JT Does a Count
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Jean
Talon was sent to New France on a mission for King Louis XIV and his financial
advisor Jean Baptiste Colbert. Jean Talon
was the first Intendant of New France. As Intendant his duties covered
all areas of Justice, Police and Finance. His job was to help the colony
make more money to send back to the King of France. He wanted people in
New France to be able to survive without a lot of help from Europe. He
was very proud to be able to say that he could dress himself from head
to toe in clothes made entirely from cloth and furs from New France.
One of the challenges that Talon faced included diseases, such as scurvy and smallpox. Another challenge was the harsh winter climates of Canadian winters.There were also skirmishes with aboriginals.
The
first census counted every person in the place that they resided. He had
to decide what he wanted to know about the people before he started knocking
on their doors. Here is what he decided to count:
- What jobs did people do?
- How old were they?
- Were they married or single?
- How many people were in each family?
- How was each person in the house related?
- He also measured the value of local lumber and mineral resources.
- Domestic animals
- Farms, which were called seigneuries
- Government buildings
- Churches
Results of the first census taken by Jean Talon can be found at the Stats Canada page, or by following the links below.
