- Definition
The "King's Daughters" were around 800 young women sent from France to Canada in the 1600s to marry the male settlers and help the new colony grow and become strong.
A young woman who travelled from France to New France around 1670 to marry a settler would be considered one of the Filles du roi.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Think of the Filles du roi like adding new people to a tiny Lego town to help it grow into a big, busy community.
Ask your child: What might change in a new settlement when many new families start to arrive?
Common mix-up: Kids might think this was just about finding wives for settlers. This was a government program designed to build a stable colony by helping to create new families.
Examples
- Many French-Canadians today can trace their family history back to one of the Filles du roi.
- The arrival of these women helped balance the population of New France, which had far more men than women.
Filles du roi is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
