The Habitant
It is fairly general practice in human affairs to represent nations by symbols and by 
types. A lion usually represents England, a bear represents Russia, an eagle 
represents the United States, and a beaver represents Canada. As a type the 
Englishman is known as John Bull, the American as Uncle Sam, the Russian as 
Ivan, and the Canadian as Johnny Canuck. 
However, the French Canadian -- especially the French farmer -- is known simply as 
"habitant" or as Jean Baptiste in popular folk tales. Today, just as was the case 
more than three hundred years ago, the habitant of Jean Baptiste type is the 
backbone of the life of New France. Of all the national groups and cultures on the 
North American continent, New France remained the least affected by external 
development and it continued as a unique island in the turbulent sea of American 
life. The term "habitant" originally designated a citizen of permanent domicile. This 
distinguished the habitant from the "voyageur" and the "coureur de bois," who 
explored the wilderness and traded in furs. 
A traveller passing through New France some three hundred years ago might have 
seen the French settlements stretching like one long village on both shores of the St. 
Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec. A few houses, a church spire, made-up 
most of the settlements, and all of them were built either on the shores of the St. 
Lawrence or of the lesser rivers and streams converging with it. 
The St. Lawrence was New France's chief means of communication and the farmers 
generally settled on its shores, few of them seeking land further back. 
The farm of the habitant consisted of a long, narrow piece of land. His needs were 
few and he tilled only a few acres of his land, which yielded enough food for his 
family. In any case, there was no market for any surplus. Several cows, a score of 
chickens, a few pigs, some sheep, and the occasional bit of fishing supplied the 
habitant with his food. His clothes were mostly made at home. In the long winter 
nights the women spun and knitted and prepared clothes. Their homes were small 
but comfortable. The walls were thick; a protection against the elements, especially 
the bitter cold, and the roofs sloped steeply to let the snow glide off. Life was easy 
and sedate for the roughed habitants during the winter months. There was always 
sufficient food in the house, if not wildlife was plentiful. A bean or pea soup usually 
simmered on the fire of the hearth. The habitant's pea soup has gained world fame. 
The habitant usually had several fruit trees, and the woods nearby abounded in 
berries. 
Every habitant grew his own tobacco and brewed his own beer. While there were 
few luxuries, there was no poverty. Their homes were constructed of wood and 
stone. One can still see these unique buildings in the region of Quebec City. 
Each spring, the houses were whitewashed. The white homes were in striking and 
breathtaking contrast to the surrounding panorama of green fields and forests. The 
habitant made his own furniture, copies of the ones he left behind. Bread was baked 
once a week, in ovens constructed outside the house. 
The beauty of the habitant's handicrafts is well known. The simplicity, the colour 
and the life-like movement of their woodcarvings have gained wide appreciation. 
The entire life of the habitant centred on his family and his church, no different 
than today. The tie between the habitant and his religion was solid and unshakeable. 
Every Sunday he went to church, and he counted the priest as one of his best 
friends. 
Even today, on travelling through Quebec one can see the labour and art which the 
habitant invests in his church. He loved New France and New France was his 
country. 
In New France, the seigneurs were the people to whom the authorities gave large 
tracts of land, provided that they cleared it, built houses and populated the 
seigneurie. In order to do this, seigneurs recruited a habitant, a hired man, who did 
the work under contract. At the end of the contract, most of the habitants accepted 
to settle on the seigneurie where they had worked for the duration of their contract. 
The seigneur sold them a parcel of land and guaranteed their security and well 
being. 
Although in theory the habitant was a hired hand of his seigneur, in reality and 
practice he was a free man. The new colonists had some obligations towards the 
seigneur such as giving him a small portion of their annual harvest. The seigneur's 
fees were small, however, and if the habitant was dissatisfied with one seigneur he 
could always settle on the farm of another. 
Interestingly enough, the habitant had a great deal of autonomy, even though he 
lived under the autocratic regime. Although there were no elections, the habitant 
always had a representative who mediated on their behalf with the government. 
This was usually the captain of a militia of a given district. This man was himself a 
habitant and had the confidence of his neighbours. 
In comparison with the peasant on the European continent, the habitant was a free 
man. In contrast, in England, the farmer was totally under the control of his lord. It 
was a feudal system which far stricter than in France, Germany and the Austro-
Hungarian Empire. The inevitable result of the British system resulted in the 
American Revolution of 1776.The vastness of the territory, the very small 
population, and the concern the Government for the growth of the colony, tended to 
give the habitant the liberty. Here was a relatively free man, with modest ambitions, 
who was deeply attached to his land, his children and his family. These were the 
grass roots from which French Canadian folklore would develop. 
It would be false to imagine that the habitant's life was one long holiday. 
Undoubtedly he had his trials and his tribulations. However, the outstanding 
characteristic was a healthy, fertile existence he led finding his happiness in the 
heart of his own home.