The King's daughters - Filles du Roi!

I came across this little interesting fact when I was doing research for my novel, The Raven Saint. It's about a group of young women who were rounded up by King Louis XIV and sent to the Americas to become wives. (Would make an interesting book!)

In order for New France to prosper, people were needed. Thus the King decided to send women to the french colonies. Between 1663 and 1673, the King of France sent at his expense, several thousand young women to the New World, and in particular, New France, which was in Canada. Most of these women came from the Paris area or the diocese of Rouen. They were poor, abandoned, with no future in France, and often orphans. The King bestowed upon them a dowry of between 50 and 300 livres and named them filles du roi.

"The 100 girls sent over by the king this year have only just arrived," wrote Mother Marie de l'Incarnation, on October 29, 1665, " and already they are almost all accommodated. He will send another 200 next year, and even more in the years following, in proportion to the need. He will also send men to marry withstanding those who are in the army. Truly, it is an amazing thing to see how the country is becoming populated and multiplying."
The recruiting was often carried out by guardians, such as Anne Bourdon, who witnessed thirty marriages.

Almost half of the filles du roi were from the Paris area, 16% from Normandy and 13% from western France. Many were orphans with little or no education who came from the lower classes, but some were from elite families who had lost their fortunes. Those women of higher birth were usually matched with officers or gentlemen living in the colony, sometimes in the hopes that they would marry nobles living in Canada and thereby encourage the nobles to stay in the colony rather than return to France.

There were rumours that some of the girls sent to the colony had been prostitutes in France, but Pierre Boucher defended the honour of his new compatriots.
"It is not true that this sort of women come here and those who say this are

greatly mistaken," he wrote, "if, by chance, it happens that there are a few among those who come who are discovered, or that during the crossing they behaved badly, they are sent back to France." It was hard to live a scandalous life in such a small colony. What these young women had in common was their poverty.

"The girls sent last year are married and almost all of them are with child or have had children already, a sign of the fertility of this country, " wrote Jean Talon to the king, in 1670. Jean Talon actively encouraged their fertility, decreeing in an edict on April 5 1669 that all inhabitants having 10 living children, born of a lawful marriage, "not priests, monks, or nuns, will be paid a pension of 300 livres a year; and for those having 12 (children), 400 livres more; furthermore, all boys who marry at the age of 20 years or less and to girls of 16 years and less, will be paid 20 pounds each on their wedding day.

When the women arrived in New France, the amount of time it took them to find husbands varied greatly. For some, it was as short as a few months, while others took two or three years before finding an appropriate husband. Some even cancelled their marriage contracts; no doubt finding their fiances distasteful.

Interesting stuff, huh? I love the part about being paid to have 12 children!! Egad!

In my novel, The Raven Saint, there is a secondary character who was one of these filles du roi, but who, unable to marry or support herself, was forced into prostitution.  She is a kind woman who rescues the heroine of my story.

 One outstanding novel! MaryLu Tyndall writes the type of romance that you automatically fall in love with. Suzie Houseley Romance Junkies

Buy from Amazon

To bathe or not to bathe, that WAS the question!

 As a fan and an author of historical fiction, I often get asked how clean people actually were in the past?  Of course in my novels, my hero always has clean white teeth and smells of musk and spice, or perhaps if he’s a captain of a ship, he smells of salt and fresh wind.Equally, the heroine smells of roses or lavender or fresh sunshine!  Sounds great, doesn’t it?  But in truth, people rarely bathed in the past. For one thing they didn’t have the convenience of running water, so to put a bath together meant lots of heavy hauling of water from the well or creek, then heating kettle after kettle over the fire and then carrying it all to the bath tub.Yikes!!  Can you imagine doing that each night?

Though bathing and bath houses were quite popular before the 16^th century, bathing lost its popularity in the next two centuries. Attitudes toward bathing changed dramatically, most likely due to the immorality and decadence that took place in most bath houses.  Bathing tended to be looked upon as sinful and being dirty and grubby reflected one’s inner purity. In other words, the dirtier and smellier you were, the better a Christian you were!  Bathing was considered egotistical and focusing on oneself instead of on Godly matters.  (Note: I'm so glad that isn't the case today or I don't think the whole church experience would be that pleasant!) 

