1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,320 Speaker 1: Hey everybody, and Happy Saturday. Coming up this week, we're 2 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: going to have an installment in our six impossible episode series, 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,799 Speaker 1: and one of those impossible episodes that we mentioned throws 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: back to Le fi Droix, which was the French effort 5 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: to send eligible women to New France to correct a 6 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: gender imbalance that had developed there. This is the oldest 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: episode that's getting a shout out in the one that's 8 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: coming out this week, or at least in terms of 9 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: ones that have not already been reissued as Saturday Classics, 10 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: so we thought it would be a good time to 11 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: re release it for listeners who weren't tuned into the 12 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: show back in July, or could use a refresher on 13 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: this bit of Canadian history. And please pardon my terrible 14 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: pronunciation of French and sometimes also English in this episode. 15 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 16 00:00:52,200 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: I'm Polly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and today's 18 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: topic is one that we have had many requests for, 19 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: especially since I mentioned when we were doing our Maurice 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,639 Speaker 1: Duplace episodes that I wanted to do more Canadian history 21 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: and It's also one that's actually been on my list 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: for quite a while, but I will not tell a lie. 23 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: The thing that tipped the balance and kind of shifted 24 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 1: this way up was a request from one of our 25 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: youngest fans, Zell and her dad Tony, who wrote as 26 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: a very charming email, so bone that you made. Uh. So, 27 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: this one is going to be about French Canadian history 28 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: and the colonization of New France. And while the building 29 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: of a population in a new colony seems like a 30 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,559 Speaker 1: rather tricky endeavor and it is, uh, Francis, King Louis 31 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: the fourteenth launched this scheme to do just that by 32 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: shipping eligible ladies to do France in the sixteen hundreds 33 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: so they could be brides and helped build out this population. 34 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: And how did this play out? You may or may 35 00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: not be surprised, but we will tell you all about 36 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: its earning now. So, after Europe became aware of these 37 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 1: giant new continents new to their minds, the Americas, all 38 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: of that land became contentiously battled over by all the 39 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: various European power players. Spain and Portugal struggled with one another, 40 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: primarily to rest control of South America, while North America 41 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:24,239 Speaker 1: became a battleground for France and England, and in sixteen 42 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,119 Speaker 1: o eight Samuel de Champlain built the first domicile in Quebec, 43 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: and consequently he's sometimes referred to as the founder of 44 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: New France. And this, of course, we're giving you very 45 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: broad strokes. It's an oversimplified version of the story. But 46 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: I mostly just wanted to establish the official founding of 47 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: this settlement in the early sixteen hundreds. In those early years, 48 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: the primary industry of New France was the fur trade. 49 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: For the fifty five years after de cha Plan founded 50 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: the settlement, it was run by commercial companies. The Canadian 51 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: colony was primarily run by the Compagnie de Santas Socier, 52 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: which had honest to develop the North American French territory 53 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: in exchange for rights to the land resources. And so 54 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: what started primarily as a group of fur trappers and 55 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: traders did indeed grow, and soon there were dock workers 56 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: to handle the incoming and outgoing shipments of fur. There 57 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: were shopkeepers because they had to have some form of 58 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: commerce that was supporting all of these people. Uh, and 59 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: there were other workmen that came to New France. But 60 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: really it was all about supporting the fur trade, uh 61 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: and most of these were men that were on their 62 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: own or who had left their families behind. So bringing 63 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: women and children across the Atlantic to a new territory 64 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: that was still covered in wilderness wasn't generally thought of 65 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: as profitable by the men who were settling New France. 66 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: Adding more mouths to feed, and these were mouths that 67 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to contribute to the bottom line of 68 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: the fur trade really seemed like a losing proposition on paper. 69 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: From the standpoint of a for profit business looking to 70 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: stay profitable, this was of course the wisest course of 71 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: action to you know, leave behind the women and children. 