Why did the Filles du Roi Come to Nouvelle-France?
In Nouvelle-France at this time, the majority of the population was unmarried men: traders, storekeepers, workmen, indentured servants, dockhands, soldiers, seamen, and clerics. The men would come to New France to work for three years but return to France when they couldn't find a wife. There weren`t enough women in Nouvelle-France, therefore the colony would not grow. In an attempt to increase the fortunes and families of the colony, the impotent company rule of New France was replaced by a royal government. Young monarch, King Louis XIV, initiated a new French era in Canada with an aggressive immigration policy to encourage marriage and child bearing. His strategy was to even out the imbalance of the male and female populations by sending unmarried women to New France to marry and to populate the colony by having children. They have become known as the "King's Daughters," or "les filles du roi". These women strengthened the colony by promoting the men to settle in the new land.
There are many factors of why the women would come to Nouvelle-France. Some women wanted the money so they would get married to a man and get payed by the king. Some came to escape scandal, some came for a better life, and others were forced to go. Every woman had a different story to tell.
There are many factors of why the women would come to Nouvelle-France. Some women wanted the money so they would get married to a man and get payed by the king. Some came to escape scandal, some came for a better life, and others were forced to go. Every woman had a different story to tell.
How did they recruit and persuade the women to come to Nouvelle-France?
The recruiting of Filles du Roi took place largely in Paris, Rouen and other northern cities by merchants. A screening process required each girl to present her birth certificate and a recommendation from her parish priest or local magistrate stating that she was not married to a man. It was necessary that the girls be of appropriate age for giving birth and that "they be healthy and strong for farm work, or that they at least have some aptitude for household chores."
Sending each Fille du Roi to New France was not cheap, it costed 100 livres: 10 for the recruitment, 30 for clothing and 60 for the crossing itself --the total being roughly equivalent to $1,425 in the year 2000. In addition to having the costs of her passage paid by the King Louis XIV, each girl received an assortment of practical items in a case: a bonnet, taffeta handkerchief, pair of stockings, pair of gloves, ribbon, four shoelaces, white thread, 100 needles, 1,000 pins, a comb, pair of scissors, two knives and two livres in cash. Upon arrival, the Filles received suitable clothing and some provisions.
Sending each Fille du Roi to New France was not cheap, it costed 100 livres: 10 for the recruitment, 30 for clothing and 60 for the crossing itself --the total being roughly equivalent to $1,425 in the year 2000. In addition to having the costs of her passage paid by the King Louis XIV, each girl received an assortment of practical items in a case: a bonnet, taffeta handkerchief, pair of stockings, pair of gloves, ribbon, four shoelaces, white thread, 100 needles, 1,000 pins, a comb, pair of scissors, two knives and two livres in cash. Upon arrival, the Filles received suitable clothing and some provisions.