Who was Jean Talon?

Jean Talon, baron des Islets (January 8, 1626 to November 24, 1694) was the first major Intendant of New France, serving from September 1665 to September 1668 and again from August 1670 to November 1672. Often called the Father of New France's settlement, Talon tripled the colony's population, diversified its economy, organised the immigration of the filles du roi, and laid the foundations for permanent French settlement of the St. Lawrence Valley.

Talon was appointed by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's Minister of Finance and Marine, as part of Colbert's reorganisation of New France into a Royal province in 1663. Talon's first task on arrival in 1665 was to suppress the Iroquois threat. The Carignan-Salières Regiment of about 1,300 French regular soldiers had arrived with Talon. The regiment campaigned against the Iroquois in 1666 and secured a peace agreement that allowed settlement to expand. About 400 of the soldiers settled in New France after their service ended, contributing to population growth.

Talon promoted population growth through immigration and pro-natalist policies. He supervised the arrival of about 770 filles du roi (king's daughters) between 1663 and 1673, single women whose passage and dowries were paid by the Crown to marry colonists. Talon introduced bonuses for early marriage and large families and penalties for unmarried young men. He expanded the seigneurial system, granting new seigneuries in particular along the Richelieu River to the Carignan-Salières veterans. By the time Talon left in 1672, New France's population had grown from about 3,200 in 1665 to about 6,700.

Talon also diversified New France's economy. He promoted the development of agriculture (wheat, tobacco, hemp, flax), the building of breweries and tanneries, the establishment of shipyards, and the discovery and exploitation of mineral resources. The first Canadian-built ocean-going ship was launched at Quebec in 1671. Talon also commissioned voyages of exploration to extend the fur trade, including Father Charles Albanel's overland trip to Hudson Bay in 1671 to 1672 and Jolliet and Marquette's 1673 expedition down the Mississippi (planned during Talon's tenure but executed after his departure). Talon's economic and demographic reforms made New France a viable colony for the first time and laid the groundwork for nearly a century of growth before the British Conquest. Talon returned to France in 1672 and lived as an estate owner until his death in 1694.