72 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: But from the point of view of a country that 73 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: was actually looking to colonize the land that it had 74 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:10,839 Speaker 1: claimed abroad, this became a huge problem. After fifty five 75 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: years of letting the company to Santa Associate run the 76 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: settlement effort, less than one percent of the land that 77 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: France had claimed was actually occupied by Europeans. There were 78 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: a mere three thousand settlers in New France, and by comparison, 79 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: British colonists numbered in the low six figures. There were 80 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:31,840 Speaker 1: more than thirty times as many of them as there 81 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: were French colonists. So we've talked many times before about 82 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: the lengthy and contentious history between Britain and France before 83 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 1: this vast gap in colonial development was kind of an 84 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: embarrassment for France's part, and seeing how poorly the corporate 85 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: settlers had managed things in terms of population growth, uh, 86 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: and how the national pride had kind of been tanked 87 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: by it. King Louis the fort teenths and the other 88 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: leaders in France made a move to rectify the situation, 89 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 1: so New France was then placed under the rule of 90 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: the monarchy. The Sun King was extremely keene on incentivizing colonization. 91 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: He really really wanted to have an established, truly settled 92 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: French presence in North America, and what he needed to 93 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: make that goal was families. Yeah, we're not going to 94 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 1: diverge a bunch about Louis the fourteenth and the Sun 95 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: King's legacy, but he really there was some pretty explosive 96 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: colonization growth for France all over the world under his rule, 97 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: So this was something he obviously was really invested in 98 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: and cared about. And since the men who had been 99 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: working the fur trade were largely single, as we mentioned, 100 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: and there were few ladies in New France that were 101 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: actually eligible for courtship. The king, along with the Intendant 102 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: of Quebec, Jean Talon, and the King's Minister of Finance, 103 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: Jean Baptiste Colbert. I'd have no idea if he's related 104 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: to Stephen Colbert, so can't help you there. If that 105 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 1: just popped your mind. Uh. These three men concocted this 106 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: plan to fill the gap in the sexes and even 107 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 1: out the numbers. Uh. And so when this initiative that 108 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: they came up with was started in sixteen sixty three, 109 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: there were six men for every woman in New France, 110 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: and some most of those women were already uh betrothed 111 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: or married to men already, so they were not available women. 112 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: From sixteen sixty three to sixteen seventy three, a program 113 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,479 Speaker 1: was sent into motion, and this sent marriageable ladies, who 114 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: came to be known as le fi DUIs or the 115 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: King's daughters, to New France to become brides, mothers, and 116 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: really the backbone of the settlement in many ways. Colbert 117 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: arranged the recruitment and bon voyages of the women from France, 118 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: and Tolon made sure that they were taken care of 119 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: when they reached North America. As part of this field, 120 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: the French monarchy paid for the transit of these young 121 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: women as a government expense, and the French West India 122 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: Company handled their transport and was paid quite handsomely for 123 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: each each woman that it transported. Yeah, they were basically 124 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: considered very very important cargo because the King really really 125 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: wanted this whole thing to be successful. And while there 126 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: had been women who traveled to Canada certainly prior to 127 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: this initiative to make their way and hopefully find husbands, 128 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: those women traveled on their own dime. It was not 129 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: part of this sort of government sanctioned effort. UH sixteen 130 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: sixty three really marks the beginning of subsidized import of 131 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: potential brides from France. The term via dou wos was 132 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: first coined by Marguerite Bourgoi, who founded the Congregation of 133 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: Notre Dame in Montreal in the sixteen fifties. Her convent 134 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: was normally the place where these young women would be 135 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: welcomed once they arrived in New France, and the convent 136 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: would care for them during the transition, and was characterized 137 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: as part of helping with France's very important colonization mission. Yeah, 138 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: they took this responsibility very very seriously. Uh. And before 139 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: we talk about who these young women really were, do 140 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: you want to have a quick word from a sponsor. 141 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: Sure thing. So, getting back to the fie doui, the 142 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: backgrounds of these ladies who set out for the Americas 143 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 1: as part of this program were actually pretty diverse. There 144 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: have been times where you'll see in sort of the 145 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: quick and dirty history accounts of them like, oh they 146 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,199 Speaker 1: were all you know of low birth. Oh no, they 147 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: were all genteel ladies. But really it really was pretty diverse. 