Habitants and Merchants in Seventeenth Century Montreal

Martin L. Nicolai is a history lecturer at Queen’s University.

This groundbreaking Annales school demographic study of early Montreal
first appeared in French, in 1974. Because of the language barrier, many
English-Canadian scholars and students overlooked it, but now this
classic appears in translation as part of the Studies on the History of
Quebec series. Although it was written nearly two decades ago, it bears
few signs of old age. In addition, since the island of Montreal
contained one-fifth of the colony’s population in 1720, this case
study has considerable relevance for understanding developments
elsewhere in the colony.

Dechкne examines the Native peoples, the French population, trade, and
agriculture on the island of Montreal during the first half-century of
the settlement’s existence, employing notarial, judicial, and
seigneurial records and numerous other archival sources. In an engaging
narrative rarely interrupted by statistical tables, she traces the
adaptation of Montreal’s urban and rural inhabitants to new social and
economic circumstances. Prior to the publication of her book, governors,
explorers, and wars had been at the centre of historiographical debate;
the habitants were virtually ignored. In these pages, however, we see
the structure and lifestyle of the habitant family, the challenges faced
by indentured workers and single immigrant women, and the laborious
process of acquiring and clearing the land, and passing it on to the
next generation. Stereotypes of lazy habitants, carefree voyageurs, and
unenterprising merchants systematically collapse in the face of the
author’s meticulous research and analysis.

She concludes that there was relative economic equality in the Montreal
region during the colonial period, and that rising economic
differentiation was more characteristic of Quebec during the
post-Conquest era. Although some historians would dispute her assertions
about the later years of the French regime, for the period she is
actually studying, her argument is persuasive. While many of
Dechкne’s innovative ideas are now taken for granted by historians of
New France, they bear repeating, even for those familiar with early
Canada.