MEASURES AND MONEY IN THE XVII th AND XVIII th CENTURIES

 

THE MEASURES:

            Often, in the content of this text, the reader will be confronted with measures of length or area with which he is not familiar.

            We now use the metric system to measure length and apply it more and more to surfaces, volumes, etc. The era of the technological revolution already well advanced will demand that we be more knowledgeable especially as it concerns this IS or International which is gradually but surely gaining acceptance. This IS, or International System of units, is a decimal system of metric measures comprising seven basic units (metre, kilogram, second, ampere, Kelvin, mole, candela). The IS will apply worldwide, facilitating globalization of all areas of human enterprise. The change to the metric system, and consequently to the IS, is going on rather well without great setbacks despite the inherent complexity often seen with this type of change. Today, for example, the temperature, shown in Fahrenheit some years ago, is shown in centigrade degrees or Celsius. The Celsius system is part of the IS. And don't ask me what the outside temperature is today on the old scale! Also, we hardly speak of calories but rather of joules or kilojoules. Whoever asks for a quart of milk at the store will be presented with a litre of milk! These new measures are also part of this famous IS which I personally find more logical and less complicated than the old system we had. What surprise to be served gasoline in gallons in the US ! Less costly than in Canada, it was definitively smaller in volume (32 ounces) than the imperial gallon (40 ounces).

            In a few years, these systems, already old in our minds, will be but a blur in our memory and we will need to make an effort to remember them.

            But it was not always like that! Further, in this text, you will read that, in most cases of land concessions, land measured three acres in frontage..., And that "seigneur" X received a fief in concession of 12 arpents in depth... At the marriage of "Sieur" Y, he declared owning a house of 30 feet in length by 20 feet in width. You will also read, in some inventories after death, that an item was estimated at 10 pounds "tournois" in value...

            We will try to clarify all this gibberish.

            First, the information that I will present you comes from a document dated 2 December 1635, (Archives of the Québec Seminary, ^[1][1] Séminaire, V  1: 25.)

            These measures of reference are those of the "La Compagnie des Cent-Associés", in accordance with the system it had established. These measures are based on a pole of 18 feet, an arpent of 180 feet and a league of 84 acres.

            The table below comes from the book «Les débuts du Régime Seigneurial au Canada», by Marcel Trudel (Fides). It establishes the equivalents between the French measures, the Canadian measures of a few years ago also called English measures and the metric measures. 

Table of measures

 

French measures	English measures	Metric measures
Measures of length
Pied Toise (6 pieds) Perche (3 toises ) Acre (30 perches or 180 pieds) Lieue (84 acres)	1.066 feet 6.396 feet or 2.132 yards 19.188 feet or 6.396 yards 192 feet or 64 yards 3.1 miles The English mile equals 27.5 acres	0.325 metres 1.95 metres 5.85 metres 58.522 metres 4.99 kilometres
Measures of surface
Pied carré Toise carré (36 pi. c.) Perche carré (9 toises c.) Arpent carré (100 perches c.) Lieue carré (7056 arpents c.)	1.136 square foot 40.96 sq.ft or 4.55 sq. yds 368.64 sq. ft or 40.96 sq. yds 4096 sq. yds or 0.846 acre 5969.38 acres or 9.33 sq. miles	0.105 square metre 3.804 square metres 34.25 square metres 0.342 hectares 2415.63 hectares

 

            With this table, you will be able to interpret the different units of length and surface. So, when I will mention that our Charlevoix ancestor Louis Gontier lived on a farm of 12 acres in frontage by 40 in depth, you will have an idea of the size of his farm. In French measures of the era, it measured 2,160 feet in frontage and in English measures 2.304 feet;the metric equivalent being approximately 702 metres.

THE MONEY.

            The question of the value of money in circulation in the day to day life of our ancestors is very interesting although it is extremely complex.

            Evidently, I will not delve deeply into the scientific aspects of the Economy and Finance. First, because I do not have the expertise and secondly because it would be superfluous to address these questions within the sphere and the objectives of history and genealogy of our family.

            I will simply present the practical aspects of the subject since money is a material value with which we all handle in our daily life. It is simple: money is currency! We have some or we don't! If we do, it is worth so much! If we do not, it retains its intrinsic value but prevents us from acquiring the goods we want and sometimes essential goods.

            The value of money is based on the value of a precious metal used by one or more country as reference to its monetary system. Today, we use the Gold Standard; meaning that the value of our money is based on the quantity of gold our country possesses and the reserves it has of this precious metal along with its commercial balance and the importance or size of its gross national product. Generally, it is the general reference used all over this planet. But it was not always that way. The Gold Standard could vary in accordance to a plethora of circumstances, as we will see. However, I must now qualify because the Gold Standard is no longer, as we end the 20th century, the base reference of the Canadian monetary system.

            At the time of our ancestors and until the middle of the XV111th century, we speak of "livres" (pounds) or francs, of "sou" or "sol" (pennies), of "Louis", etc. In marriage contracts, for example, the "coutume de Paris" (custom of Paris) being the judicial norm in effect, the future husband gave a "douaire" (dower) to his future wife of approximately 300 "livres" (pounds) and a fixed preciput which varied according to the financial means of the future husband. What did this all mean?

            But, what was the value of a "livre" or "franc" in the daily life of our ancestors? What could one buy with one "livre"? Today, we know that with $1 one can buy a litre of milk and that 454 grams of butter cost approximately $3. In the days of our ancestors, the smallest cash value coin was the "denier" and 12 "deniers" were worth 1 "sol". In New France, early in the colony and when our ancestor Bernard Gontier arrived here, the "livre" was worth 20 "deniers" or 20 cents while in France, the mother country, a person, bringing money from the colony, had to pay 22 or 23 "sols" for a "livre" and sometimes more.

            Here is a list of the currency of that era:

n     n    "denier", was foremost a roman currency.

n     n   "sol" or "sou", a copper or bronze coin which, as of 1793, was made in pieces of 5 "centimes".

n     n    "livre" or "franc".

n     n    "écu", silver coin.

n     n    "louis", gold money. It had equivalents as does today's dollar, be it Canadian or American, which is worth 100 cents (we still call them "cennes" while the British say "copper" while the Americans and English speaking Canadians call them "pennies"). Perhaps in memory of our ancestors?

n     n    12 "deniers" equal 1 "sou" or 1 "sol".

n     n    1 "livre" or "franc" is worth 20 "sols" or 20 "sous".

n     n    1 "écu" equals 3 "livres".

n     n    1 "louis" equals 20 "livres", struck with the effigy of the reigning king. The "louis d’or" (gold Louis) was called a napoléon during the reign of the emperor.

n     n    1 "pistole" equals 10 "livres". It was at first an ancient Spanish currency then it became French money.

n     n