Role of Women in New France

        Aboriginal women within New France sought to develop a coexistence between the Natives and Europeans in the fur trade, thus they were serving as a vital resource for the French traders they had married. The Aboriginal view of their women marrying-in with this new culture was that it was a “cross-cultural union” that led to the integration of the European into Native “kinship networks” that rendered the Frenchman to the responsibilities this entailed. The Native women understood this and saw that it was necessary for them to assimilate the French Traders into their culture in order for them to succeed in the fur trade. The women acted as translators between the trading partners which encouraged proper communication. They also used their own skills and knowledge of the land as a way to help their French husbands. By canoeing, sewing moccasins, and fashioning the ever-important snowshoes, Aboriginal women were a critical asset to the French traders. They were greatly acknowledge in their husbands’ writings as being the reason fur traders could venture for days in the forests, travel swiftly through the waterways, tread through the snow,  and communicate clearly with their native counterparts. By supply the basic essentials, Aboriginal women contributed significantly to the fur trade. Without them, communications could have been halted and basic survival tactics could have be lost.

        The usefulness of Aboriginal women to French traders was undeniable; however, there are many negative connotations that come with this. While it is probable that numerous Aboriginal women were taken as wives in order to remove them from their culture in hopes that they would lose their autonomy, the fact remains that they maintained many aspects of their Native communities. Also, just as the Native women were assimilated into the European culture by adopting less strenuous household tasks and adopting Christianity, their own roots had the same effect on their French spouses. The French fur traders learned a new language and adopted practices of survival from the Aboriginals.  Another negative aspect of intermarriage was that when Jesuit missionaries came, they brought with them the patriarchal views that were inherent in France. Upon seeing the relative equality between the sexes among the Natives, the missionaries carried out intensive campaigns to restore their disruption of the “natural authority”. However, despite being submerged into a European tradition, many Aboriginal women were able to gain financially from the European system. While the world they knew transformed into one that relied on capital, the Aboriginal women benefitted from their ties to the French. Numerous french officers placed their Native wives in their wills, ensuring that they would be provided for. The negative aspects of intermarriage take a toll on the culture of Aboriginal women. Nevertheless, to assume that they were unknowing victims to this is incorrect. The Native women understood their potential to aid the fur trade and, although they sacrificed much, they were able to gain a new lifestyle that appropriated them with the developments that were occurring around them.

        As the Aboriginal women became a critical part of the fur trade, European women lent their support to the social development of New France. The first significant group of women that landed in the North American colony came with the intent to establish institutions that would promote the development of a society in New France. The devotés started to come in 1640 to start up convents. Here the sisters and nuns would take in young girls, Aboriginal and European, and educate them. One observer noted that “the sisters in [these] convents do the type of delicate work that is expected of women.” The dévotes worked hard to continue these European expectations in New France. These early women in Canada lived in the midst of constant conflict and change; yet, they proved to be extraordinary for they managed their communities through the convents. Among these incredible women was Marie De l’Incarnation. She became an asset to the development of New France. Her trips to France to raise funds, her attempts to engage the communities in the “spiritual and intellectual currents,” and her faithful documentation all attributed to the creation of a social community in New France. 

        Just as the devotés strove to incorporate religion and education in New France, making themselves integral in the evolution of a society in the colony, so the filles du roi laboured to maintain the physical survival of the colony. Arriving between 1663 and 1673, the filles du roi -- the king’s daughters -- were sent from France to populate the colony. The work of both spouses and their children was essential to the development of the land. While the work was extremely difficult, especially considering the majority of these women came from the populated cities in France, the filles du roi were given something they did not have back home: political leverage. The women were in such short supply and were so valued that they were given freedoms that were not common for women during these times. They were given protection and property rights within the Coutume de Paris, were permitted to quickly remarry if necessary, and were allowed to voice their concerns about the quality of life within the colony.  While they have no writings available to study, their contribution stems past documentation. They founded the family as an institution, built homes, developed home based economies, and left a legacy which is a large portion of the French Canadian population today.

        While Aboriginal women contributed to the economy of New France by promoting and permitting the continuation of the prosperous fur trade, many European women also contributed. There were numerous women who directly influenced the industries of New France. Agathe de Saint Père and Madame de Repentigny both introduced textile industries. Many women were left widows due to the constant wars that were raging across the land and thus inherited their husband’s businesses which gave them a hand in the local economy. Also, several noblewomen swayed their powerful husbands in order to have some control of the politics and the economy of New France. Madame de Vaudreuil was married to New France’s Governor General and was often called “La Governette” by her peers because she had so much influence in the affairs of the state. There are various accounts of noblewomen stepping in at the absence of their husbands and commanding troops, petitioning the king of France, and advising policy. This trend is unusual for the times and represents a coexistence between the men and the women of New France as they worked together to build a nation. From the filles du roi up to the noblewomen, the European women of New France provide various skills, carry out daunting tasks, and prove themselves to be a vital necessity to the growth of this nation.

        Along with all the contributions Aboriginal and European women were making, there were several set backs they had to endure throughout the process. When the Europeans first began to arrive, the natives had to struggle in order to make their guests realize that they were not “masters” who could dissolve native culture into something else. When Aboriginal women were intermarried with the French Traders, they were suddenly characterized as secondary in relation to her husband. This hierarchical treatment was deemed necessary and was used with European women as well. European women were given many new freedoms as they continued to  participate in the development of New France. However, they were always second. In 1725, the King of France reminded the women of his colony that they “had no rights to honours” but they could follow behind their husbands. The choices women could make were quite limited in New France. They could choose the life in a convent or marriage. Also, the rights granted to women were two sided. The Coutume de Paris gave spouses a mutual obligation towards one another but maintained the claim of wives being inferior to their husbands.  It seemed that the women that came to New France were necessary for its development but the established European hierarchy remained vital to ruling.

