The Lost Code

Rural Economic Crisis

The Harvest

Musée de la civilisation, Séminaire de Québec collection. Unknown artist. N° 1993.33843

In the 1830s, Québec suffered an agricultural crisis. Antiquated farming methods depleted the land, which, after generations of being overpopulated and subdivided, could no longer meet the needs of the growing rural population. A financial crisis in England deprived farmers of a major market for their harvests. Available land was scarce and expensive due to speculation by seigneurs. A number of bad harvests hurt farmers and chipped away at their earnings. Finally, grain from Upper Canada, where the growing season starts earlier, competed with wheat from Lower Canada on the export market.