The King's Daughters (French: filles du roi; filles du roy) is a term used to refer to the approximately 800 young French women who immigrated to New France between 1663 and 1673 as part of a program sponsored by Louis XIV. The program was designed to boost Canada's population both by encouraging male immigrants to settle there, and by promoting marriage, family formation and the birth of children. While women and girls certainly emigrated to New France both before and after this time period, they were not considered to be filles du roi, as the term refers to women and girls who were actively recruited by the government and whose travel to the colony was paid for by the king. They were also occasionally known as the King's Wards, where "wards" meant those under the guardianship of another.
Read more about King's Daughters: Origins, Integration Into New French Society, End of Recruitment, Rumours and Legends, Notable Descendants
Famous quotes containing the words king and/or daughters:
“I see that Time’s the king of men;
He’s both their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy...and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 7:1-4.