148 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: Some were from fairly well off families, not a lot uh. 149 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: And these women would travel with their bridal trousseau sort 150 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: of ready to start their own families with the men 151 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: they would meet in the colony. Others had been recruited 152 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: from country areas. Some were in fact orphans from the 153 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: streets of Paris. And in the case of the very 154 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: poor daughters of France, the state provided an assortment of 155 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: useful household goods as their trousseau and also allotted each 156 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: woman a small dowry. And these sort of state uh 157 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: provided trousseau normally included like a ladies valise or some 158 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: sort of case for carrying a handkerchief, ribbons, a supply 159 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: of needles and white thread, scissors, a hairbrush, stockings, gloves, knives, pins, 160 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,079 Speaker 1: and a bonnet, basically like the things you would need 161 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: to set up house uh and sort of start your 162 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: life in a new place. On average, though the majority 163 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,680 Speaker 1: of the women who went from France to the Americas 164 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: as part of this program were from modest homes, a 165 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: handful were widows who were looking for a new life 166 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 1: after losing their husbands. Many of them were from Paris 167 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: or Rouens or the surrounding areas, but they could come 168 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: from anywhere in France, and several of them were not 169 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: even of French birth. And some of the benefit of 170 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: recruiting women from charity hospitals, which in this case we 171 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,959 Speaker 1: should mention that it's hospital isn't really what we think 172 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: of that word meaning today. It's much more like and instant. 173 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: You shoon are kind of like a poorhouse in some cases, 174 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 1: or from very tough lives in the city streets. Was 175 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,679 Speaker 1: really that these young women were accustomed to the idea 176 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: of having to work, and that was a high value 177 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:14,559 Speaker 1: in introducing them into a Newish settlement. At one point, however, 178 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: Jean Tellen wrote to Jean Baptiste Colbert that it would 179 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:19,719 Speaker 1: really be best if they would send a few more 180 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: farm girls and fewer city orphans, because the latter group 181 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 1: are sometimes too sickly to take on the challenges that 182 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 1: awaited them in the Canadian wilderness. His letter states, it 183 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,200 Speaker 1: would be good to recommend strongly that those who are 184 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: destined for this country are in no way disgraced in nature, 185 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: that they are not repulsive on the exterior, and that 186 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: they are healthy and strong for farm work or at 187 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 1: least have some ability for handiwork. Yeah, he wanted some 188 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: you know, hearty gals. Uh. And roughly two thirds of 189 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: the women making their way to New France married to 190 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: men who were living in the more rural areas of 191 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: the colony rather than the urban base. So there really 192 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: was some ledge to make concerned that women unsuited to 193 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: country life are really going to have a rough time 194 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,679 Speaker 1: of it. And since the goal of this entire program 195 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 1: was to bolster the population and expand the settlement, it 196 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: made sense to everyone involved to try to stack the 197 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 1: odds in favor of making genuinely suitable matches. And you know, 198 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: landing women in positions that they were going to be 199 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: comfortable in, that they could handle, that they would be 200 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 1: able to, you know, help provide for their family in 201 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: the community. To that end, there was also a handful 202 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: of women we mentioned earlier of slightly higher social standing. 203 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:33,960 Speaker 1: These women were in the mix with the intent that 204 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: they would be potential bribes for military officers and citizens 205 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: of high estate within the settlements social structure. So reading 206 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: through these details, it starts to feel like something of 207 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:49,439 Speaker 1: a hybrid between super efficient matchmaking and livestock wrangling. Yeah, 208 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: it's uh, it's one of those things where it's easy 209 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: to get real bristoly and be like, wait, they were 210 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 1: doing what, like, it's kind of like mail order bribing 211 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: on a really huge scale. Uh. And while the exact 212 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 1: number of women that that were part of this whole 213 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: initiative is a little tricky to pin down, some of 214 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,320 Speaker 1: the women that were involved are debated by historians as 215 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: to whether they were actually part of the King's daughter's 216 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: initiative or if they just kind of made their way 217 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 1: on their own and tried to kind of blend in 218 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,959 Speaker 1: with the King's Daughter's program. Others are kind of problematic 219 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 1: to match the numbers up because the redor the records 220 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,559 Speaker 1: are either incomplete, or they're muddled, or some part of 221 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: the record has been damaged. But it is estimated that 222 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 1: seven hundred and seventy women were sent to New France 223 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: over the course of a decade as the King's daughters, 224 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: and this made up about eight percent of the total 225 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: immigrants to New France during that period. And that sounds 226 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: like a very low number because it's a single digit. 227 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: But if that sounds scant to you, it's worth noting 228 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: that it also made up about fifty of all the 229 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: women that we're going to New France during these years. 230 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 1: Most of the people that were headed to New France 231 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: from France were in fact men who wanted to get 232 00:12:57,640 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: in on the fur trade and try to make their fortune. 