French Immigration in Canada with special view to the 17th century

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Table of contents

1. Introduction

. French immigration in the 17th century

. Immigrant statistics

.1. Number of immigrants

.. Origin of immigrants

4. The turning point in 1760

5. French immigration to British-Canada

6. Francophones in the Canadian society

7. Outlook The future of Quebec

8. List of references

1. Introduction

Je me souviens. Exactly this will be done over the following pages. This paper will deal

with the French immigration to Canada and especially emphasize on the early phase, the immigration to Nouvelle France in the 17th century.

Problematic about the French immigration is the time span. If one thinks of 154 as the starting year of French engagement in North America (cf. Kempf 17 7), the year in which Jaques Cartier set out on his first journey to that region which is now Canada by order of the king of France (cf. Sautter 17 ), this paper would have to cover 46 years. This approach is also difficult in another way whilst one usually speaks of other ethnic groups (Italians, Ukrainians, etc.) as unmistakably immigrants, that term is mostly inappropriate when speaking of the French, who just as the British can't be described as immigrants due to their early arrival and therefore long history of settling

(cf. Burnet/Palmer 18 1; Ttu de Labsade 10 4). Hence, the French population doesn't need to be integrated in a Canadian society but needs to be understood as a Canadian society that has lived in that area for centuries, even when the immigration waves brought lots of immigrants into the country. The history of French immigration led to the present ongoing conflict about the role of Quebec in the Canadian confederation and the fight over separatism and clinging on to Canada as one country.

Nevertheless, the main focus of this paper will be on Nouvelle-France and therefore on the 17th and 18th century. In doing that, the early phase of French immigration to Canada will be covered, particularly the conquest of New France by the British in 1760 as the turning point, which pretty much ended the phase of French immigration that year

(cf. Burnet/Palmer 18 15). The reason for even discussing this topic is to find an answer to the present mood of the Quebecois, who after years of feeling repressed by Anglophones finally have stepped up and embraced their historical background and their unique status as one of the founding peoples of Canada.

After this short introduction, the focal point of immigration to Canada will be discussed, giving an overview of the settlements in and immigration to New France three centuries ago. The next chapter will be about the end of the French colonial reign in Canada and the rise of the British colonial empire after the defeat of the French in 1760. Following this, the since then British-ruled and British-influenced Canada will be looked at. In addition, the position of the Francophones in Candian society will be described. Finally, the last chapter will give an outlook for not just the future of Quebec but also for all of Canada, and furthermore mention the separatist tendencies of the Quebecois.

. French immigration in the 17th century

The French colonial efforts in North America in the 17th century were above all characterized by a backwardness in comparison to other European powers, in particular the British. Only very few French settled in the territory of what is today Canada, and the ones who did were outnumbered by the other colonial powers

Alors que l'Angleterre et les Pays-Bas ont djà […] tabli des colonies qui de Terre-Neuve à la

Virginie comptent environ 600 colons, la Nouvelle-France ne supporte que deux fragiles

tablissements l'Acadie du cap de Sable où vivent une vingtaine de Français, et le Canada qui

n'est que le comptoir de Qubec. La Nouvelle-France de 167, c'est en tout cas une centaine

d'habitants. (Trudel 18 )

This situation was not least dependent on the adverse living conditions and insufficient supplies the few settlers were faced with

Qubec n'a de vivres que ce qu'y laissent pour l'hiver les navires qui rentrent en France; le

Canada n'a ni charrue pour labourer, ni moulin pour faire farine; depuis trois ou quatre ans

seulement, les de Can font un peu d'levage dans leur baronnie du cap de Tourmente.

