1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The aim of the present study is two-fold. The first is to provide a global view of the lives led by children of New France, with an emphasis on their diversity, by comparing what the eldest and youngest children lived through respectively. The second is to demonstrate how demographic mecanisms may be used to explain this diversity. » (p. 278)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Données tirées du Registre de la population du Québec ancien, touchant la population de la Vallée Laurentienne à la fin du XVIIe siècle

Instruments :
- Registres paroissiaux;
- Informations tirées des recensements du Régime français;
- Contrats de mariage;
- Autres documents.

Type de traitement de données :
Analyse de contenu, analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« Using the biographies of nearly 10,000 children born in New France during the seventeenth century, this study looks at the phenomenon of single parenthood from children’s point of view. Since separation and divorce were uncommon during this period, marital disruptions only occured through the death of one of the partners. In New France, half of all children witnessed the disruption of their parents’ marriage before having reached emancipation. The article examines the impact on family characteristics (family size and number of emancipated children), as well as the contribution of age-ranking within the family to the likelihood that the children would live in a reconstitued family. » (p. 277)