Dirt was also believed to be a protection against germs and body odor was considered normal and alluring.  From the late Middle Ages through to the end of the 18th century, medical manuals advised people to only wash the parts of the body that were visible to the public; the ears, hands, feet, and face and neck. If it became overwhelming, powders perfumes ad layers of clothing could hide the grime and smell. Or you could carry around a bit of snuff or for a lady, a vinaigrette around your neck to clear the smell from your nostrils if needed.

In fact, the quality and condition of one’s attire became vastly more important than the cleanliness of the individual. Clean crisp clothing reflected one’s social status as well as the condition of one’s soul. The wealthier the person, the more changes of clean clothing they possessed and the better standing they had in society. Weird, huh?

Oh, can’t you just get a whiff of your handsome hero now?

However things began to change during the late 19^th and early 20th centuries. A weekly bath became commonplace. Factories and other places of employment would give employees a half day off on Saturday to allow them time to prepare for the Sabbath on Sunday.  The half day off allowed time for the hard labor and time required to draw, carry, and heat water, then fill the bath and then afterward empty it. Bath water was shared by all family members, starting with the parents and moving down in rank through the children to finally the youngest who would have to bathe in cold, filthy water.   This is where the phrase came from: Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water!

The Miraculous Defeat of the British at Fort McHenry and a Book Giveaway!

AND THE WINNER IS KAYM!!!!!  Congratulations to Kay! And thank you all for entering!!!

I had the privilege of traveling to Baltimore, Maryland while doing research for my series, Surrender to Destiny, a romantic War of 1812 trilogy set in that fair city. Having already read so much about it, I walked around the port district in complete awe, imagining my characters walking

down those same cobblestone streets! For those of you who don't know much about this war, believe me, it's fascinating. In particular, the miracles that occurred over and over again. Against all odds, this fledgling American nation with a ragtag army and barely a navy defeated the most powerful military and navy forces of the day and sent them running for home! Only God could preform such a feat.

Another miracle occurred while I was in Baltimore. It so happened that on the EXACT day I was there, they were having a War of 1812 reenactment at Fort McHenry. This was not planned. I had no idea it was happening until I got there!  Cool huh?  Here are some pictures I took and if you don't know what happened that night, here's a summary of how this tiny fort, along with Baltimore's militia, defeated the British troops on land and sea and sent them packing for home.

At noon on September 11, 1814, the British fleet sailed to the mouth of the Patapsco River and anchored off North Point, just fourteen miles from Baltimore. Arrogantly spurred on by their successful march into Washington DC three weeks earlier, the British planned to attack the “Nest of Pirates,” as they called the city, from both land and sea. Early in the morning on September 13, while British troops advanced on land from North Point toward Baltimore, five bomb ships and several other war ships maneuvered into a semi-circle two miles from Fort McHenry. Just after dawn, the bombing commenced.

Major Armistead, commander of the fort, would later estimate that in the next twenty-five hours, the British would hurl between 1500 and 1800 exploding shells at them. A few never hit their mark, but most exploded directly over the fort, showering destruction on the defenders. One bomb exploded on the southwest bastion, destroying a twenty-four-pounder, killing Lieutenant Levi Claggett, and wounding several men. Soon after, another shell crashed through the roof of the gunpowder

magazine. By the grace of God, it did not ignite. Major Armistead soon ordered the barrels of powder removed and stored elsewhere.

While the British land invasion was failing due to the courage and preparation of Baltimore’s militia, the bombardment of Fort McHenry continued throughout the long night. Finally at 7:00 a.m. on September 14, the shelling ceased, and the British fleet withdrew. Major Armistead immediately brought down the dripping storm flag that flew over the fort and hoisted in its place the forty-two by thirty foot flag sewn by Mary Pickersgill, the action accompanied by the fort’s band playing Yankee Doodle.

Eight miles away, aboard an American truce ship, Sir Francis Scott Key, overcome with emotion 

at the sight of the flag, penned what would become our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner Miraculously, Baltimore successfully defended itself against an attack by the greatest military and naval power on earth. The humiliating defeat suffered by the British changed the course of the war, and three months later, on Christmas eve, Britain made peace with the United States at Ghent. In Baltimore, the Niles Weekly Register announced the news with the headline: “Long live the Republic! All hail! Last asylum of oppressed humanity!”

May it ever be so!

You  also might be interested in reading the last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I'm GIVING AWAY a copy of SURRENDER THE DAWN,  the last book in my Surrender to Destiny Trilogy, aromantic adventurous tale of privateers that ends with the victory at Fort McHenry. To enter, please leave a comment with your email address.