(Trudel 18 4)

Also sharing this view is Françoise Ttu de Labsade, though only for a very early phase, the 16th century, about which he writes

Ces tentatives [de fonder un tablissement au Canada] se soldent par des checs les Français

supportant mal les rigeurs de l'hiver prissent du scorbut et les relations avec les Amrindiens

deviennent tendues. (Ttu de Labsade 10 4)

Sautter traces the bad supply system back to a wrong priority establishment

Die halbherzigen Anstrengungen hatten die weiße Bevölkerung in Kanada bis 1660 nur auf etwa

000 Menschen wachsen lassen, zu wenig, um die Irokesengefahr zu bannen; und die Kriegsnot

war nicht das einzige Übel. Dem Pelzhandel hatte bisher das Hauptinteresse gegolten, und man

hatte wenig Landwirtschaft getrieben. Auch jetzt noch mußte der größere Teil des Bedarfs an

Lebensmitteln und Kleidung vom Mutterland eingeführt werden. (Sautter 17 )

Not as negative and harsh characterize Charbonneau et al. the living conditions when they describe the situation as following

Quand les Français entreprennent de dfricher les rives de la grande rivière , ils ne se

heurtent à aucun habitant vraiment stable. L'espace est libre, c'est à dire que nulle population

sdentaire ne l'occupe. […] La saison froide est certes longue et rigoureuse, mais le territoire

n'est pas hostile pour autant. L'abondance des prcipitations, combines aus fortes tempratures

d'te, favorisent la flore et la faune et, par consquent, les activits agraires.

(Charbonneau et al. 16 1)

Named as a positive factor, however, can be the relatively great expansion of trade routes, which allowed trade with the Indian population. Especially shipping became very important

Ce que la Nouvelle-France a de mieux, c'est justement ce rseau de traite qui tend partout ses

ramifications en Acadie, les rivières Saint-Jean et Pentagout ; au Canada, le Saguenay, le

Saint-Maurice (ou rivière des Trois-Rivières), le Richelieu (ou rivière des Iroquois),

l'Outaouais, alors rivière des Algonquins. (Trudel 18 4)

Companies were founded to encourage and to help with the organizational handling of immigration. These companies not only specifically recruited settlers and shipped them overseas, but beyond that also obliged to supply the settlers with rations for a three-year period until they would be able to support themselves. About this Marcel Trudel writes

En plus de transporter en Nouvelle-France en quinze ans le total de 4000 personnes, la

Compagnie doit, les trois premières annes de leur arrive, les y loger, nourrir et entretenir ;

pass ces trois ans, la Compagnie s'en dchar-gera en leur assignant la quantit de terres

dfriches, suffisantes pour leur subvenir, avec le bl ncessaire pour les ensemencer la

première fois, et pour vivre jusqu'à la recolte prochaine […]. (Trudel 18 5)

These lines alone show very clearly the enormous problems which awaited potential immigrants in Nouvelle-France. All of these problems can be attributed to the almost nonexistent infrastructure. Therefore, the companies' promises had to be adequately attractive for people to embark on the venture of immigrating to North America. Decisive in this context was the circumstance that every settler was guaranteed farming land after the expiration of the three-year period

Nous avons ici deux fondement de la coloniasation de cetter priode le dbut de la politique

d'engagement pour trois ans et l'obligation pour les Cent-Associs de concder des

terres aus immigrants qui restent sur place. (Trudel 18 6)

But the goal, recruitment of 4.000 settlers over a period of 15 years, wasn't achieved, particularly since a couple of ships of the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France were raided in 168 and never reached Quebec

Von diesem Fehlschlag beim ersten hoffnungsfreudigen Unternehmen erholte sich die

Gesellschaft nie wieder richtig. Die 4.000 Siedler, die innerhalb von 15 Jahren nach Amerika

hätten gebracht werden sollen, wurden nicht angeworben. 1645 war man dem Bankrott nahe.

