“Les Filles du Roy”- Geneviève Thauvette
Les Filles du Roy is the name given to the large group of poor young women sent from France to Canada in the 17th century as brides of the state. Approximately 800 selected girls, mostly orphans and some widows, were provided with a dowry from Louis XVI to help populate the fledgling colony. On average, they were wed within four to five months of their arrival and would bear nine children.
Systematically, a nation was founded on their backs.
This project chronicles their journey. The images allude to the Filles du Roy’s social and historical environment but not without incorporating elements from contemporary society and the more general themes of colonization and gender studies.