The King's Daughters (in French: filles du roi, filles du roy) were between 700 and 900 Frenchwomen (accounts vary as to the exact numbers) who immigrated to New France (now part of present-day Quebec) between 1663 and 1673 under the monetary sponsorship of Louis XIV. The government sponsored them so settlers in the colony could marry and start families to populate New France. They were also occasionally known as the King's Wards, where "wards" meant those under the guardianship of another.
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In the mid-17th century, there was a severe imbalance between single men and women in New France. The bulk of the French population in early New France were male voyageurs, soldiers, or priests. Most female immigrants had to pay their own passage, and few single women wanted to leave their familiar places to move and settle in the harsh climate and conditions of New France. The majority of the women in the colony were indentured servants or nuns. For a long time, the French government had considered New France as an outpost rather than a colony, and was not concerned with increasing the population. The growth of population in the English colonies awakened concern among some officials. To increase population and the number of families, the Intendant of New France, Jean Talon proposed that the King sponsor passage of at least 500 women. The King accepted. Eventually nearly twice the number were recruited. They were predominately between the ages of 12 and 25, and many had to supply a letter of reference from their parish priest before they would be chosen for emigration to New France.
The title "King's Daughters" was meant to imply state patronage, not royal or even noble parentage. Most of these women were commoners of humble birth. They received a dowry from the King of 50 livres (the dowry was higher if they married an army officer) and had the costs of their transportation covered. Many "Daughters" were poor, especially those from Île-de-France and Normandy. They were considered "orphans", by virtue of having lost at least one parent, though not necessarily both. Some had both parents living but needed to go out on their own.
A total of 737 Daughters were married in New France,[1] mostly to farmers. Some married soldiers (the greater part of them soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment).
Non-French women joined the immigrant "Daughters". For instance, Marie de L'Incarnation wrote[2] that in 1668, there was one girl each from Holland, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Most of the girls were from middle or lower-class families. The dowry plus a certain degree of greater social freedom were enough to attract them to New France.
The women disembarked in Québec City, Trois-Rivières, and Montreal. Most had few difficulties finding a husband, as single men waited at the docks to begin courting them. If both parties were satisfied with each other, they would seek out a notary to draw up a marriage contract. Usually they were married within a few weeks in a religious ceremony at the church. Many filles du roi were married within a month of their arrival in New France.
An early problem in recruitment was the women's adjustment to the new agricultural life. As Marie de L'Incarnation wrote, the filles du roi were mostly town girls, and only a few knew how to do manual farm work. This problem remained, but in later years, more rural girls were recruited.
There were approximately 300 more recruits who did not marry in New France. Some had changes of heart before embarking from the ports of Normandy, some died during the journey, some returned to France to marry, and a few never did marry.
Because the ships bearing les filles arrived at Quebec first before proceeding to Trois-Rivières and Montreal, the men of Quebec had the first choice. This is still cited as the reason Quebec City women are (allegedly) better-looking than their upstream sisters.[7]
There is a misconception that many filles du roi were recruited from among the lowest class of the population of Paris, and that many were prostitutes. This story is based on a few Parisian prostitutes being arrested in the 17th century and transported to a penal colony in the Antilles islands. Later historians mistakenly lumped them with the filles du roi, as if ridding France of criminals by banishment to Caribbean farms was part of the same program as recruiting women of childbearing age to help populate its Canadian colonies.[8]
According to the author Peter Gagné, there is no record of any of the Caribbean women having gone to Canada. Out of nearly 800 filles du roi, only one, Catherine Guichelin, was charged with prostitution while living in Canada.[9] She appeared before the Sovereign Council of New France under the charge of carrying out "a scandalous life and prostitution" on 19 August 1675. Her two children were 'adopted' by friends, and she was banished from Quebec City. She was reported to have turned to prostitution after her husband, Nichols Buteau, abandoned the family and returned to France. She later gave birth to many children out of wedlock. Guichelin had at least two marriage contracts cancelled. She also wed twice more after returning to Sorel, Quebec, then Montreal, Quebec.[10]
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