“The King’s Daughters”: how French brides solved Quebec’s main problem

Today it is not surprising that people from different continents get married. But 300-400 years ago, even alliances with residents of neighboring countries were rare. Usually a couple was chosen from the residents of their city, village or their surroundings. Only nobles and monarchs who entered into dynastic marriages could afford to search for a life partner in another country. But still, there is a known case in history when in the 17th century several hundred women found spouses overseas.

In the 17th century, France owned many colonies in all parts of the world. Among them was New France, located in the province of Quebec, in modern Canada. It was an incredibly promising and equally unfavorable place. The colony subsisted on fur-bearing animals, timber production and fishing.

The climate in New France was not a resort at all, and besides this, tribes of warlike Indians operated in the forests. The indigenous people had conflicting attitudes towards the colonists. They either traded with them or staged bloody raids. But the hunters, fishermen, entrepreneurs and adventurers who settled in Quebec were no slouches themselves and did not particularly complain about life.

These stern and hardworking people had one problem - the lack of women. The ladies were reluctant to go overseas, because the distant colony was considered a wild place, and in order to cross the ocean, you had to spend a lot of money. Therefore, in the colony there was one woman for every 6-7 men. It is clear that even the most unattractive and grumpy ladies had plenty of gentlemen.

The men solved the problem as best they could. Some took as wives dark-skinned slaves, local Indian girls and women from neighboring British colonies. But the shortage of females was still serious. Those desperate to start a family even took a trip across the Atlantic to their homeland. Having married, they did not always return, which seriously undermined the economy of New France. The population of the new overseas possessions did not grow, but decreased.

The current situation upset King Louis XIV and forced his advisers to use their brains. As a result, an idea that was brilliant in its simplicity emerged, from which everyone benefited. They decided to send girls without dowries to America who had minimal chances of finding a life partner in their homeland.

In 1663 the program started. Women who wanted to find personal happiness and a new home overseas were sought mainly in Paris and the north-west of the country. Age did not really matter, he had to be approximately childbearing. All that was required from brides was a birth certificate and a document from a magistrate or priest confirming that the girl was unmarried.

The women were motivated by allocating 100 livres each for travel and accommodation and 50 livres as a dowry. This is not too much money for France, but substantial for a colony in which subsistence farming reigned. The king himself became the sponsor of the event, so brides for the colonists were called “daughters of the king.” Their average age was 24 years.

Today you can sometimes hear that women of easy virtue and almost convicts were sent overseas. But that's not true. Good moral character was an important condition for receiving a royal dowry. Among the girls there were persons from poor families, including bankrupt noble families, as well as orphans.

The first 36 "king's daughters" arrived in the port of Quebec on September 22, 1663. Over the next few years, about 1,000 more women arrived in New France. Most of them, 560, remained in the city of Quebec at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. 75 went to the town of Trois-Rivières and finally 133 settled in the city of Montreal.

Women were settled in small groups in farmers' houses. Men came in the evenings and chose brides for themselves. The rich grooms were invited to the show first, and then everyone else. Moreover, not one of the “king’s daughters” was forced into marriage. Everything happened only by mutual consent. After meeting, the couple was given time to chat and get to know each other better. The marriage, as expected, took place in a church and was registered by a local notary.

From the moment of arrival in Quebec until marriage, an average of 4-5 months passed. Some brides got married within a month. Sometimes unions broke up, but the woman was not left alone and immediately got married again. Surviving documents show that out of 1000 ladies, 737 found their happiness. The rest died for various reasons, went to monasteries or simply returned home, unable to withstand the hardships of life in Quebec.

10-12 children were born into new families and the colony began to grow. King Louis XIV encouraged large families by allocating funds from the treasury. The descendants of the “king’s daughters” still make up 75 percent of the population of Quebec. That's about 5 million people! They also settled throughout the continent and live not only in Canada, but also in the USA. By the way, Angelina Jolie comes from the “king’s daughter” Denise Colin, and Madonna comes from Anna Signore.