233 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: Only one in ten of these women had a relation, 234 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: even a very distant relation, anywhere else in the colony 235 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: when they traveled from France. This is a huge contrast 236 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: to the rest of the women who made the same 237 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: journey before seventeen hundred. For women who were not one 238 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: of the King's daughters, roughly two thirds of them had 239 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 1: at least one relation in New France, and most of 240 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,319 Speaker 1: them had more than one relation. You know, they were 241 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: either going to family that they knew or uh, you know, 242 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: they had multiple cousins there, something to that effect. And 243 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: in terms of the age breakdown, about fourteen percent of 244 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: these women were between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, 245 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: forty four percent were between the ages of nineteen and 246 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: twenty four, twenty five percent were between ages of twenty 247 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: five to twenty nine, twelve percent were thirty to thirty four, 248 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:54,520 Speaker 1: three percent were thirty five to thirty nine, and a 249 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: little under two percent were older than forty or forty 250 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: year older. And as you track the to upward from 251 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: the youngest to oldest, the percentage of widows in each group, 252 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly also goes up. There have been some accounts through 253 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,959 Speaker 1: the years that most of the women in the program 254 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: were of less than pristine virtue, and there's been an 255 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: equal degree of historical testimony that this was not the 256 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: case at all. Some accounts indicate that before any woman 257 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: was allowed to get on a ship bound for New France, 258 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: a friend a relative had to vouch for their virtuous 259 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: and good nature beforehand. Ill behavior or debauchery on the 260 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: way could result in a woman being shipped directly back 261 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 1: to France, with her opportunity to start a new life 262 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,360 Speaker 1: in the colony completely avoided. Uh. And before we get 263 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: onto sort of how these matches were made on a 264 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: more nuts and bolts sort of level. Uh, And sort 265 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: of how incentivized family making was. Do you want to 266 00:14:51,600 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: do another quick word from a sponsor. Let's do as 267 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: you might imagine in a colony that consisted almost entirely 268 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: of men, brides shipped from the homeland were quite an 269 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: exciting prospect, and most of the women that came from 270 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: France to North America were married in pretty short order 271 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: after arriving in New France. To further incentivize this whole 272 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: idea of making a population stronghold, the French government also 273 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: offered cash grants to men who were married, and even 274 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: larger sums to men who had children with their new wives. 275 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: Allowances were made and tables were drawn up to accommodate 276 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: families as large as twelve, and they were corresponding payment 277 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: levels for all sizes. Families had a very clear cash value. Yeah, 278 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: it gives the term family values a whole different meaning 279 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: if you think about it in this way. Uh. Men 280 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: who opted not to take a wife, however, actually found 281 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: themselves penalized. Uh. Their fur trading efforts would meet up 282 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: with blocks, and their privileges were regulated to the point 283 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: of loss, like they would not be legally allowed to 284 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: trade or there, you know trade. Uh allowances were suspended 285 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: after a very you know, short amount. But men did not, 286 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 1: I feel compelled to point out, need to marry any 287 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: of the fee douir to benefit from these incentive programs. 288 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: They could also marry natives of North America, people's already 289 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: living there, people that came from other places. Just as 290 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: long as they were in the French colony marrying and 291 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,400 Speaker 1: making families, they could still get benefit payments as long 292 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: as they were kind of helping populate the French colony. 293 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: So to modern ears, this may seem like a pretty 294 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: weird scheme that was destined for failure. But it turned 295 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: out that all of this incentivized family building actually worked 296 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: exactly as the king had hoped. All but about four 297 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: percent of the field doui were married in New France. Yeah, 298 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: this was a huge success, which I will admit that 299 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: through my modern lens and I try and you know, 300 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: to put that stuff aside. But there's just part of me, 301 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: that's always like, no way with this work. Oh yeah, 302 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,239 Speaker 1: it worked really well. Actually yeah. I on the other 303 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 1: hand him like, I'd sign up for that. If I 304 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: have a choice between you know, being destitute, uh or 305 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: traveling an ocean and having a new adventure, I might 306 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: travel the ocean and have a new adventure. Yeah. And 307 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:22,159 Speaker 1: we'll talk about this some more in just a moment, 308 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: But part of the success of this really does have 309 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: to be attributed to Colbert's recruitment efforts and his close 310 