Editing Bas-Saint-Laurent (section)

=== Slow colonization of the littoral ===
Even if under French rule, more than twenty [[Seigneurial system of New France|segnories]] were granted along the bank of the river, all the way to Métis, and even inland (the segnories of [[Madawaska Seignory|Madawaska]], [[Seignory of Lac-Mitis|Lac-Mitis]] and [[Seignory of Lac-Matapédia|Lac-Matapédia]]), the settlement of Bas-Saint-Laurent remains sparse until 1790. With the exception of [[Kamouraska Regional County Municipality|Kamouraska]], which had a quicker colonization, in the prolongation of Côte-du-Sud and the royal path, Bas-Saint-Laurent remains isolated. When [[Conquest of 1760|conquered]], around 1760, the population east of Kamouraska is composed of a couple dozen families of pioneers and is concentrated in four seignories : [[Seignory of Rivière-du-Loup|Rivière-du-Loup]], [[Seignory of Île-Verte|Isle-Verte]], [[Seignory of Trois-Pistoles|Trois-Pistoles]] and [[Seignory of Rimouski|Rimouski]].{{sfn|Fortin|Lechasseur|1993|p=118}} In 1790, Bas-Saint-Laurent, with the exception of Kamouraska, is home to barely 1250 inhabitants spread across hundreds of kilometers of shore, between [[Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Quebec|Notre-Dame-du-Portage]] and [[Matane]].{{sfn|Fortin|Lechasseur|1993|p=119}}

The construction of the [[Chemin du Portage]] around 1783 which allowed to link the valley of the Saint-Laurent with the British colonies of the Maritimes, which makes the area less isolated, but doesn't induce any permanent settlement alongside its path.

Between 1790 and 1831, the population of Bas-Saint-Laurent in the old county of Rimouski (east of Kamouraska) goes from 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants.<ref name= paquetp301 /> The population of the county of Kamouraska nearly triples by changing from 5,500 to 15,000 inhabitants.<ref name= paquetp301 /> This increase in population is due to both a strong natural growth and migration from more western regions. This settlement allows a nearly continuous exploitation of the [[Ribbon farm]]s on the banks of the river in some places and the establishment of the first farms inland. Around [[Cacouna]], in 1831, the settlement has already progressed enough to reach the fourth layer of farms. It is also around this time that the isolation is broken: in 1830, one can go to [[Rimouski]] by the royal path.

The years which follow the conquest are full of hardship for the catholic clergy. Even if the population justify it, the bishop struggles to make the British authorities recognize the new parishes. The first parish of Bas-Saint-Laurent east of Kamouraska is [[Cacouna]], created in 1825, a century and a half after the arrival of the first ''un siècle et demi après l'arrivée des premiers'' pioneers. Even if a number of families of [[Scotland|Scottish]] origin settle in the area in the 1820s in the region of, following [[John MacNider]], however the French-speaking population will remain the strong majority of the region.<ref name= paquetp301 />