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Indentured Servant

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L’Engagé(e) |  The Indentured Servant

"The Kitchen Maid" (1738 oil painting by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Wikimedia Commons).

"The Kitchen Maid" (1738 oil painting by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Wikimedia Commons).

The engagé, or indentured servant, was an immigrant to New France who worked for an employer in the colony. Engagement contracts were the primary method of recruitment of workers to the new colony starting in the 1630s. The two major periods of engagement for New-France were between 1640 to 1669, and 1710 to 1749.

The engagé was sometimes nicknamed trente-six mois (thirty-six months) because he was normally under a three-year contract. Engagement contracts, many of which survive and can be viewed electronically today, listed the employer's name, the servant's name as well as their age and origin, the time period of servitude, and renumeration details.

The engagé was generally male, in his twenties, single and from the west of France. In exchange for his work, he received room and board, clothing and a salary (about 75 pounds per year), in addition to being reimbursed for the cost of the trip to Canada. Some indentured workers were even granted an advance on their wages before leaving France. Employers were also responsible for paying for their servants' return to France, but after 1665, this was no longer an obligation.

The engagé could be a handyman or skilled worker, or a domestique — meaning a household servant, personal assistant, servant in a religious community or farm hand. As long as he was tied to his employer, the engagé no rights in the colony and and remained the subject of his master until the end of their contract. This meant he could not own property, get married, or conduct business.

Once their contract was over, an engagé could return to France, or choose to stay in the colony. It is estimated that roughly 5,200 indentured servants came to Canada under the French regime, mostly in the 17th century. Of this number, only about 900 decided to stay (about 17%). 

 
 

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