The Seigneurial System

A detailed Summary of The Seigneurial System

Upon the formation of Canada many different factors affected how it was formed and what people did. The seigneurial system had been imported from France and introduced to Canada shortly after the colonies of New France were founded (See Appendix). The seigneurial system was a system designed in France as a way of encouraging settlers to come to the colonies without directly involving the government. Since all of the land in the colonies of New France was owned by the King in France, it allowed the King to make all the decisions for the colonies. The King had a dream to create a system of landholding that would produce a wealthy class of people in the colonies. In order for the King to acquire a colony of wealth he needed to find a way so he could make people wealthy without giving them money directly. This caused the creation of The Seigneurial System. In this essay you will see a contrast between the good and bad points of the seigneurial system.

The Seigneurial System didn't take place out of nowhere, there was a process for this system to start. The King had to appoint people who would receive a grant of land in the colony and would not have to pay for it, but he would have to perform certain duties

for the King. The landowner or better known as a seigneur had many small tasks that he had to for the King in return for the land. The most important task that the seigneur had to provide was that he had to bring people who would clear the land and farm on it, and create a balanced society for the colonies of New France. The first seigneurial grant was given to a man named Louis Hebert in 1623. The seigneur also had to pay homage and fealty to the crown and within forty days he had to produce an exact description of his land and the boundaries in the form of a map. The seigneur was required to build a grist mill for the use of the habitants to grind up wheat to create flour for bread. In return for the tasks the seigneur!

The seigneurial system's main objective was to create a wealthy class in the colonies of New France and to bring settlers without directly using the government. The system was good for the fact that people who were unemployed in France could come to the colonies, get a job and start over. This created hope for most people to create a new life and a new way of living that they could sustain. The St. Lawrence river provided a close water source for crops and a way of transportation that was effective. The fish gave a source of food for the habitants and it also provided an income for them as well. Since the ranges were long and narrow it would allow for many habitants to get fish for food, water for the crops and transportation if needed. Since the population of France was growing and less jobs could be found the colonies provided some wealth to France, and it introduced a different language and people to live. The colonies provided some wealth to France, and it introduced a di!

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The seigneurial system was not a very sound way of farming for many reasons. One downfall was the lack of space. When the sons came of age the strip of land that the family owned had to be divided up again into smaller strips. This was not a very good idea because eventually the land that the family owned would be divided so much that some of the sons wouldn't be able to get any land and w

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Approximate Word count = 1465
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous