Seigneurial System

Louis Franquet is remembered today chiefly for his reports of 1751, 1752, and 1753, his many maps and plans, and his contribution to the building of the original Louisbourg.

The seigneurial system was an institutional form of land distribution established in New France in 1627 and officially abolished in 1854. This politically determined system of land distribution was regulated by law and had many advantages. Its purpose was to promote settlement in a systematic way. Seigneuries, which were usually 1 x 3 leagues (5 x 15 km) in size, were generally divided into river lots (rangs), a survey system based on the French experience in Normandy. The long, rectangular strips were particularly well adapted to the local terrain, since they facilitated interaction between neighbours and provided multiple points of access to the river, the principal communication route.