History Browser

In 1756, the graft of Canadian-born François Bigot, Intendant (and chief financial minister of New France) made a bad situation worse. His theft and corruption led to rampant inflation in New France, which impoverished many officers, particularly the French-born ones without local incomes.

While life on the homefront during wartime could be difficult there were also happier moments of goodwill and friendship.

Before reforms in the mid-19th century, most British soldiers left the army only when their regiment was disbanded in the aftermath of a war. When this occurred in Canada, men were offered land to encourage them to settle in the colony. Pensions were rare, and worth little.

Official currency in France and its colonies consisted of 'livres' (pounds), 'sous' (shillings) and 'deniers' (pence), but the shortage of coins led to common use of Spanish silver pieces in New France. The first recorded use of paper money in the modern sense was also in New France.

In 1712, King Louis XIV created Les Invalides de la Marine, which provided all soldiers and sailors serving the Ministry of the Navy with a sort of pension plan. Each year, a few elderly soldiers were given the status of Invalide and a pension.

Despite the ferocious punishments they were subject to during the 18th and 19th centuries, mutiny was very rare amongst British troops. Desertion, on the other hand, was a constant problem, and grew worse as travel to the United States became easier during the 19th century.

A party of men under Dollard des Ormeaux, commander of the Montreal garrison, was surprised by a much larger group of Iroquois. Besieged at a disused Algonquin fort at Long-Sault on the Ottawa River, the Frenchmen and their Huron allies were wiped out.

In 1794, a provincial regiment was raised in Canada for service in North America. This was a response to increased tension with the Americans. One battalion of the Royal Canadian Volunteers took recruits and officers from the Loyalist community, the other from the French Canadians.

A soldier's pay was never high, and very seldom adjusted as the cost of living increased. From 1797 to 1867, the rate was a shilling (12 pence) a day, from which deductions were made for food, clothing and other expenses. Little money would be left to spend as a man wished.

The wages of a soldier in New France were very small, and remained fixed during the period 1680-1750. After deductions for food, lodging, clothing and various other mandatory items, only 15 of the yearly wage of 108 livres were left - not enough to buy much of anything.