Читать книгу A Canadian History for Boys and Girls - Emily Poynton Weaver - Страница 12
ОглавлениеThe Population.
Throughout this period, as we have seen, nearly all the early attempts at settlement were made by trading companies. This plan was followed by other nations as well as by France. But the companies did not keep their promises to bring out settlers. Twenty years after the foundation of Quebec there were only two hundred white people in Canada. The Hundred Associates began well, but when the company was broken up, in 1663, the whole white population of Canada numbered about 2,500, and could easily have found shelter in one small town.
At first only fur-traders and missionaries came to New France, but after a while a few families settled in the country. Most of the people belonged to the lower classes, but a few were untitled noblemen, who in France had many privileges. Some of these “gentilhommes” did good duty as soldiers and explorers, but others were useless and idle. Many were exceedingly poor, but thought it beneath them to trade or work with their hands. At last the king gave them leave to open shops without losing their rank, and in time many ceased to pride themselves upon being noblemen.
Buildings.
During this period the few private houses were small and mean. They were roofed with pine boards or thatched with grass, and were often surrounded with palisades as a defence against the Indians. In spite of great fire-places they were very cold. The snow drifted through the cracks in the log walls, and sometimes had to be shovelled out of the sleeping-rooms. The beds of the nuns at Sillery were “closed up with boards, like great chests.” When they arrived at Quebec, the only furniture of their lodgings was a rough table and two benches. In those days the tide washed nearly to the foot of the rock at Quebec, and the religious houses, the hospital, and the church were all on the heights. Amongst them rose Champlain’s turreted fort of St. Louis, built of stone, with lime brought from France, and surrounded by thick walls of logs and earth. In Montreal the mill was fortified, and served to protect the settlement as well as to grind its corn.
Dress.
No doubt the governors and their attendants tried to follow in their dress the ever-changing fashions of the cities they had left. So we may picture Quebec, on holidays at least, gay with gentlemen in gorgeous silks and velvets; Indians in furs, wampum and feathers; and traders in finery almost as savage, contrasting sharply with the black and grey gowns of the missionaries.
Food.
The colonists, both in Canada and Acadia, preferred hunting and fishing to farming. It was indeed difficult to clear the land. Till 1628 there was not a plough in the country. Both bread and vegetables were dear, and settlers were advised to bring with them enough flour to last for two years. Near the St. Lawrence, eels were much used, especially by the poor. They sold in the market at about twenty-five cents per hundred, and were often smoked in the Indian fashion for winter.
Domestic Animals.
A few sheep, cows and pigs were sent to Canada in 1608. Forty years later one of the governors brought out a horse. For seventeen years there was not another one in the country, so it must have been regarded as a curiosity. As there were no horses or railways, the people travelled by canoes in summer and on snowshoes in winter.
Money and Trade.
All manufactured articles were sent from France, and the only exports were furs and fish. Gold or silver money was very scarce. Wheat and beaver-skins were sometimes used in its place, but people generally exchanged one kind of goods for another. The wages of a man for a year equalled about twenty dollars of our present money. There were no female servants in the colony—indeed there were very few women of any rank.
Religion and Morals.
The missionaries, who were the teachers of the few children in the colony, had also great influence over their elders. The church festivals were the great days for amusement. For instance, that of St. Joseph, the patron saint of New France, was marked by a great display of fireworks. In Quebec and Montreal the priests sternly put down drunkenness and bad language, but the fur-traders in the woods often led a wild, wicked life. It was easy to commit crimes and to escape punishment. The governor was supposed to have great authority, but his power really depended on his own tact and good sense. Under the rule of the different companies there was no regular system of justice. Often terrible wrongs were committed, and on this account alone it was well that the king had at last decided on making a change in the government.
