Daughters of the king and founders of a nation: les filles du roi in new France
The late seventeenth century was a crucial era in establishing territorial claims on
the North American continent. In order to strengthen France’s hold on the Quebec
colony, Louis XIV sent 770 women across the Atlantic at royal expense in order to
populate New France. Since that time, these women known as the filles du roi, have often
been reduced to a footnote in history books, or else mistakenly slandered as women of
questionable morals. This work seeks to clearly identify the filles du roi through a study
of their socioeconomic status, educational background, and various demographic factors,
and compare the living conditions they had in France with those that awaited them in
Canada.
