Editing New France (section)

==Health==
Public health in New France was generally inadequate, despite the presence of a relatively good medical infrastructure.<ref>Robert Swan,  "The history of medicine in Canada." ''Medical history'' 12.1 (1968): 42-51. </ref>  An apothecary, [[Louis Hébert]] In 1617 was engaged by [[Samuel de Champlain]] to serve the new colony as physician, surgeon and dispenser of medicines and herbs. After 1685  [[Michel Sarrazin]]  and François Gaultier served as the King's physician of the colony. The colony opened small hospitals known as "[[Hôtel-Dieu]]" in [[Montréal]], [[Quebec City]] and [[Trois-Rivières]]. These institutions were managed by Catholic Church congregations included surgeons, doctors, apothecaries and healers. They provided care to settlers, soldiers, sailors, and occasionally Native populations. The Hôtel-Dieu in Quebec City cared for an average of 589 people per year from 1689, to 1759. <ref>Michel Martin, "History has given Quebec medicine a special flavour"  ''Canadian Medical Association Journal'' 1993; 148#1 pp. 2041-2042.</ref> The Congregations organized and financed healthcare services. Their care aimed at both spiritual and physical healing.<ref>Stéphanie Tésio, "Settlers in New France enjoyed a good medical infrastructure" ''Brewminate'' (2025) [https://brewminate.com/disease-medicine-and-treatment-in-early-modern-new-france/ online]</ref>

The colony faced high mortality rates due to infectious diseases. Epidemics imported from France were deadly. In 1687, measles and typhoid fever killed about 500 people. In 1702-1703, about  8% of the population died of smallpox. Major epidemics hit in 1715, 1731 and 1785.<ref>Martin, 1993.</ref> Medical knowledge was limited, and treatments were often based on old French traditions. The towns were unsanitary, with unpaved streets, free-roaming animals, and lack of proper waste disposal. This led to frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases.  Outside the towns the low population density mitigated the spread of diseases and conditions were better than France itself. The "Conseil supérieur" introduced laws to improve urban sanitation, such as requiring latrines and proper waste disposal.<ref>Stéphanie Tésio,  "Daily Life: Health and Medicine," (Canadian Museum of History, 2023) [https://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/daily-life/health-and-medicine/ online]</ref><ref> Renald Lessard, "Pratique et praticiens en contexte colonial: le corps medical canadien aux dix-septieme et dix-huitieme siecles" ["Practice and Practitioners in a Colonial Context: The Canadian Medical Corps in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries"] (PhD dissertation,   Universite Laval; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1994. NN92043). a comprehensive history, in French.</ref>  The British after 1759 made few changes in public health matters. They did bring in a few British military surgeons. Most of the French medical personnel remained and they followed the old routines, but no longer had replacements from Paris.<ref>Martin, 1993.</ref>