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: work with Teman to select the right assortment of ladies 311 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,159 Speaker 1: for the Canadian colony. So when Tracy mentioned earlier that 312 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: this was sort of like really efficient matchmaking combined with 313 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,239 Speaker 1: sort of like a livestock situation, it really was. They 314 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: were quite good at picking exactly the right numbers and 315 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:48,400 Speaker 1: the right matches for these men in the colonies. Uh. 316 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: And many of these women had come from situations that 317 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 1: were extremely difficult for them, either due to deaths in 318 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: the family that sort of left them without anyone uh 319 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: there in New France, or just general miss fortune. So 320 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: there was usually some degree of motivation to truly make 321 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: an effort to make this new life work, and for 322 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:10,120 Speaker 1: some women it was a rare opportunity at freedom. They 323 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:13,200 Speaker 1: you know, either maybe had gotten into some trouble while 324 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 1: they were in France. Usually it wasn't terrible trouble if 325 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: they were allowed to be one of the king's daughters. 326 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 1: But basically, you know, at this point, the colonies were 327 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: still sort of considered this sort of backwards scary thing. 328 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:28,159 Speaker 1: But when you're facing you know, definite destitution where you 329 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 1: live versus, as Tracy said, like a new adventure and 330 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,879 Speaker 1: a potential to actually have a life with some social mobility, 331 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: they were willing to take the risk. So, especially compared 332 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: to life in like a charity hospital or another institution, 333 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: this looked like a way more appealing option. The setup 334 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,399 Speaker 1: also gave women way more choice when it came to 335 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 1: picking a spouse than they probably would have had at 336 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: home in France. In the case of women who were 337 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: from more affluent families, their parents probably would have been 338 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: the ones making the decision for them, and in the 339 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 1: case of women who were from more impoverished circumstances, it 340 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: opened up the possibility of a marriage and a related 341 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,159 Speaker 1: increase in social standing. And that's an opportunity that they 342 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,439 Speaker 1: would not have had if they had stayed in Europe, 343 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: and there are some written accounts that described this whole 344 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: thing as like a meat market scenario, where the male 345 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: settlers would just come in and sort of assess and 346 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: select brides like livestock. But there are a lot of 347 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 1: other accounts that really contradict that and they make it 348 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 1: sound much more civilized. So in these versions, men that 349 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: were considering taking a wife would visit the king's daughters 350 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: under supervised conditions. So remember most of these ladies stayed 351 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 1: at a convent when they arrived in North America, or 352 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 1: they were placed with families of church members that they 353 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: weren't sort of just pushed into a room and then 354 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 1: o gold by men. They had basically gentlemen callers that 355 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,959 Speaker 1: would come and meet them, and the ladies could interact 356 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: with these potential suitors if they wished. They didn't have 357 00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:59,359 Speaker 1: to interact with them, and they had the right to 358 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:02,439 Speaker 1: refuse ridge proposals if they were not interested in the 359 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: man who was interested in them, So they were not 360 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: being paraded up onto a stage to be selected from 361 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: like in our trains episode. Right, there was also a 362 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 1: lot more personal freedom than a lot of women were 363 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: entitled to anywhere else. In the world in the late 364 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: sixteen hundreds. But once a woman actually did get married, 365 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,199 Speaker 1: her husband was considered to be her master and the 366 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: final word in the household. Yeah, even though getting them 367 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,719 Speaker 1: to the married state was really a much more uh 368 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:35,479 Speaker 1: you know, empowered state for them to be in in 369 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: terms of their choice, once they got married, it was 370 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,879 Speaker 1: pretty old school and the husband ran the house and 371 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,359 Speaker 1: they kind of had to bend to his will. Although 372 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,680 Speaker 1: it does seem like most of these matches were pretty good, 373 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:51,680 Speaker 1: most many of them lasted decades, lots of kids. Uh. 374 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,359 Speaker 1: Just ten years after France began systematically shipping these brides 375 00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 1: to be to New France, the population in a French 376 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: settlement had tripled by virtue of both immigration and procreation. 377 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: So in addition to the fijuoi sort of going over 378 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,639 Speaker 1: and that's less than a thousand. But then they started 379 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: having children very quickly, and this also just helped make 380 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: the colony look like a more appealing place for other 381 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: people to go to. So it kind of helped in 382 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 1: a pr way as well. And of all of these 383 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: marriages that happened, so we mentioned, there was only like 384 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: a four percent unsuccessful match rates. Only four percent of 385 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 1: the women didn't get married. Only three percent of all 386 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: of those successful marriages didn't result in children, and sometimes 387 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: those were like usually medical issues or uh, some other 388 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: problem that came up, one of the spouses would die, etcetera. 