Following the founding of Québec and Montreal, colonization began in earnest and hundreds of settlers left their homes in France in order to begin new lives in New France. Many of these were hard-working young men who could withstand the heavy labor of clearing land and building homes. Most of these men were sponsored by merchants in New France who would pay their passage to the New World and support them until they were able to support themselves. Many soldiers also arrived in New France, and at the end of their station often remained to continue living in the New World.
Although the colonies were growing, they were growing the wrong way. One early census recorded 719 unmarried males and only 45 unmarried females. With so many men and so few women, the colonies could not be self-sufficient and would not grow naturally. For this reason, the colonies often sponsored young women to come to New France with the specific intention of marriage.
Beginning in 1663, King Louis XIV of France began sponsoring young ladies to relocate in New France. The Filles du roi were part of King Louis XIV's program to promote the settlement. The Filles de roi, or Daughters of the king, were distinguished from the other females who settled in New France by the fact that they were totally sponsored from the Royal Treasury in France. The King paid their passage to the colonies and paid for their upkeep in New France until such time that they were married. In the 10 years between 1663 and 1673, over 800 of these women arrived in New France. Some 737 of them married and the resultant population explosion gave rise to the success of the colony.
A dowry of from 50 to 300 livres was also given to each young woman as an added incentive. These royal gifts are reflected in some of the marriage contracts entered into by the Filles du roi at the time of their first marriages to other colonists in Canada.
A number of the Filles du roi were French orphans. They were carefully chosen for their youth, strength, health, attractiveness, and fertility. Each girl was usually selected by her parish priest on recommendation from the Sisters in charge of an orphanage, where she had learned to read and write. It is notable that many of the girls were literate whereas the men they would marry were not. Now she had to be outfitted for the voyage and to begin her future life.
Historian Douville and Casanova may be quoted as follows: “To this statutory grant (the dowry) other essential expenses were added. The first disbursement was set at 100 livres: 10 for personal and moving expenses, 30 for clothing and 60 for passage. In addition to the clothing allowance, the following were furnished: a small hope chest in which to put 1 head dress, 1 taffeta handkerchief, 1 pair of shoe ribbons, 100 sewing needles, 1 comb, 1 spool of white thread, 1 pair of stockings, 1 pair of gloves, 1 pair of scissors, 2 knives, 1,000 pins, 1 bonnet, 4 lace braids and 2 livres in silver money. On arrival in Canada, the Sovereign Council of New France provided the girls with some clothing suitable to the climate and some provisions drawn from the King’s warehouse.”
The men eagerly awaited the arrival of the girls and the selection process was usually concluded in a fortnight. Many found themselves already "spoken for" by the time they set foot in New France and were married shortly thereafter and many other marriages were "arranged" shortly after their arrival. Nevertheless, the girl could pick and choose, often to the point of exercising her prerogative a few times over. When the match had been made, the newly married couple was given 50 livres to buy provisions, plus an ox and a cow, 2 pigs, a pair of chickens, 2 barrels of salted meat and 11 crowns in cash. All this was supposed to give them a start in their new life.
Any event such as this is bound to have a few misfires, and there were some to be sure. A few of the girls just did not get married. Some of these became nuns, some domestic servants and some returned to France. However, a greater category were those who simply could not make up their mind about which man to marry. The custom of the time provided that a civil contract of marriage be made before a notary and witnesses and signed by the couple themselves. Then came the official religious ceremony, after which the marriage was to have taken place.
The women settled mainly in the Québec City area after their marriages, raised their families, and led a relatively quiet but hard-working lives. Folks in Québec City liked to joke the reason Québec girls were said to be prettier than those from the Trois Rivières and Montréal areas is that the ships made their first stop at the port of Québec. Consequently, the Québec boys had "first pick" with all the "left-overs" were sent up-river to the other two settlements.
Civil and Church laws were very strict at that time. Very few of the Filles du roi became societal problems. Only five ever got into trouble with the courts for reasons of adultery, prostitution, or debauchery.
In 1673, when war broke out between France and Holland, the Filles du roi campaign came to an end. The final group of Filles du roi arrived in Québec on September 3, 1773. As a whole, these pioneer women faired quite well considering the new and unique obstacles, hardships, and environment they had to face and endure. They surely had to be a very hardy, courageous and resolute group of young ladies. The success of the campaign is undeniable. Early census records show that the population of New France increased from 3,200 in 1666 to 6,700 in 1672. Most of the millions of people of French Canadian descent today, both in Québec and the rest of Canada and the USA (and beyond!), are descendants of one or more of these indefatigable women of the 17th century.
The Filles du roi were part of French King Louis XIV's program to promote the ongoing settlement of his colony in Canada.
Their arrivals by sailing ships in the ports of New France were eagerly awaited by the men there seeking wives.
