In the 17th century, across an ocean and a continent, the will of Louis XIV stretched deep into New France. This episode examines how an absolutist monarchy governed a fragile colonial frontier. How did royal officials impose order on distant settlements along the St. Lawrence? What roles did intendants, governors, and bishops play in enforcing law, regulating trade, and structuring society? From seigneurial land grants to military defense and missionary ambition, we explore the administrative machinery that bound colony to crown—and the tensions that emerged when metropolitan authority met colonial reality in a vast, unforgiving world.
Colin Coates is professor of Canadian Studies and chair of the Department of Global and Social Studies at Glendon College, York University. He is currently president of the Canadian Historical Association. His book, Political Culture in Louis XIV’s Canada: Majesty, Ritual, and Rhetoric was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2024. It won the Prix de l’Assemblée nationale for the best political history book from the Institut d’histoire de l’Amérique française.
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