This week I was unable to access the “‘Nagging Wife’ Revisited,” but I was able to read the “A Fille du Roi’s Passage” document.  I found this passage very interesting, at the beginning I was very confused by how the piece was written.  As I continued it began to come clear how it was a letter written to Jeanne, from an ancestor.  There were many parts of the article that I found interesting including the way the “daughters” were chosen, what kind of incentives they received when they came to New France and  way the men were treated when the fille du roi came to New France.

When reading about how the kings daughters were chosen, I was slightly surprised.  It had been made apparent that most of the girls from France were orphans and sometimes prostitutes.  An interesting comment that was made in this passage was that not all were orphans some of the girls were women who had already been married and used this expeditions to escape an abusive relationship.  The second interesting thing in this article was the  endowments that the women got for going to New France.  The passage describes wooden chests for every girl filled with clothing, sewing supplies and a small amount of money.  In this time in history having all those materials given to them for no cost would almost have been incentive enough to travel to a new and foreign land.  The final thing that was unusual was how the men were treated in regard to the fille du roi, by how if they did not find a woman to wed within fifteen days they would have the ability to hunt, trade and fish suspended.

This article shed some light on some unknown facts about this time in history.  They way the women used this act as a way to escape poverty and abuse would have been an incentive for many if these girls to leave.  Also how the King treated these girls too all kinds of gifts and presents for all of the girls who turned there lives upside down for him and their country  Finally the way the men were almost in a way victimized.  The way the men were treated in this time period is commonly thought of as good when I think that there were many cases like this where they were in a way victims.