Habitant
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L’Habitant | The Habitant
"Canadian Habitant in Winter," circa 1858 painting by Frances Anne Hopkins, Wikimedia Commons.
The term habitant has several definitions in Canada, which have evolved over time.
In the early days of New France, habitant was a synonym of colonist. The term was first used during the time of the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France (1627), which was in charge of settlement in the colony.
“Habittant” appears in the colony’s first census of 1666. At this time, habitant meant someone who was habituated in the country, owned a habitation and land that he had cleared, on which he lived. However, the term was still also used to mean colonist.
By the 18th century, the word “habitant” was seemingly limited to land cultivators, and those who lived in a rural setting. Eventually it fell out of use, around the early 20th century, in favour of agriculteur (farmer) or producteur agricole (agricultural producer).
"Canadian Habitants," circa 1825 watercolour by John Crawford Young, Wikimedia Commons.
The habitants of New France were generally at the service of a seigneur (which loosely translates to lord or landlord, and could be a company or an individual). The seigneurs were nobles, merchants or religious congregations, who had been granted a fief by the French crown, with all its associated rights over person and property. The seigneurie, or seigniory, (a large piece of land) was granted by the Governor and the Intendant. The seigneur divided his lands between censitaires (settlers, or inhabitants), who could then clear the land and exploit it, as well as build buildings there. Each portion of land was called a censive. Most of these trapeze-shaped lots were along the St-Lawrence or other river, with one narrow side facing the river or a road.
The censitaire tenant paid an annual rent to the seigneur, and also paid to have his grain milled at the seigneurie’s gristmill. In addition to these payments, he paid for cens, a rather symbolic payment which indicated that the habitant’s land was at the bottom of the feudal hierarchy and could not be sub-licensed.
These payments of cens et rente meant that the habitant was the proprietor of his land, and could therefore donate it as part of his inheritance, rent it, or sell it, as long as he paid lods et vente, taxes equivalent to 1/12 of the sale value.
The seigneur did not have many responsibilities towards his habitants. He was obligated to build a mill for his tenants, and they in turn were required to grind their grain there and provide him with one sack of flour out of every 14 produced. The seigneur also had the right to demand a specific number of days of forced labour (called the corvée) of his habitants and could claim rights over fishing, timber and common pastures.
Did you know that the Montreal Canadiens (hockey team) are nicknamed the Habs? The term is derived from “habitant.”
"Habitant Farm," circa 1850 oil painting by Cornelius Krieghoff, Wikimedia Commons.
Native from Lorette and Habitant with his sled ("Amérindien de Lorette et habitant avec traîneau"), 1838 painting (artist unknown), Wikimedia Commons.
"A habitant drinking," circa 1853 oil painting by Cornelius Krieghoff, Wikimedia Commons.
"Habitant with Blue Tuque and Pipe," circa 1850 oil painting by Cornelius Krieghoff, Wikimedia Commons.
Sources:
Konrad Fillion, "Essai sur l’évolution du mot habitant (XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles)", Revue d’histoire de l’Amérique française, 24, (3), 1970, p. 375–401, https://doi.org/10.7202/302989ar.
André Lachance, Vivre, aimer et mourir en Nouvelle-France; Juger et punir en Nouvelle-France: la vie quotidienne aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Montréal, Québec: Éditions Libre Expression, 2004), 124-128.
La Société du parler français au Canada, Glossaire du parler français au Canada, Les Presses de l'Université Laval, Québec, 1968, p. 389.