Filles du Roi

Filles du Roi, women of marriageable age who were shipped (the term is appropriate) to New France under royal auspices from 1663-73. As private interests preferred to send male indentured servants, the French state and religious communities had to rectify the imbalance of the sexes in the colonies. In Canada's case, although women began crossing in the 1630s, only the approximately 800 who disembarked during the first 11 years of royal government are commonly referred to as the filles du roi. Equipped with a trousseau and in some cases a small dowry, almost all found husbands quickly. Some were Parisian poor and orphans; others were recruited from the La Rochelle and Rouen areas. Administrators' reports suggest that many were ill prepared for the arduous life of the Canadian peasant.

Author TOM WIEN

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