(Sautter 17 8)

Especially skilled workmen were needed in Nouvelle-France in the very beginning. To win them over for at least a temporary stay, they were granted special conditions and given ease concerning their practise

[C]eux qui auront exerc leurs arts et mtiers en la dite Nouvelle-France durant six and

seront, s'ils retournent en France, rputs pour maîtres de chef d'uvre et pourront, comme

tout maître, tenir boutique ouverte dans Paris et autres villes ; c'tait, par cette mthode du

stage, lever systmatiquement les gens de mtier au niveau de la bourgeoisie. (Trudel 18 7)

Another method to engage French people in Nouvelle-France was not just by giving them land but at the same time also the title that comes along with the property. Chosen people of bourgeois origin were ennobled not de jure but de facto. Aristocrats furthermore received an additional title. This system was suitable to recruit ceux qui veulent s'lever dans une socit où le prestige social et la possession de la terre sont d'une souveraine importance'' (Trudel 18 7) for the colonization of Nouvelle-France. This was deliberately aimed at those bourgeois circles that already were financially stable and couln't be tempted to go overseas for financial reasons. However, it meant a lot to them to gain a prestigious title and thereby get closer to or eventually become a member of the nobility.

. Immigrant statistics

.1. Number of immigrants

The evidence of how many people actually came to New France and in which years turns out to be very difficult. The reasons thereof are complex. First of all, no passenger lists existed before 166, hence it can't be proved without a doubt whether all recruited settlers really did start off on the passage (Trudel 18 1). In addition, not every ship reached its goal because they sank either due to severe weather or enemy attacks (cf. Trudel 18 1). Furthermore, many people fell sick or died during the passage because of insufficient hygienic conditions (cf. Trudel 18 1). Concerning the unreliabilty Trudel writes

Tout en dressant un catalogue de ces immigrants, nous avons voulu (c'est le seul moyen

d'observer l'volution du mouvement migratoire) attribuer à chaque immigrant l'anne de son

arrive. C'est ici le terrain le plus instable. Nous ne connaissons d'une façon certaine l'anne de

l'arrive que pour 10 immigrants sur 106, soit seulement un sur trois. (Trudel 18 14)

Despite the unlucky circumstances Trudel still makes the following statistical statement for the period from 16 to 166

Arriving immigrants 16-166 (Trudel 18 )

Number of ships14

Annual average 4,

Identified immigrants 106

On the basis of these numbers it would mean that only 10,5 identified immigrants came to Nouvelle-France per year. The actual number would clearly have to be higher. Other writers give even lesser numbers for that time span, which makes Burnet/Palmer note that during the 150 years of the French regime [1610-1760], immigration was low, averaging only sixty-six persons a year (Burnet/Palmer 18 1).

.. Origin of immigrants

Now the question of where in France the immigrants specifically came from will be answered. The data concerning this is more reliable. Out of the .106 identified immigrants, the origin of .0 is known

Origin of immigrants by province (Trudel 18 5)

Normandie 44Champagne 44 Gascogne7

Aunis15Angoumois 4Languedoc 7

Perche 1Picardie Flandres 6

Paris 160Touraine 4Nivernais6

Poitou 154Guyenne Provence 5

Saintogne 10Berry 1Comt de Foix

Maine 101Lyonnais 11La Marche

Anjou 8Lorraine 10Avignon 1

Ile-de-France 6Bourgogne Barn 1

Bretagne 60Limousin 8Franche-Comt 1

Orlanais46Auvergne 7Savoie1

According to this overview it can be said that the large part of the French immigrating to Canada came from western France, more than 0% came from the Normandy. The high proportion of western Frenchmen can partly be explained by the strategically convenient location at the Atlantic Ocean, particularly because the ships to Canada casted off from the French Atlantic harbors, as the following breakdown shows

Immigration according to harbors (Trudel 18 7)

RegionHarborImmigrants fromOf .0 immig.Share in %

Atlantic-NorthRouenPicardie, Perche, Bretagne, Normandie7657,6 %

Atlantic-CenterLa RochellePoitou, Aunis, Saintonge, La Marche, Limousin, Angoumois 6160, %

Atlantic-SouthBordeauxGuyenne, Bearn Gascogne11,5 %

Pays de la LoireSaint-NazaireAuvergne,Berry, Anjou, Maine, Orlanais, Nivernais, Touraine8514 %

Marcel Trudel explains the large part of Norman immigrants as follows

Sa large façade sur la mer, ses traditions de voyage au long cours en font un pays à ressources

migratoires. D'autres explications à court terme l'activit des Legardeur et des Leneuf vers

166, les suites des fureurs paysannes qui clatent en Normandie en 16, la part essentielle

que prennent les marchands de Rouen au commerce du Canada, de 165 à 166.

