The Sovereign Council of New France was a political body appointed by the King of France in the 1675 reorganization of the colony of New France. The major officers of the Sovereign Council were the Governor General, who was responsible for military affairs and diplomatic relations, the Intendant of New France, who was responsible for finance, economic development, and the administration of justice (law and order), and the Bishop of New France, who was responsible for all spiritual matters in the colony. The Intendant served as the presiding officer of the Soveriegn Council.
The introduction of this government cancelled the contract with the Compagnie des cents associées, which apparently had failed to organize the establishment of thousands of colonists in America.
The institution lasted from its introduction in 1663 to the fall of New France in 1760. Its last meeting occurred on April 28, 1760, the day of the Battle of Sainte-Foy.
As early as June 16, 1703, the King of France refers to the council as the Conseil Supérieur instead of the former Conseil Souverain.
Read more about Sovereign Council Of New France: Composition
Famous quotes containing the words sovereign, council and/or france:
“My maiden Isabel,
Reflaring rosabel.
The fragrant camomel;
The ruddy rosary,
The sovereign rosemary,
The pretty strawberry;
The columbine, the nept,
The jelofer well set,
The proper violet:”
—John Skelton (1460?–1529)
“There by some wrinkled stones round a leafless tree
With beards askew, their eyes dull and wild
Twelve ragged men, the council of charity
Wandering the face of the earth a fatherless child....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“It is not enough that France should be regarded as a country which enjoys the remains of a freedom acquired long ago. If she is still to count in the world—and if she does not intend to, she may as well perish—she must be seen by her own citizens and by all men as an ever-flowing source of liberty. There must not be a single genuine lover of freedom in the whole world who can have a valid reason for hating France.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)