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- Title
Femmes devant le tribunal du roi : la culture judiciaire des appelantes dans les archives de la juridiction royale de Montréal (1693-1760).
- Authors
DESLANDRES, DOMINIQUE
- Abstract
The judicial archives of New France reveal a remarkable feminine presence of all states and conditions, both civil and criminal. Thus, only for the royal jurisdiction of Montreal, between 1693 and 1760, 1259 different women, married or not, religious or lay, free blacks or slaves, Amerindian free or panisses act on their own behalf in the 4338 cases involving women (of the 6413 archived cases). They are as much if not more often plaintiffs than victims, witnesses or accused. Particularly interesting is the presence of Amerindian women, English captives and Negros slaves or free, alongside French women of all social classes. They all know their rights, know how to defend themselves and appeal: they know how to make their voices heard before the King’s court. Such agency at a time when the custom of Paris reduced the legal capacity of women, especially wives and minors, is remarkable but little studied. While the law, which is essentially patriarchal and governed by men, is an obstacle to women’s judicial activities, my main hypothesis is that it also allows for the emergence of statutes, tools, procedures and arrangements that allow for solid female representation at all levels of society. Through case studies, the appellants’ agency in the appeals process highlights both a wide range of representations and social practices that underpin the legal culture of women and the functioning of female appeal to civil as well as criminal justice.
- Subjects
FRANCE; JUSTICE administration; ENSLAVED persons; SOCIAL classes; CRIMINAL justice system; NEW France
- Publication
Cahiers des Dix, 2017, Vol 71, p35
- ISSN
0575-089X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.7202/1045194ar