(Trudel 18 5)

Jones, who also deals with migration in the 1th and 0th century, explains the dominance of the Normans and Britans with climatic circumstances

Certainly, Canadian and Quebec officials who sought colonists for the plains of western Canada

and for the newly opened regions of Quebec directed their appeal to the inhabitants of

Normandy and Brittany who, they thought, would be capable of adjusting to the rigours of

Canadian winters. (Jones 18 )

And although Jones didn't explicitly make this statement about the immigration to Nouvelle-France in the 17th century, it should nevertheless be valid for this epoch and seen as a reason for the high number of immigrants from particularly that part of France.

4. The turning point in 1760

The events of 175/60 and its effects on the French settlers in Canada, that much can be said at this point, are indelibly anchored in the collective memory of the Franco-Canadians and always present. The French engagement in North America was accompanied by rivalry, hostility and wars with the British and usually those conflicts overseas were often in an interdependent relation with clashes within Europe

[…] l'Angleterre, pour sa part, cherche à prospecter la même territoire que la France. Les deux

pays vont se faire une lutte quasi continue jusqu'en 176. […] Les pays d'Europe entretiennent

de grandes rivalits qu'ils tentent de rsoudre par la guerre. L'Amrique du Nord devient un

champs de bataille où la France et l'Angleterre peuvent intervenir, mesurer leur forces et trouver

une monnaie d'change. (Ttu de Labsade 10 44)

In 175, when 70.000 French settlers were up against a British colony 0 times stronger, the French had a few early successful attempts, partially resulting from support with allied Indian tribes, but ultimately were militarily defeated by the British. Important stages in this were the fight for Fort Quebec on the Plains of Abraham (late 175) and the capitulation of Montreal the following year. In 176 the king of France ceded all of Canada to the king of England in the Treaty of Paris, sealing the fate of Nouvelle-France. France had to acknowledge the autorit de l'Angleterre sur presque toute son ancienne colonie (Ttu de Labsade 10 45).

After a couple of transitional years the French subjects of the British monarchy profited from an incident that was to revolutionize the British colonial empire in North America with the more and more noticeable independence endeavors of the 1 New England states, the later founding states of the United States of America, the British thought it necessary to defuse the situation in the newly-founded colony Quebec, in order to prevent that the Francophones could turn into another trouble spot, which wasn't needed at all during that time

[…] 1774, im Jahr der Boston Tea Party, erließ das britische Parlament die Quebec-Akte […]

Autorität statt Volksvertretung und Anerkennung der Besonderheit Quebecs waren ihre

Quintessenz. Ein Gouverneur und ein ernannter Rat von durchschnittlich 0 Mitgliedern ohne

Rücksicht auf die Abstammung reagierten von 1775 an die Kolonie. Englisches Strafrecht und

französisches Zivilrecht bestanden nun offiziell nebeneinander. Das seigneurale System wurde

in gleicher Weise wie die Ausübung katholischen Gottesdienstes garantiert, und das Recht der

römischen Kirche, einen Bischof zu ernennen, wurde ebenso bestätigt wie das Anrecht des

Klerus auf die Kirchensteuer. [...] [F]ranzösischerseits konnte man mit den gewährten

Privilegien zufrieden sein. (Sautter 17 8)

The concessions made by the British government to the francophone population of Quebec were to ensure that the new subjects would remain loyal and calm during a conflict between Great Britain and the New England states and not support the American independence endeavors. This strategy proved to be very successful because all appeals by American separatists to join the fight for independence on the side of the United States of America went unheard.

5. French immigration to British-Canada

Concerning the immigration of French to British-Canada since 1760, it must be said that British and French people had a very sceptical or disapproving attitude at first

In the decades following the British conquest of 1760, few French immigrants came to Canada.

