Editing New France (section)

====Settlers and their families====
[[File:The Arrival of the French Girls at Quebec, 1667 - C.W. Jefferys.jpg|thumb|One group of [[King's Daughters]] arrives at Quebec, 1667]]

The first settler, brought to Quebec by Champlain, was the apothecary [[Louis Hébert]] and his family of Paris. They expressly came to settle and remain in New France so as to make the settlement viable. Waves of recruits came in response to the requests for men with specific skills, ''e''.''g''., farmers, architects, and blacksmiths. At the same time, the government encouraged intermarriages with the indigenous peoples and welcomed [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]], or ''engagés'' sent to New France. As couples married, cash incentives to have large families were put in place and proved effective.

To further strengthen the nascent [[French colonial empire|France's colonial empire]], [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] sponsored single women, virtuous, physically fit, and aged between 15 and 30 years, known as the [[King's Daughters]], or, in French, ''les filles du roi'', to move to New France. The King paid for their passage and granted goods or money as their dowries upon their marriage to single settlers. Approximately 800 women, primarily from the impoverished Parisian, Norman, and West-Central families, relocated during 1663–1673. By 1672, the population of New France had risen to 6,700 people, a marked increase from the population of 3,200 people in 1663.<ref name=peupl>{{cite web |title=Le peuplement d'un pays |url=http://www.mcq.org/histoire/filles_du_roi/peuplem.html |publisher=Musée de la civilisation |year=1998 |access-date=3 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101021441/http://www.mcq.org/histoire/filles_du_roi/peuplem.html |archive-date=1 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:1664AmeriqueNord.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Political map of the northeastern part of North America in 1664]]
This rapid demographic growth was predicated both on the high demand for children and on the ready supply of natural resources to support them. According to Landry, "Canadians had an exceptional diet for their time. This was due to the natural abundance of meat, fish, and pure water; the good food conservation conditions during the winter; and an adequate wheat supply in most years."<ref name=Landry>{{cite journal |first=Yves |last=Landry |title=Fertility in France and New France: The Distinguishing Characteristics of Canadian Behavior in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries |journal=Social Science History |date=Winter 1993 |volume=17 |issue=4 |page=586 |jstor=1171305 |doi=10.2307/1171305}}</ref> Consequently, colonial women bore about 30% more children than comparable women in France. 

Besides household duties, some women participated in the fur trade, the major source of money in New France. They worked at home alongside their husbands or fathers as merchants, clerks, and provisioners. Some were widows who took over their husbands' roles. Some even became independent and active entrepreneurs.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jan |last=Noel |title=N'être plus la déléguée de personne: une réévaluation du rôle des femmes dans le commerce en Nouvelle-France |journal=Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française |year=2009 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=209–241 |doi=10.7202/044453ar|url=http://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/haf/2009-v63-n2-3-haf3904/044453ar.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref>