1

The emblem
1762
Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada

2

The duties of the "seigneurs" and the "censitaires"

Conceding a seigneurie did not make the seigneur the unilateral owner of his new domain; he had to commit officially to the State to fulfill all the obligations defined in the Coutume de Paris, the judicial system governing the seigneurial regime in New France. In order to make the seigneur's commitment official, he swore an oath of faith and homage before the Governor or the Intendant, thus demonstrating submission to the suzerain or reigning authority.

The seigneur's first obligation consisted of attracting colonists to his seigneurie. Before beginning to concede his land, the seigneur had to have it surveyed and delimited. Once the first colonists had established their homes, the seigneur had to fulfill three other obligations: first, he had to hold "feu et lieu" (or ?fire and place?), which meant that he had to reside in his seigneurie; then he had to build a flour mill to grind his ?censitaires'? grain; and finally, he had to participate in the building and upkeep of roads.

The building of a flour mill, also known as a banal mill, constituted a charge but also a source of revenue for the seigneur. The banality of the mill consisted, for the censitaire, of having his grain ground at the mill in the seigneurie, and not at any other mill, which would result in a fine. The seigneur amortized the costs of building, maintenance and operation of the mill by reserving for himself a grinding tax, which was equivalent to 1/14 of a bushel of the flour thus obtained.

As compensation for those obligations, the seigneur obtained pecuniary rights, due from the censitaires, and honorific rights. Included among the honorific rights were the possession of a free front bench at church, the right to be buried in the church crypt, and the planting of the maypole, a symbolic gesture of the censitaire's submission to the seigneur.

In return for a concession of land, the censitaires committed to cultivate their lot or to have it cultivated, and paying their charges to the seigneur. Those charges were of two types: the ?cens? represented a fixed amount determined when the land was attributed, and the ?rentes? constituted a significant amount paid out every year. The ?rentes? were payable on Saint-Martin's day, November 11, at the seigneurial manor. The lods and sales represented transfer charges which applied 20 days following the sale of parcel of land or an urban lot. The sum usually paid out corresponded to 1/12 of the price of the sale.