        Despite all these limitations, the majority of humans within New France lived on a narrow path. As the colony and society developed, it was up to the men and women to contribute. The filles du roi, while enduring a rather burdensome life, left behind hopeless lives of poverty. In fact, the relative wealth, societal influence, and political leverage was higher for the majority of women in New France than the average woman in France. Aboriginals may have been losing their direct heritage by marrying French fur traders, but their legacy is a new nation of people, the Métis. The European women remained in a patriarchal society where they would remain inferior, but their position in society, on average, was stronger than anywhere else at that time. Rather than just have a history of male explorers and conquerors, the history of New France is rich with significant women applying their talents to the evolution of this nation.

        While they did endure numerous toils within their daily lives, the women involved in the development of the colony of New France entered a new lifestyle that relied on them in order to evolve. French ideals may have called for “one law, one religion, one king, and one people,” yet the role of many people, several cultures, and varying authoritative figures was essential to the production of a solid nation in New France. The convents that supplied a religious people with a solid institution for education and theology, the noblewomen who owned businesses and worked with their husbands to contribute to the nation’s economy, the filles du roi who populated the towns and cultivated much of the land, and the aboriginals who worked to maintain the vital fur trade are all apart of Canada’s history. The success of New France can be attributed to strong battles, solid legislation, and courageous explorers. However, it is the individuals of this colony that built the nation. The men along with, and beside, the women constructed New France.

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Works Cited        

Alison Prentice, et al. Canadian Women: A History. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovonavich, 1988.

        This source was valuable for gaining a look at the role of women in New France from a broad spectrum: the history of Canadian women. As with most of my sources, I was attracted to this source because it was Canadian. The variance of authors also lent an air of unbiased opinions which was crucial in formulating an argument.

Coleman, Emma L. “A Seigneury of New France.” The New England Quarterly 10 (1937):         133-138.

        

        While this journal article is slightly dated, it offered a different viewpoint from the majority of my sources. It looked at the relation of women only briefly within the seigneurial system that was characteristic of New France. While it was an American source, I found it to be valid because it was evaluating a system, not a gender.

Grous- Louis, Max. First Among the Hurons. Translated by Sheila Fischman. Montreal: Éditions         du Jour, 1974.

        This source felt a bit biased as I read it, but the majority of readings I looked at were from European vantages. This source was from native heritage. While it focussed mainly on the sufferings of the Huron, it did discuss the attitudes Europeans had coming into North America.

Jaenen, Cornelius J. “Problems of Assimilation in New France, 1603-1645.” French Historical         Studies 4 (1966): 265-289.        

        Jaenen’s journal article was an excellent way to be quickly briefed in the troubles that assimilation brought with it. This aided me in seeing what possible problems the Aboriginal women faced by marrying into the french culture.

Kalm, Pehr. “Description of a Convent of Sisters in the City of Quebec.” Travels of Pehr Kalm in Canada in 1749. Montreal: Pierre Tisseyre, 1977. 228-231.

        This primary source was the only primary source out of the 4 that I planned on using that seemed relevant. It was not written by a native nor a french observer, but by a Scottish traveler. His observations were simply notes about what he saw on his visit. This gave me a view of someone that was neither trying to promote nor oppose the ambitions of the french colonists.

Noel, Jan. Women in New France. Ottawa: The Canadian Historical Association, 1998.

        This source was one of the most useful for providing a brief history of the different kinds of women involved in the history of New France. It did not question whether or not women played a role. Rather, it simply gave background on what the women did do. Also a Canadian source, this book acts a great Canadian historical document.

Tiffany, Sharon W. Women and Society. Montreal: Eden Press Women’s Publications, 1979.

        Being among the more difficult to analyze, this source offered very specific examples of women acting within developing societies. The style in which it was written eliminated possible generalizations.

Van Die, Marguerite. Revisiting “Separate Spheres”: Women, Religion, and the Family. In         Households of Faith. Edited by Nancy Christie. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University         Press, 2002.

        While I rarely used this source, I still found some of the basic points it brought up to give me an idea of where I wanted to go with my paper. By introducing a concept of two different spheres in the lives of women, I was able to formulate how the actions of women affected their daily lives.

Van Kirk, Sylvia. “From ‘Marrying-In’ to ‘Marrying-Out’: Changing Patterns  of Aboriginal.         Non-Aboriginal Marriage in Colonial Canada.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies.         23.3 (2002) 1-11.

        This source was extremely useful when I was studying the way Aboriginal women impacted the development of New France. However, I found that Sylvia Van Kirk displayed some traces of feminism which led to a bias in her papers. By not considering the positive effects that came from intermarriages, Van Kirk limited her argument.

---. Tender Ties. Winnipeg: Watson & Dwyer Publishing Ltd.,  1980.

        Also written by Sylvia Van Kirk, this source carried many of the same traits as the previous one. She provides many strong details that can be used to back up arguments, but her arguments are very opinionated. Nevertheless, as a Canadian professor of women’s history and Aboriginal / Non-Aboriginal relations, she lends valuable facts for writing on this topic.

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

        

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