Being Intendant in New France, a Step Forward in a Cursus Honorum?

Summary

To rise through the ranks of "Ancient Régime" society, noblemen were called upon to fill various positions in the colonial administration. Being Intendant in New France might have been challenging and full of issues, but it was also a fast way to better your position. Among the challenges facing the Intendants, one of them was to reflect his wealth and social status necessary for the duty. Since the objective of my master’s thesis is to understand the symbolic importance of material culture as an affirmation of the Intendant’s position in society, my focus is to assess the role and function of the Intendant as it is represented in the assemblage recovered from the latrines of his palace. Based on historical documentation and archival research, my paper shows what kind of men occupied this function and how the emblematic representation of their wealth may have participated in improving their rank in colonial French society.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• Material Culture, Identity, and Practice: Methods, Theories, and Case Studies

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 35