Until Napoleon's fall in 1815, Britain and France were frequently at war. France did not

encourage emigration and Britain did not want French immigrants to settle in a colony whose

largely French population is often viewed as a threat. (Jones 18 4)

In the meantime, the Roman-Catholic church tried to overcome its problem of being understaffed in Canada by specifically recruiting French priests. This custom went on to be prohibited by the British government. Only with the outbreak of the French Revolution did some pastors come to Canada from France, this time even with the permission of the government in London

The French Revolution offered the Canadian church new possibilities as nearly 8000 French

priests fled across the Channel to England. London, interested in reducing the number of

emigrs on British soil, now agreed that some could come to Canada. Only about fifty did […].

(Jones 18 4)

After 1840 more French clergymen went overseas, especially since the Bishop of Montreal personally set out to France for recruitment in 184; between 187 and 1876 5 people were recruited. Another wave can be registered after 1880, which is in connection with the declericalisation of France after the foundation of the III. Republic. Between the turn of the century and the outbreak of World War I about 000 clergymen emigrated to Quebec. Jones sums up the immigration movement of the 1th century as following

French immigration to Canada in the nineteenth century was a relatively small-scale

phenomenon. Perhaps 50,000 French were admitted to Canada between 180 and 110. (In the

same period, 470,000 emigrated to the United States.) (Jones 18 6)

During this time until World War II there have been several specific dmarches to make more French people immigrate to Canada. That is why in 1887 the Socite d'immigration française was founded and the Canadian government sent a new immigration commissioner, Paul Wiallard, to Paris in 10. But the results of these efforts were less higher immigration numbers but more so diplomatic ill feelings. The French government interpreted the recruiting of immigrants as a violation of effective French law and even filed a complaint with the British ambassador in Paris against this practise. To the question of why even into the 150s such few French people emigrated to Canada, Jones gives the following answer

The traditional explanation has been that the French in general did not want to emigrate and that

the French government impeded emigration. This explanation is partly true though it is

incomplete. After the war, France suffered from an acute labour shortage as well as from a

scarcity of dollars and imposed severe restriction on the capital that emigrants could take with

them. Before 151 […] the limit was a mere 00$. (Jones 18 11)

And even for the time after 145 it can be marked that the share of French people in the total immigration number is relatively small, only ,% for the period between 146 to 17. Still, the biggest part of French immigrants (about 75%) flows into the francophone provine Quebec (Jones 18 18).

Detailed figures give the following overview

French immigration 100-18 (cf. Information Canada 174 ff.; Jones 18 18)

100-18 5

11-44 181

146-50 4 781

151-57 8

158-6 1 88

16-671 0

168-77 47

174-7 17 785

180-8 0 187

100-8175 45

Interesting and worth mentioning in this context is the fact that after World War II a few people of French ethnic origin came to Canada as refugees, expellees or stateless persons, although they didn't necessarily were from France or French citizens. Not the country of origin or the nationality was noted in that case but the ethnic origin (cf. Information Canada 174 44). Furthermore, some immigrants, who came to Canada as refugees, stated France as their country of birth (cf. Information Canada 174 46).

6. Francophones in the Canadian society

Generally it can be assumed that during the 1th and 0th century French immigrants worked in lots of different jobs and presently still are doing so, which makes it difficult to distinguish those immigrants from the host society (Jones 18 4). But a typical French phenomenon was that integration, especially in the employment field, was a lot more unproblematic in the francophone Quebec than in the anglophone rest of Canada

(cf. Jones 18 4). At the beginning of the 0th century, from 106 to 110, 4% of all immigrants of French origin were farmers, 16% were skilled workers and 11% were unskilled workers. About the phase after World War II Jones writes

After World War II, French immigrants to Canada had, on the whole, higher levels of education

than persons born in Canada and than many other immigrant groups. This situation can be

explained by the fact that the French group was composed especially of independent

immigrants, a group usually more highly educated than sponsored immigrants. (Jones 18 5)

In general, those Francophones who also spoke English well had a better chance for a promotion and success in their jobs than those, whose knowledge of English was insufficient. Jones explains that studies in Quebec in the 170s have showed that French immigrants who knew English at the time of their arrival generally obtained higher salaries than those who were unilingual (Jones 18 6).

