The Lost Code

Difficult to Own Land

Hébertville-Station in Lac-Saint-Jean, circa 1906

McCord Museum, VIEW-4002

After the British Conquest of 1760, seigneurs speculated on the land they still had left to grant. British immigrants clamored for the English tenure system they were used to. To meet their needs, the first townships were created in Ontario and Québec's Eastern Townships. On these new lands, colonists' only obligations were to swear allegiance to the British crown and clear and cultivate the land.

Since the seigneurial system no longer met the needs of a society entering the industrial age, it was abolished in 1854. Seigneurs were compensated for their loss of revenues and remained owners of their domains. As for the tenant farmers, they had to buy back their land. Most were unable to do so and had to continue paying rent to the former seigneurial families until 1945.

For rural dwellers, it was increasingly difficult to find land. Many left the area for a fresh start in newly settled regions such as the Gaspé Peninsula, the Lower St. Lawrence, Lac Saint-Jean, the Eastern Townships, Outaouais, the Laurentians, and Abitibi-Témiscamingue.