389 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: Within twenty years of the first births to come from 390 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 1: these marriages, the population split between women and men was 391 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: close to equal. So those are some pretty significant strides, 392 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,120 Speaker 1: I mean, I think in terms of data set, if 393 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: you looked at it from when uh, King Louis concocted 394 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: this plan with his advisers and you know, just twenty 395 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,679 Speaker 1: years later, they had really kind of achieved most of 396 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: what they set out to do. However, in sixteen seventy three, 397 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 1: after a decade of doing this, as France became embroiled 398 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:14,199 Speaker 1: in conflict with Holland, uh, the King's Daughter's program was 399 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 1: actually deemed too costly to maintain because remember they're still 400 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: paying for these women to to travel to have their 401 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,439 Speaker 1: trousseau set up there. You know, at that point, paying 402 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,119 Speaker 1: the men incentives to have children that got very expensive. 403 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: They couldn't do that while they were also paying for 404 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: their military efforts. It's also worth noting that France was 405 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: not the only country using efforts like this to bolster 406 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,760 Speaker 1: the population of a colony, although most other countries programs 407 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,679 Speaker 1: were a lot more modest. Today it said that almost 408 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,159 Speaker 1: any French Canadian is related to at least one of 409 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,920 Speaker 1: the King's daughters, and many people that get into genealogy 410 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: are able to connect their family lines to multiple kings daughters, uh, 411 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 1: where they can sort of find many of the several 412 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: of them on the branches of their family tree. And 413 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,919 Speaker 1: if you can trace your genes to a dui, you 414 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: can actually be certified as a descendant of the King's daughters, 415 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 1: so that you will have your own sort of magical 416 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: connection to this piece of French history. Uh. And there 417 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: are places still doing the certification online. There was one 418 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: big one that was happening a push in as part 419 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 1: of an anniversary celebration of this whole event. But I 420 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,679 Speaker 1: think they are still doing the certifications. But that is 421 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: the story of the fiduuix, the import of brides to 422 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: North America and New France in an effort to sort 423 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 1: of make a population, and it was super successful, as 424 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: much as part of me has a hard time accepting 425 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: that it was very successful. Yeah, I think I'm actually 426 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: in the context of this story. The thing that's the 427 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,159 Speaker 1: bigger sticking point for me is the greater context of 428 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: what was happening in the America's with colonialization rather than 429 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: this select group of women, because especially in the context 430 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: of the times, it does seem like they had a 431 00:23:55,160 --> 00:24:00,360 Speaker 1: lot more agency and choice, yeah than in France. Yeah. 432 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: It's one of those weird things where part of it 433 00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 1: is that admittedly this is through my lens of kind 434 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: of like the romantic of like, no, you find your 435 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: true love, which is silly, Uh, that it's hard to 436 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 1: think like, oh, so these you know, government guys went 437 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:15,879 Speaker 1: out and they found women and thought like, oh, this 438 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: is these numbers are going to match up pretty well, 439 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 1: and it worked. I'm like, where is the true love 440 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 1: in that? But that's ridiculous and not to be applied. 441 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: You can think about it as that, Uh, with that 442 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,199 Speaker 1: disparity and the people who were seeking partners, it was 443 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,719 Speaker 1: a lot more likely that ladies would find somebody they 444 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: were genuinely attracted to because they had a much bigger's 445 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: choose from with less competition. That's true, And as I said, 446 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:44,199 Speaker 1: many of these marriages lasted decades and we're you know, 447 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: very seemingly on paper at least successful. Uh. You know, 448 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: they had many children, they supported their farms or their 449 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,639 Speaker 1: fur trade, and they, like I said, they laid the 450 00:24:52,640 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: genetic groundwork really for French Canada. So uh success. Thank 451 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 1: you so much for joining us on this Saturday. If 452 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: you have heard an email address or a Facebook you 453 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: are l or something similar over the course of today's episode, 454 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: since it is from the archive that might be out 455 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:18,119 Speaker 1: of date now, you can email us at History podcast 456 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: at how stuff Works dot com, and you can find 457 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,479 Speaker 1: us all over social media at missed in History. And 458 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, 459 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen 460 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:37,200 Speaker 1: to podcasts. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 461 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:43,919 Speaker 1: visit how stuff Works dot com.