The Seigneurs of Old Canada : A Chronicle of New World Feudalism

A study of the seigneurial system in French North America traces how seventeenth-century French political centralization and provincial administration shaped landholding and settlement along the St. Lawrence. It explains the monarchy's role in transplanting European feudal institutions overseas and describes the hierarchy of royal officials that governed colonial life. The work examines the duties and powers of seigneurs as rural landlords, their uneven success in promoting agriculture and settlement, and the social and economic relations that bound habitants to seigneurial estates. Three illustrative seigneurs are profiled to show varied approaches and outcomes, while broader themes consider metropolitan influences, environmental constraints, and the practical workings of New-World feudalism.