Sea Faring Heroine - Mary Patten!! By MaryLu Tyndall

I came across this story while researching Lady Pirates. It's an incredible tale that I won't have time here to cover in depth.  But I hope you'll find it as fascinating as I did. Especially because it happened in the year 1856 when women still had few rights.

http://alturl.com/4qjuu

It happened on board a ship named Neptune's Car, which was a magnificent clipper ship carrying a valuable cargo of iron, sheet lead, and mining machinery from New York to the California gold fields. The captain was Joshua Patten, a 29 year old hardened seamen with vast experience upon the seas. Tired of being without him for the first two years of their marriage, Mary Patten convinced her husband to bring her along on this voyage. Her husband was happy to comply. The ship set sail from New York on July 1st 1856 and sped southward under full sail. During the early days of the voyage, at Mary's request, Joshua was happy to teach his wife the art of Navigation. He taught her about winds and tides. He showed her how to calculate the ship's position with a sextant and chronometer, how to work out the correct course and how to keep a daily log of the ship's progress.  She didn't realize how valuable these skills would be to her very soon.

http://alturl.com/kgekc

The storms off Cape Horn during October 1856 were so ferocious that one experienced sea captain was forced to retreat and take cover at Rio De Janeiro after his sails were torn to shreds and ten of his crew had been washed overboard.  Soon the Neptune's Car sailed into the midst of this "perfect" storm. Joshua Patten spent 8 days without sleep, trying to keep the ship afloat and ice from forming on the rigging.  Exhaustion overtook him and he finally collapsed on the deck. When Mary, his young wife, was called above, she instructed the men to bring him below and lash him to his bunk. After several hours, he seemed to be getting worse and Mary assumed he must be gravely ill.  Now what was she to do?

Usually the first mate takes over for the captain, but Joshua had removed the first mate due to negligence and replaced him with a man who had no idea how to navigate. To make matters worse, when the crew discovered the captain's condition, the original first mate tried to incite a mutiny!  Mary knew she had to do something quick or she'd lose the ship and its cargo to either a mutinous crew or the storm.  So, ordering all hands to muster on deck, she came above to address the crew.

http://alturl.com/mnjtb

Try to picture the scene with me. Mary was only 19, a petite woman with black hair and what one observer described as "large, dark, lustrous eyes and very pleasing features" She wore a long gown that was tossed to and fro in the wind and clasped a shawl about her shoulders.  A few weeks earlier she had learned she was pregnant. The crowd of men that faced her were rough, hardened sailors who had spent years at sea and had never taken an order from a woman. The ship bucked and leapt over massive swells, drenching them all in sea water, as the wind screamed and howled through the rigging. And through it all, this little lady climbed the ladder to the quarterdeck, planted her boots on the heaving deck, gripped the railing, and addressed the mob.

What she said exactly we do not know, but her job was to persuade these men to remain loyal to her husband and to herself and to deliver the cargo to San Francisco safely.  Somewhere in the howl of wind and sting of rain, she accomplished the impossible and the crew agreed to follow her orders.   She decided to head southeast out of the storm and into colder waters. Finally when the sun broke through the clouds she was able to get a good reading on their location and discovered they were 250 miles south of the Horn.  The waters were freezing and they spotted icebergs in the distance (certain death for any ship!)

Mary set double watches at night and put her keenest eyes in the tops during the day to navigate through the ice. For four long, frightening days, Neptune's Car eased her way west until finally they were free to head north into warmer waters. Mary's husband had two brief periods of recovery in between severe relaspses, one in which he lost his sight and the other in which he became deaf. Now Mary, at four months pregnant, was in full command of the ship. For the next 50 days, she did not even undress, sleeping in her clothes and focusing all her attention on getting to San Francisco.

In early November, they sighted the bay and on November 15th, Mary insisted on taking the helm and steering the salt-stained vessel into port.  Below, read a portion of the letter addressed to her by the Union Mutual Insurance Company, the underwriters for the voyage.

Nor do we know of an instance on record where a woman has, from force of circumstances, been called upon , or assumed command of, a large and valuable vessel, and exercised a proper control over a large number of seamen, and by her own skill and energy, impressing them with a confidence and reliance making all subordinate and obedient to that command

Pretty cool, huh?  And what's even cooler to me is that my maiden name is Patten. Hmm. Wonder if we are related?

