The Lost Code

Subdivision of Land

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Horatio Walker, 1886, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Photograph : Jean-Guy Kérouac, 34.539.01

In the first half of the 19th century, seigneuries were overpopulated. Over the generations, family lands had been subdivided to give children a place to live. As a result, each new generation had less land than the previous one, and smaller harvests to meet their needs.