{WATTYS 2020 WINNER} {FEATURED BOOK} Paris, 1663. 500 girls selected by King Louis XIV embark on a journey across the seas from their homeland. Each is given a dowry, and the expectation that they are to marry a French settler, in order to increase...
Les filles du roi, directly translated as daughters of the King, were a group of unmarried women from France, sponsored by the King to help inhabit and colonize New France (modern-day Canada) by marrying French settlers. Approximately 800 women were sent over to the New World between 1663 and 1673, and by 1672, the population of New France had grown drastically from 3,200 to 6,700.
After Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the French began their colonization of North America, beginning with New France. It was a land used to obtain resources such as fur and other commodities. However, by the mid-seventeenth century, this area was unappealing to women, and was predominantly inhabited by men including: fur traders, Jesuit priests, and explorers. Thus, many of these men would come to New France for a time then leave, with no family or wives to tie them to the colony.
England and Spain were laying claims to other territories in North America. France had been the last country out of the three to establish a colony in North America and doing so would give the country political and economic power, especially through the rapidly expanding fur trade. France had to act fast in order to solidify their hold on the colony, and combat risks of invasion of the British, Indigenous, and Spanish. Jean Talon, the Intendant of New France, proposed les filles du roi idea to King Louis XIV, who was also known as the Sun King for his magnificent expansion of arts, architecture and building a stable political system.
King Louis liked the idea, and decided to send about 500 women to New France in 1663.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Pictured above: The Sun King, also known as Louis XIV or Louis the Great. He was often portrayed as majestic, or being at war with Spain. Because of an early scare called The Fronde in which there was political tension, Louis decided to instil a sense of absolute monarchy in his kingdom: where he as the King, yielded the most power. He named himself a devout Catholic, but ironically kept many mistresses and cared more for appearance and pomp than quiet devotion. He was known to present himself in a grand matter at court, and had a passion for commissioning statues of himself, and for the dance of ballet. If you visit Paris today, you will notice that many of the famous buildings were commissioned under his reign, and thus, even to this day, the young, brash King described by Michel has left a lasting mark.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
