"The filles du roi, or King's Daughters, were some 770 women who arrived in the colony of New France (Canada) between 1663 and 1673, under the financial sponsorship of King Louis XIV of France. Most were single French women and many were orphans. Their transportation to Canada and settlement in the colony were paid for by the King. Some were given a royal gift of a dowry of 50 livres for their marriage to one of the many unmarried male colonists in Canada. These gifts are reflected in some of the marriage contracts entered into by the filles du roi at the time of their first marriages.
"The filles du roi were part of King Louis XIV's program to promote the settlement of his colony in Canada. Some 737 of these women married and the resultant population explosion gave rise to the success of the colony. Most of the millions of people of French Canadian descent today, both in Quebec and the rest of Canada and the USA (and beyond!), are descendants of one or more of these courageous women of the 17th century. "
http://fillesduroi.org/src/kings_daughters.htm
To increase population and the number of families, the Intendant of New France, Jean Talon, proposed that the king sponsor passage of at least 500 women. The king agreed, and eventually nearly twice the number were recruited. They were predominantly between the ages of 12 and 25, and many had to supply a letter of reference from their parish priest before they would be chosen for emigration to New France.
Marguerite Bourgeoys was the first person to use the expression "filles du roi" in her writings.[3] A distinction was made between King's Daughters, who were transported to New France at the king's expense and were given a dowry by the king, and women who emigrated voluntarily and using their own money.[4] Other historians used chronological frameworks to determine who could be called a fille du roi.[5] Research by the historical demographer Yves Landry determines that there were in total about 770 to 850 filles du roi[6] who settled in New France between 1663 and 1673.[7]
The title "King's Daughters" was meant to imply state patronage, not royal or noble parentage. Most of these women were commoners of humble birth. As a fille du roi, a woman received the King’s support in several ways. The King paid one hundred livres to the French East India Company for the woman’s crossing, as well as furnishing a trousseau.[8] The Crown paid a dowry for each woman; this was originally supposed to be four hundred livres, but as the Treasury could not spare such an expense, many were paid in kind.[9] As was the case for most emigrants who went from France to New France, 80% of the filles du roi were from the Paris, Normandy and Western regions.[10] The Hôpital-Général de Paris and the St-Sulpice parish were big contributors of women for the new colony.[11] As such, most of the filles du roi were from urban areas.[12] A few women came from other European countries, including Germany, England, and Portugal.[13] Those who were chosen to be among the filles du roi and allowed to emigrate to New France were held to scrupulous standards, which were based on their "moral calibre" and whether they were physically fit enough to survive the hard work demanded by life as a colonist. The colonial officials sent several of the filles du roi back to France because they were judged below the standards set out by the King and the Intendant of New France.[14]
Almost half of the filles du roi were from the Paris area, 16% from Normandy and 13% from western France. Many were orphans with very meager personal possessions, and their level of literacy was relatively low.[15] Socially, the young women came from different social backgrounds, but were all very poor. They might have been from an elite family that had lost its fortune, or from a large family with children to "spare."[16] Officials usually matched women of higher birth with officers or gentlemen living in the colony,[17] sometimes in the hopes that the nobles would marry the young women and be encouraged to stay in Canada rather than return to France.
Very interesting; thank you! The king personally spent a lot of his own money to develop the colony (sponsoring people).