| Grex > History > #45: France in the 1640's |
| France in the 1640's | 
Nov 16 01:45 UTC 1997 |
This may be a very silly question from the POV of a real historian ... but does anyone here know what was happening in France (specifically Paris) in the late 1630's and early 1640's? I've been looking at some geneology stuff and discovered that my earliest known French Ancestors came to Quebec in 1641 as (what seems to have been) indentured servants. I'm curious about what mighht have made them decide to do that...
| response 1 of 4: |
Nov 16 12:27 UTC 1997 |
The Thirty Years War was going on at the time -- the cause of much hardship throughout Western Europe. I don't know about Paris specifically, but lots of people had a strong incentive to leave.
| response 2 of 4: |
Dec 2 20:34 UTC 1997 |
Richelieu was in his last years. Huguenots had recently (1629) been forbidden to have armies. Think _The Three Musketeers_, probably less romantic.
| response 3 of 4: |
Oct 26 02:28 UTC 1999 |
I believe that the reason your ancestors came to the New World was, not only because of the Thirty Years War, which has a great contribution. But also the fact that throughout europe, and especially France, economic downfall was being made even harder by crop failures and famine. The winter 1638 was especially harsh, and the downpours in the spring of 1942 made matters worse. The price of bread was enormous to peasents and many decided that life in the New World could only be better, not to mention the rumors of America. Like the kinds you see in those neat Disney Cartoons. P.S. "There are no cats in America, and the streets are paved with Gold..."
| response 4 of 4: |
Jan 1 14:10 UTC 2000 |
Thanks!