Edict by King Louis XIV making Nouvelle-France a royal province, March 1663.

Louis by the grace of God King of France and Navarre, To all those present and to come
Greetings since the moment it pleased God to grant peace to our King^dom we have had

uppermost in our mind the restoration of Commerce, this being the Source and beginning of the abundance that we strive to obtain by all means for our people and since the principal and most important part of this commerce resides in the foreign colonies, before considering establishing any new ones we thought it necessary to consider maintaining protecting and enlarging those already established. This is what urged us to inquire into the state of the country of nouvelle france which the late King of glorious memory our very honoured Lor^d and father had given in gift to a company comprised of one hundred persons by a treaty in the year 1628 but instead

of learning that this country was peopled as it should have been given the length of time that it has been in the possession of our Subjects we learned with regret that not only the number of inhabitants was very small, but they were also in daily danger of being driven out by the Iroquois. It being necessary to remedy this and considering that this company of one hundred men was almost annihilated by voluntary [illegible word] by the great number of the Interested Persons in this company and that the few that remained of this number were not powerful enough to support this country and to send there the might and men needed to both inhabit and defend it, we resolved to remove it from the hands of the interested persons in the said Company who through deliberation in Court resolved to name the [illegible word]

from among themselves in order to convey and dispose of the country to us, which was done by deeds on the 24th Day of February d.^r; which deeds are hereto attached under the seal of our Chancellery. For these causes and other considerations moving us, we have said stated and ordered, and say state and order, will and please us, that all rights of property, Seigneury Justice, of filling the offices of governor and Lieutenant general in the said Country and places, even that of naming offic^ers to render Sovereign Justice and General^ly whatever other rights granted by our said very honoured Lor^d and Father of glorious memory as a resul.^t of the treaty of the 29 of April 1628, be duly brought together under our Crown to be henceforth exercised in our name by the offic^ers whom we will

name for this purpose Whence we give and comman^d by our Arms [?] and seals to our Counsel^ors the persons holding our Court at the Parlement de Paris that they have the content of these orders read, published and registered, each point enforced and observed in its form and content For such is our pleasure and so that this Be firm and stable forever, we have affixed our seal to these Presents, save our rights in other things and the rights of others in all. Given in Paris in the month of March 1663 and in the 20^th [year of] our reign Signed Louis and further below the King of [illegible word] and next to it: visa Seguier [Pierre Seguier, Chancellor] to serve as the Decree of the union of the property rights of nouvelle france under the crown, and below Seen by the Con^seil. Signed Colbert and Sealed by our great Seal of green wax.