New France was a new world far from home. Today Canada may be a hotspot for immigration, but back in the 17th century it was far from being an ideal land to start a new life. Despite various forms of persuasion and tactics, France had an incredibly difficult time colonizing Canada for many decades primarily due to the idea of emigration and the reluctance revolving around it.
The act of leaving one’s country to settle in a new or foreign one can be quite daunting. The consideration of many points, both good and bad, would need to be taken into account before doing so. Factoring the length of time it takes to travel to a destination by ship, and the various misfortunes entailed with such a trip, one could say that the voyage itself “could …show more content…
The most apparent barrier preventing settlement was to gathering people to go in the first place. People who understood the harshness of leaving home for unknown lands, thought twice about making choices regarding recruitment. The Iroquois’ “threat of murderous incursions that had alarmed colonists” (Moogk 487), death can be a big deterrent. If getting people to go to Canada was not a big enough issue in the first place, preventing workers from returning home proved to be an even greater feat. Familial issues played a key role in whether or not an engagés returned to France or not. The fact that some workers solely left for the sake of work, while family remained back at home, hints towards the hope of return. The indentured workers of France typically went to serve for three full years in order to “learn all the skills needed for survival in Canada” (Moogk 479). Usually this meant that when their service time was completed, they would want to return home to family and did not consider staying in New France to colonize it. A tactic used to keep workers away from returning home and keep them on the new land was “bringing out entire families” (Moogk 476), so as to fix them in place and remove their reluctance to stay. This is not to say that the workers wanting to return home are always the cause for abandonment. There are cases, in which family from back home would remind workers of their “duty and material interests demanding their return home” (Moogk 484). So even when the worker left with the intention of becoming a colonist, their family ties would creep up on them and relieve them of their colonial dreams. Home sickness could be a big enough reason to want to go home, regardless if a person had friend or family waiting for them. As a response to the excess number of bachelor workers who went to New France to work unwillingly, with the possibility of leaving once
The act of leaving one’s country to settle in a new or foreign one can be quite daunting. The consideration of many points, both good and bad, would need to be taken into account before doing so. Factoring the length of time it takes to travel to a destination by ship, and the various misfortunes entailed with such a trip, one could say that the voyage itself “could …show more content…
The most apparent barrier preventing settlement was to gathering people to go in the first place. People who understood the harshness of leaving home for unknown lands, thought twice about making choices regarding recruitment. The Iroquois’ “threat of murderous incursions that had alarmed colonists” (Moogk 487), death can be a big deterrent. If getting people to go to Canada was not a big enough issue in the first place, preventing workers from returning home proved to be an even greater feat. Familial issues played a key role in whether or not an engagés returned to France or not. The fact that some workers solely left for the sake of work, while family remained back at home, hints towards the hope of return. The indentured workers of France typically went to serve for three full years in order to “learn all the skills needed for survival in Canada” (Moogk 479). Usually this meant that when their service time was completed, they would want to return home to family and did not consider staying in New France to colonize it. A tactic used to keep workers away from returning home and keep them on the new land was “bringing out entire families” (Moogk 476), so as to fix them in place and remove their reluctance to stay. This is not to say that the workers wanting to return home are always the cause for abandonment. There are cases, in which family from back home would remind workers of their “duty and material interests demanding their return home” (Moogk 484). So even when the worker left with the intention of becoming a colonist, their family ties would creep up on them and relieve them of their colonial dreams. Home sickness could be a big enough reason to want to go home, regardless if a person had friend or family waiting for them. As a response to the excess number of bachelor workers who went to New France to work unwillingly, with the possibility of leaving once