Some Pitfalls in the 1851-1852 Census of Agriculture of Lower Canada

Historians have used the 1851-52 Lower Canada census to show that French Canadian farmers in the colony during that period suffered economically compared to Anglophone farmers because of the unprogressive and backward nature of their agricultural habits. The author points out, however, that the census takers used different measures (arpents vs acres; and minots vs bushels) in the Francophone areas of the colony compared to the Anglophone areas (such as the Eastern Townships and the Chateauguay Valley). There is also a question as to whether some people surveyed were actual farmers or simply had a garden plot. The author also points out that their may have been linguistic problems when Francophone farmers in predominately Anglophone Township areas may have described their farms in "arpents" when the census form for that area used the term "acres."

Histoire sociale / Social History

No. 27

219-231

May 1981

en