Seigniorial Tenure

The history of this feudal system of land tenure,

transplanted from Old to New France, dates back to the commission of the

Sieur de la Roche, 1598, in which he is empowered to make grants in the

form of fiefs, seigniories, etc., to persons of merit. Up to 1627, when

the Company of New France (or the Company of One Hundred Associates) was

chartered, only three seigniories had been granted, two to colonial

laymen and the third to the Jesuit Order. Thereafter a large number of

seigniorial grants were made--no less than sixty between 1632 and 1663,

when the Company surrendered its rights to the crown. Details as to the

later history of Seigniorial Tenure in Canada, how it was applied to the

land, and why it outlived the same system in Old France, will be found

in the works cited below. The system was abolished in Canada in 1854.