Mezy's dismissals--Jean Bourdon, the
attorney-general, and J. B. Peuvret, secretary of the
council. The letters patent of Courcelle and Talon as
well as the commission and credentials of the Sieur Le
Barroys were duly read and registered; the letters patent
of the Marquis de Tracy had been registered previously.
With these formalities the new administration of Canada
was inaugurated.
The next proceeding of the rulers of New France was to
prepare for a decisive blow against the daring Iroquois.
Tracy and the soldiers, as we have seen, had arrived in
June and three forts were in course of building on the
Richelieu river, or 'riviere des Iroquois,' so called
because for a long period it had been the most direct
highway leading from the villages of these bloody warriors
to the heart of the colony. During the summer and autumn
of 1665 the Carignan soldiers were kept busy with the
construction of these necessary defensive works. The
first fort was erected at the mouth of the river, under
the direction of Captain de Sorel; the second fifty miles
higher, under Captain de Chambly; and the third about
nine miles farther up, under Colonel de Salieres. The
first two retained the names of the officers in charge
of their construction, and the third received the name
of Sainte-Therese because it was finished on the day
dedicated to that saint. During the following year two
other forts were built--St John, a few miles distant from
Sainte-Therese, and Sainte-Anne, on an island at the head
of Lake Champlain. Both Tracy and Courcelle went to
inspect the work personally and encourage the garrisons.
In the meantime Talon was in no way idle. He had to
organize the means of conveying provisions, ammunition,
tools, and supplies of every description for the maintenance
of the troops and the furtherance of the work. Under his
supervision a flotilla of over fifty boats plied between
Quebec and the river Richelieu. It was also his business
to take care of the incoming soldiers and labourers and
to see that those who had contracted disease during their
journey across the ocean received proper nursing and
medical attendance.
From the moment of his arrival he had lost no opportunity
of acquiring information on the situation in the colony.
There is a curious anecdote that illustrates the manner
in which he sometimes contrived to gain knowledge by
concealing his identity. On the very day of his landing
he went alone to the Hotel-Dieu, and asking for the
superioress, introduced himself as the valet de chambre
of the intendant, pretending to be sent by his master to
assure the good ladies of the hospital of M. Talon's
kindly disposition and desire to bestow on them every
favour in his gift. One of the sisters present at the
interview--Mere de la Nativite, a very bright and clever
woman--was struck by the extreme distinction of manner
and speech of the so-called valet, and, with a meaning
glance at the superioress, told the visitor that unless
she was mistaken he was more than he pretended to be. On
his asking what could convey to her that impression, she
replied that by his bearing and language she could not
but feel that the intendant himself was honouring the
Hotel-Dieu with a visit. Talon could do no less than
confess that she was right, showing at the same time that
he appreciated the delicate compliment thus paid to him.
From that day he was a devoted and most generous friend
to the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec.
One of the first problems with which the intendant had
to deal in discharging the duties of his office was the
dualism of administrative authority. It has been mentioned
that Colbert had founded a new trading company, known as
the West India Company. This corporation had been granted
wide privileges over all the French possessions in America,
including feudal ownership and authority to administer
justice and levy war. The company was thus invested with
the right of appointing judicial officers, magistrates,
and sovereign councils, and of naming, subject to the
king's sanction governors and other functionaries; it
had full power to sell the land or make grants in feudal
tenure, to receive all seigneurial dues, to build forts,
raise troops, and equip war-ships. The company's charter
had been granted in 1664, and of course Canada, as well
as the other French colonies in the New World, was included
in its jurisdiction. The situation of this colony was
therefore very peculiar. In 1663 the king had cancelled
the charter of the One Hundred Associates and had taken
back the fief of Canada; but a year later he had granted
it again to a new company. At the same time he showed
clearly that he intended to keep the administration in
his own hands. Thus Canada seemed to have two masters.
In accordance with its charter, the company held the
ownership and government of the country de jure. But in
point of fact the king wielded the government, thus taking
back with one hand what he had given with the other. By
right the company controlled the administration of justice;
it could, and actually did, establish courts. But, in
fact, the king appointed the intendant supreme judge in
civil cases, and made the Sovereign Council a tribunal
of superior jurisdiction. By right, to the company belonged
the power of granting land and seigneuries. In fact, the
governor or the intendant, the king's officers, made the
grants at their pleasure. This strange situation, which
lasted ten years--until the West India Company's charter
was revoked in 1674--is often confusing to the student
of the period.
Talon saw at a glance the anomaly of the situation; but,
being a practical man, he was less displeased with the
falsity of the principle than apprehensive of the evil
that was likely to result. In a letter to Colbert, dated
October 4, 1665, he discussed the subject at length,
putting it in plain terms. If, when the grant was made,
it was the king's intention to benefit only the company--to
increase its profits and develop its trade--with no
ulterior consideration for the development of the colony,
then it would be well to leave to the company the sole
ownership of the country. But if His Majesty had thought
of making Canada one of the prosperous parts of his
kingdom, it was very doubtful whether he could attain
that end without keeping in his own hands the control of
lands and trade. The real aim of the West India Company,
as he had learned, was to enforce its commercial monopoly
to the utmost; and become the only trading medium between
the colony and the mother country. Such a policy could
have but one result; it would put an end to private
enterprise and discourage immigration.
In spite of the company's apparent overlordship, Talon
thought that, as the king's agent, he was bound to exercise
the powers appertaining to his office for the good of
the colony. By the end of the year 1665 he had planned
a new settlement in the vicinity of Quebec on lands
included in the limits of the seigneury of Notre-Dame-
des-Anges at Charlesbourg, which he had withdrawn from
the grant to the Jesuits, under the king's authority.
This was the occasion of some friction between the Jesuits
and the intendant. Talon gave the necessary orders for
the erection of about forty dwellings which should be
ready to receive new settlers during the following year.
These were to be grouped in three adjacent villages named
Bourg-Royal, Bourg-la-Reine, and Bourg-Talon. We shall
learn more of them in a following chapter.
Another enterprise of the intendant was numbering the
people. Under his personal supervision, during the winter
of 1666-67, a general census of the colony was taken--the
first Canadian census of which we have any record. The
count showed, as we have already said, a total population
of 3215 in Canada at that time--2034 males and 1181
females. The married people numbered 1109, and there were
528 families. Elderly people were but few in number, 95
only being from fifty-one to sixty years old, 43 from
sixty-one to seventy, 10 from seventy-one to eighty, and
4 from eighty-one to ninety. In regard to professions
and occupations, there were then in New France 3 notaries,
5 surgeons, 18 merchants, 4 bailiffs, 3 schoolmasters,
36 carpenters, 27 joiners, 30 tailors, 8 coopers, 5
bakers, 9 millers, 3 locksmiths. The census did not
include the king's troops, which formed a body of 1200
men. The clergy consisted of the bishop, 18 Priests and
aspirants to the priesthood, and 35 Jesuit fathers. There
were also 19 Ursulines, 23 Hospitalieres, and 4 Sisters
of the Congregation. The original record of this, the
first Canadian census, has been preserved and is without
question a most important historical document. It is
likewise full of living interest, for in it are recorded
the names of many families whose descendants are now to
be found all over Canada.