For more stories about women's heroic adventures at sea, check out my new release, Forsaken Dreams!!  about a group of disgruntled Southerners who flee America after the Civil War and set sail for Brazil to start their own Southern Utopia!

Order from Amazon,  Barnes and Noble, Christian Book.com

What would make you abandon the country of your birth?

Winner of the Drawing for a free copy of Forsaken Dreams is Joy Isley!! Congratulations,Joy! 

 

Those of us who love to learn about history, often find the Civil War in America fascinating. Not because of the cruelty and death, but because a nation could be so torn apart on the issues of slavery and economics that they saw the need to split into two nations and fight brother against brother!  Even more remarkable is that, despite the animosity and hatred,  history proves that the two halves became a whole again. Surely the hand of God played a huge role in that.

But did you know that a great many Southerners fled the South after the war? Frustrated and disillusioned, they abandoned the country of their birth and took off for greener shores.  Think about it, what would make a person do that? What would make you do that? Let’s take a peek at the reasons

The post-Civil War South was unrecognizable.

J.S. Pike from South Carolina comments

“The banks were ruined, railroads destroyed. Their few manufactories were desolate, their vessels swept from the seas and rivers their live-stock was consumed. Notes, bonds, mortgages, all the money in circulation, debts, become alike worthless. The communities were without clothes and without food.  Lawlessness, poverty fear, hunger violence ruin and social disorder were to mark the south for many years. Northern merchants and speculators moved into the Southern states after the war, taking away economic opportunities from Southerners. The southern landscape was in shambles. . .never was there greater nakedness and desolation in a civilized community.”

In addition, almost every family mourned the loss at least one relative in the war. Then to make matters worse, Congress declared 150,000 leading Southern citizens guilty of treason without a trial and denied them rights of citizenship. 

From the diary of confederate officer Douglas French Forrest: “the whole country for miles around was filled with predatory bands, utterly irresponsible, recognizing no rights of property, utterly demoralized”

Many Southerners felt that had no choice but to leave. So they did!!

Three million people migrated from the former Confederate States in the decades following the Civil War. Most moved to sparsely settled lands in western North America, to the larger cities of the north, to Canada, and to Mexico. But some went to Brazil’s golden shores!! We don’t know how many actually went to Brazil because few had passports and they just boarded ships and went down.  However a study of available figures, newspaper reports and data gathered from descendants makes it safe to estimate that at least 20,000 Southerners came to Brazil Their descendants now number over 100,000  and are spread over the country.

Most of these “Confederados”, as they came to be called, were professional farmers and planters. However, others included generals, admirals, governors, senators as well as mechanics, machinists, preachers, teachers, and even a few freed slaves.

In 1869 George Washington Keyes, formerly of Montgomery, Alabama, from his plantation in Brazil, wrote to a friend back in America “I left the United States because of anarchy which I expected to prevail, poverty that was already at our doors, and the demoralization which I thought and still believe will surely cover the land.: 

Fifty years after the war Dr. Robert Norris, another immigrant to Brazil replied to an American visitor as to why he never returned to the U.S. “You folks made our lives so impossible in the United States that we had to leave. We were welcome here in Brazil. This is our country now and here we are going to stay. “

In fact, you may find it interesting that a few miles outside the Brazilian town of Santa Barbara, at least four times a year, a group of people gather at a small chapel and cemetery in the middle of sugarcane fields. What’s so weird about that? They are all dressed in costumes of 19^th century America, sing old Protestant hymns and listen to a sermon. Afterward, they share a meal of fried chicken and biscuits and gravy and dance to the tune of Dixie. If you look real close, among the Brazilian features, you may find some blue eyes here, some red hair and freckles there and you may even hear English spoken instead of Portuguese.

These are the descendants of the Confederados who fled to Brazil after the Civil War.

And this is the history upon which my new series, Escape to Paradise is based.

Disclaimer: I am neither in favor of the North or the South. I abhor war and slavery and am proud of my country for finally freeing the slaves. Death and atrocities occurred on both sides of this war. However, my series is told from a Southern perspective. 

Don’t miss book 1 in my Escape to Paradise series, Forsaken Dreams!!

Available online at Amazon,  Barnes and Noble, CBD.com

 

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be in our daily giveaways!

Grand Prize – Kindle, drawn on April 1^st

2nd Place Prize - $25 Amazon gift card

For each day you comment on CFHS, you’ll receive one entry in the Kindle and one in the $25 Amazon gift card giveaway. Comment on every post in the month of March and earn 31 entries!