French Criminal Justice and Indians in Montreal, 1670-1760

Abstract

Indians settled in several missions in the Montreal district exerted, during the colonial period, a powerful influence on the authorities of New France. Owing to their numbers, their proximity to French settlements, and the precarious political situation of the colony, the « domicilies » achieved a surprising degree of independence. On the basis of court records, Indians were largely excluded from French jurisdiction. They were never sentenced in a regular procedure, and they never considered the French system of justice a way to solve their internal problems. Furthermore, some traditional Indian ways of conflict resolution were accepted by the French magistrates and adopted into colonial judicial proceedings