Читать книгу A Canadian History for Boys and Girls - Emily Poynton Weaver - Страница 13
ОглавлениеThe Sovereign Council, 1663.
Canada had now become a royal province, and Louis XIV put the government into the hands of a council which had to account only to himself for its actions. Its three chief members were the governor, the bishop, and the intendant. The governor had control of the soldiers of the colony, and was regarded as its head. But the intendant had as much real power. It was his duty to see that the public money was spent properly, and that the laws were obeyed; and he was allowed, if he chose, to try cases instead of leaving them to the regular courts. The council was to be guided by the French laws known as the Custom of Paris. From the first the plan of dividing the chief power amongst several persons caused bitter quarrels.
The Marquis de Tracy.
The Iroquois were as troublesome as ever; but Canada was no longer neglected and forgotten. The king sent out two thousand persons at his own cost, and the Marquis de Tracy, the viceroy of all the colonies of France, himself came to Canada in 1665 to force the savages to submit. He is described as a tall, stout old gentleman; and was remarkable for zeal and humility in religious matters. He brought with him a large number of pages and young noblemen, gorgeous in “lace and ribbons, and great flowing wigs.” With him there came, too, the Carignan regiment, the first regular soldiers ever sent to Canada.
A Gentleman
of the Time.
Invasion of the Iroquois Country.
Before winter set in three forts were built on the Richelieu, or Iroquois River, by which the Five Nations generally made their way into Canada. This frightened them, and three of the tribes sent chiefs to beg for peace. But the Mohawks sent no messengers; and, to increase the desire for peace, a strong force was ordered to attack them. It was January when the little army left Quebec, led by the new governor, de Courcelle. The soldiers, who had lately arrived from France, suffered terribly on the march. Heavily burdened with provisions, unused to walking in snowshoes, and too thinly clothed, many fell behind to die. The rest pushed on. After weeks of hardship they came upon the English, who had lately made themselves masters of the Dutch colony—from that time called New York—and were forced to turn back without striking a blow. Later in the year de Tracy led a larger force into the Iroquois country. The march was difficult; and the viceroy, too old to walk, and unable to ride for want of roads, was carried in a chair at the head of his troops. The Mohawks fled into the woods, but to show them that they were not beyond the reach of punishment, the French burnt their houses. Soon they sent to beg for peace, and a treaty was made, which was kept for many years, though the Indians still quarrelled amongst themselves.
The First Intendant.
The first intendant of New France was named Jean Talon. He worked hard, visiting the settlements and hearing all about the “little affairs” of the colonists. In this way he learned much which he turned to account for the good of New France. He also examined the woods and plants and minerals of the country, and sent specimens home to France. Another good thing was that he made it easier than before for rich and poor alike to obtain justice. But both he and his master, Colbert, the chief minister of France, held ideas that would be thought very strange now-a-days. They did not believe in giving the colonists more freedom than they could help, but took care of them and their country as if they were children.
Many of the soldiers who had served under de Tracy were persuaded to settle in the country, so that they might act as a check on their old enemies, the Iroquois; and the king continued to send out settlers at his own expense. Amongst them came several large parties of young women to be wives for the colonists; and sometimes thirty marriages took place at Quebec in a single day.
Seigneurial Tenure.
The king gave large grants of land to gentlemen, and sometimes to companies of traders or churchmen, who held them by what was called Seigneurial Tenure. It was something like the old Feudal System, which had once been followed in Europe. The gentlemen receiving grants were called seigneurs. In return for them they undertook to clear their lands in a certain time, and, going through a curious ceremony known as paying homage, promised to be true to the king. Instead of cutting down the trees and clearing the soil themselves, they divided their land amongst men willing to work it and to pay a small rent. Sometimes this rent was paid in money; oftener in grain, or live fowls, or some other farm produce. The seigneur might also demand a certain portion of the fish caught by his tenants, and might require them to use and pay for the use of his mill and oven. But if the tenants paid the rent and kept to their agreements, the seigneur could not oblige them to give up their farms; while if he did not see that his grant was cleared in proper time, it might be taken away from him.
The First Settlements.
The lands along the St. Lawrence were settled first, as the colonists all preferred farms bordering on the river; and the grants were generally divided into narrow strips, which often were ten times as long as they were broad. The tenants usually built their houses close to the water, in a row, like a straggling village; but in places exposed to the attacks of the Indians, the cottages were clustered together, and were surrounded by a palisade.
Generosity of Louis XIV.
At this time the king’s generosity knew no bounds. He gave the new settlers food and tools, and cattle to stock their farms. He also encouraged the colonists to start factories by granting them money, or by giving orders that the goods when finished should be used in the royal service. In this way ship-building was begun, and the making of cloth, salt, rope, hats, and other articles; but the people became almost too ready to run to the intendant for help.
The Fur Trade.
The fur trade was still the most important business in the colony. About a year after the Company of the Hundred Associates was broken up, another company obtained a monopoly. But it was soon taken away, for the plan, as usual, failed.
Talon and the Explorers.
Talon did his utmost to strengthen New France in every possible way. He tried to persuade the king to buy New York from the English, and planned to make a road between the settlements on the St. Lawrence and those in Acadia. But neither of these ideas bore fruit. He also sent explorers to seek an overland route to Hudson Bay. Meanwhile the fur traders and missionaries were pushing their way westward, and in 1671 the French formally took possession of the region of the Great Lakes, planting a cross at Sault Ste. Marie.
Talon was eager to send explorers farther into the wilds, but his health failed, and in 1672 he returned to France. De Courcelle, with whom he had always been on good terms, left Canada at the same time.
