The Lost Code

Responsibilities of the Censitaire

Censitaires Paying the Seigneur

Musée de la civilisation, Séminaire de Québec library
Jefferys, Charles William, “Seigneural dues” [detail] in Long, Morden Heaton, A History of the Canadian People. Toronto: Ryerson, circa 1942, Vol. 1, p.155. Loc. 825.6 (temp.)

The censitaire's life was rife with responsibilities. They were required to inhabit, clear, and cultivate their plot of land. If they failed to do so, the seigneur could take back their land and concede it to someone else (with the intendant's authorization). Censitaires had a number of financial obligations to the seigneur. They had to pay the seigneur a cens, an annual fee that varied based on the size of the land; rentes, a set annuity; and a miller's fee, which was equal to 1/14 of the flour ground at the mill. If they sold their land, they had to pay lods et ventes, which was a tax totaling 12% of the selling price. Every year, they also had to give the seigneur between one to four days of free work known as a corvée. They were also responsible for maintaining the section of the road that crossed their land and give the priest a dîme, which was a yearly tithe the church collected to support the clergy.