7. Outlook The future of Quebec

At the end of this paper the reader may expect some kind of summary or a synthesis

- in short, a concluding chapter in which the most important events and the ideas gained so far are once again compiled in a pithy form. But instead of repeating already given statements, which the complexity of the topic hardly allows anyway, it may be rather interesting to direct the reader's attention towards the future. This analysis should have made it easier for the reader to understand the situtation of the French or rather Francophones over the past centuries. This understanding is necessary if one wants to wisely assess the current conflict about the future of Quebec and with that also the future of Canada. The defeat on the Plains of Abraham in 175 put an end to the age of French colonialism in North America, but gave way to a lenghty conflict between two ethnic groups, Anglo- and Francophones, for the following years. Up until now this conflict seems to also be responsible for the fact that Canada very often is falsely perceived as a bicultural and not a pluralist society, simply because this discussion overshadows all other ethnic groups.

In 180 and 15, two approaches that were to find a constitutioal compromise for all involved failed. That caused quite a reaction in Quebec. From then on the Quebecois started voting for parties whose political goal it was to separate Quebec from Canada, mainly the Parti Qubcois (PQ) and the Bloc Qubcois. As the main reason for the striving for independence Kempf mentions the refusal of the 'Anglos' to constitutionally acknowledge Quebec's special status (cf. Kempf 17 7). The Francophones in Quebec felt threatened and enacted several language laws in order to strenghten the French language and repress the English one. It must be taken into consideration that in this - now and then very heated discussion language is equalized with culture, which must be preserved. In addition, many Francophones fear to lose their influence even in Quebec. Since 180 the birthrate in Quebec has declined and is now below the total Canadian average. And even this natioal average has a downward tendency, which is why Canada needs immigration to compensate its decline in population. Although is has to be mentioned that in relation to the population, proportionally only half as many immigrants come to Quebec than to Canada. The thesis of foreign infiltration is therefore somewhat invalidated.

Concerning the two referenda, which were supposed to introduce Quebec's independence, it can be said that a third referendum won't be long in coming (cf. Kempf 17 7). But the matter of a possible separation of Quebec from Canada raises lots of questions Quebec is economically interwoven to such a degree with Canada that a separation involves considerable difficulties. It is questionable whether an independent Quebec would even be able to economically survive on its own, without the important transfer payments from Ottawa. Can an independent Quebec join NAFTA and pursue custom-reduced trade with the rest of North America? Wouldn't the unity of the rest of Canada be at stake if the Atlantic provinces Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island were cut off from the other Canadian provinces by a corridor qubcois? And how are the non-francophone people in Quebec (especially Anglophones and Aboriginals) going to react in case of a separation?

One can guess the political explosives that are hidden behind the pointed out questions, with which Canada will have to deal with rather sooner than later. Quebec, nevertheless, will most likely strive for an actual independence. Given the Francophones' historical background and the everlasting repression by the English (-speaking) it seems as if they have finally pulled together to fight for their rightful acknowledgement of distinctiveness.

Burnet, Jean R.; Palmer, Howard. 18. Coming Canadians an introduction to a History of Canada's Peoples. Toronto McClelland & Stewart.

Charbonneau, Hubert et al.. 16. ''La population française de la valle du Saint-Laurent avant 1760''. In Atlas historique du Qubec population et territoire, sous la direction de Serge Courville. Sainte-Foy (Qubec) University Press.

Information Canada (d.). 174. Immigration and population statistics. Manpower and Immigration. Ottawa.

Jones, Richard. 18. The French since 1760. In Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. Toronto University Press.

Kempf, Udo. 17. Zwischen Separatismus und Föderalismus. In Das Parlament.

N. 1-, p. 7.

Ttu de Labsade, Françoise. 10. Le Qubec un pays, une culture. Qubec Boral.

Trudel, Marcel. 18. La seigneurie des Cent-Associs, 167-166''. In Histoire de la Nouvelle-France. Vol.III. Montral Fides.

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