History of the settlement of Upper Canada (Ontario,): with special reference to the Bay QuintéCanniff, William
History
History of the settlement of Upper Canada (Ontario,): with special reference to the Bay Quinté
Canniff, William
Ontario -- History; Quinte, Bay of (Ont.)
It has been stated that the term concession, as well as the system of
granting land to disbanded soldiers, was derived from the French. The
first concession of lands to soldiers took place in 1665, to the
Carignan Regiment, a name derived from a Prince of the house of Savoy,
which came to New France with the first Viceroy. It was a distinguished
corps in the French Infantry, having won renown on many a bloody field,
and carried death to many an Iroquois Indian. The Indians having sought
peace from the French, leave was granted to this regiment to permanently
settle in the New World. Titles to land was conferred according to rank,
and as well, sums of money to assist in the clearing of land. “The
officers, who were mostly noblesse obtained seigniories with their late
soldiers for vassals.” The settlement of this body of men increased the
disproportion between the males and females in Canada. The home
government considerately took steps to remedy this abnormal state of
things and despatched “several hundred from old France.” They “consisted
of tall, short, fair, brown, fat and lean.” These females were offered
to such of the men as had means to support a wife. In a few days they
were all disposed of. The Governor-General then distributed to the newly
married ones “oxen, cows, hogs, fowls, salted beef,” as well as money.—
(_Smith._)
The original grants of land by the French Government under the feudal
system, was into seigniories. These were subdivided into parishes,
“whose extents were exactly defined by De Vandreuil and Bigon, September
1721.” For these grants of seignioral tenure, certain acts of fealty
were to be performed, pursuant to the custom of Paris. After the British
supremacy, grants of land were still made by government in Lower Canada.
The last seigniory was conferred by the French in April, 1734, to
Chevalier de Longeuil, and is known as New Longeuil. It constitutes the
western boundary of the Lower Province.
CONCESSION OF LANDS TO THE LOYALISTS.
We have elsewhere seen that the first person, other than the natives, to
possess land in Upper Canada, was De la Salle, the discoverer of the
Mississippi River, to whom was granted a seigniory at Cataraqui, of four
leagues, including the fort, and the islands in front of the four
leagues of territory. Wolfe, Gage and Amherst Islands.
At the close of the war in 1783, it was determined by government to
confer grants of land to the refugee loyalists in Canada, on the same
scale to officers and men as had been done after the conquest of Canada,
1763, with the exception that all loyalists under the rank of subaltern
were to receive 200 acres. The grants to the disbanded soldiers and
loyalists, were to be made free of every expense.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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