Blacks in New France

1
Blacks in New France

• CAN 217
• African-Canadian Studies
• Prof. Patricia Clark
• Seneca College

2
Acadia then, Nova Scotia today
Annapolis Royal, in Nova Scotia, is the
present-day name of the original French
settlement Port Royal, in Acadie.
3
Sieur Pierre du Gua de Monts
1603 Du Gua de Monts is granted a monopoly on
the fur trade in New France by French King
Henri IV
Port Royal
After two failed settlements in Tadoussac and the
Bay of Fundy, he establishes Port Royal", the
capital of Acadie, the first French colony in
North America.
4
Explorer mapmaker Samuel de Champlain
establishes the fur trade in North America in the
employ of Sieur Du Gua de Monts
1605 Port Royal, Acadia Nova ScotiaSamuel de
Champlain and his men established the "Order of
Good Cheer," a dining society in which they
shared their food with their Mic'maq neighbour
Membertou and his people
The Order of Good Cheer
5
1605 - First written record of an African in
Canada
Mathieu da Costa
Translator between the French and the Micmaq
natives at Port Royal, Acadie (now Nova Scotia)
in 1605-06
View of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, around
1753This view from the water shows Annapolis
Royal (formerly Port-Royal) a few years before
the outbreak of the Seven Years' War (British vs.
French) and the deportation of the French
Acadians. At right can be seen Fort Anne,
originally built in 1702 to defend the capital of
the French colony of Acadie. Water-colour.
(National Archives of Canada C2706)
6
Mathieu Da Costa
Translator between the French and the Micmaq
natives at Port Royal, Acadie in 1605-06
Employee of Sieur Pierre du Gua de Monts, who
established Port Royal with Samuel De Champlain
Port Royal in the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia
Port Royal
Sieur Pierre du Gua de Monts
7
Boundaries of Quebec - 1774

• The Treaty of Paris (1763) set the boundaries of
  North American lands ceded to England by France. 
  
• In 1774, when the Quebec Act  was passed.
  Quebec's territory covered much of present-day
  Ontario and Quebec.
• ?Quebec's Governor, Sir James Murray, owned
  slaves. 

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Quebec City - 1640
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Seigneuries in New France
These are relatively small farms, in a land and
climate unsuited for large-scale plantations.
10
Louis XIV 1638 -1715 "Le Roi Soleil" King of
France 1643 - 1715
Frances Code Noir of 1685 permitted slavery in
the Caribbean, but not officially in North
America.
In 1689, Louis XIV gave limited royal consent to
the practice of slavery in New France "His
Majesty finds it good that the inhabitants of
Canada import negroes there to take care of their
agriculture,  but remarks that there is a risk
that these negroes, coming from a very different
climate, will perish in Canada the project would
then become useless." 
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In 1709, Louis XIV gave full consent to colonists
to own slaves "in full proprietorship."
12
Decree Concerning the Emancipation of Slaves
Issued by Intendant, Gilles Hocquart, 1736

• We have been informed that several individuals in
  this Colony have released their slaves by simply
  telling them that they were free to go. However,
  we judge that all slaves freed in the future must
  enjoy the same status, and therefore, after
  consulting with the Marquis de Beauharnois,
  Governor and Lieutenant General for the King in
  this Colony, we order that henceforth all
  individuals in this country, regardless of social
  position, who wish to free their slaves must do
  so by having a notary draw up and certify a deed.
  The original copy of the deed shall be filed with
  that notary and registered with the Clerk of the
  Court of the nearest royal jurisdiction. We also
  declare null and void any case of emancipation in
  which the above procedure is not followed. This
  decree shall be read and published in the usual
  manner and registered with the Clerk of the Court
  of the Royal Jurisdictions of Quebec, Montreal
  and Trois-Rivieres. This decree must be obeyed.
  Completed in Quebec on September 1, 1736.
   Signed Gilles Hocquart

13
Slavery in New France in 1759

• Year of the English Conquest of New France
• Population of New France 65,000
• 3,604 slaves - 31 black, 69 aboriginal
• 1,509 slave owners most families had only 2-3
  slaves 29 families had 10 slaves one family
  had 57
• 77 slaves lived in town
• 22 were field workers
• Average life span panis 17.7 years blacks 25.2
  years
• Price panis 400 Livres Blacks 900 Livres
• Few sales of slaves
• Marriage permitted between slaves and whites
• Religion Many Blacks converted to Christianity

14
"The Negress"   (1786) Francois Beaucourt (1740
- 1794) of New France painted this portrait of
his servant.
15
The Hanging of Angelique The Untold Story of
Canadian Slavery the Burning of Old Montreal.
By Afua Cooper, PhD. Toronto HarperCollins, 2006
16
Angelique a play

• Author Lorena Gale
• Toronto Playwrights Canada Press, 2000 (96
  pages).

17
For more information.

• In English
• Cooper, Afua. The Hanging Of Angélique The
  Untold Story Of Canadian Slavery And The Burning
  Of Old Montréal. Toronto HarperCollins, 2006.
• Donovan, Kenneth. Various articles
• Elgersman, Maureen. Unyielding Spirits Black
  Women Slavery in Early Canada Jamaica. New
  York Garland Pubg, 1999. (burdens of domestic
  work in New France)
• Gale, Lorena. Angelique. Toronto Playwrights
  Canada Press, 2000.
• Williams, Dorothy. Blacks in Montreal 1628-1986
  an Urban Demography. Cowansville Editions Yvon
  Blais, 1989.
• Williams, Dorothy. The Road to Now A History of
  Blacks in Montreal. Montreal Vehicule Press,
  1997.  

18
For more information.

• En francais
• Gay, Daniel. Des empreintes noires sur la neige
  blanche les noires au Québec (1750-1900)
  Rapport final. Québec Conseil Québécois de la
  Recherche Sociale, 1988.
• Trudel, Marcel. Deux Siecles dEsclavage au
  Quebec, Montreal HMH, 2004.
• Trudel, Marcel. LEsclavage au Canada Francais
  Histoire et Conditions de lEsclavage. Quebec
  Les Pressses Universitaires Laval, 1960.
• Trudel, Marcel. Le Dictionnaire des Esclaves et
  de leurs proprietaires au Canada francais