La transformation des capitaux culturel et social en région au XIXe siècle dans un contexte de renouvellement des élites : l’exemple de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

The author points out that during the nineteenth century, the elites of the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu underwent profound change. This change reflected not only the renewal of elites, but also shifts in social and cultural capital. The author notes that the Anglophone Protestant merchants who occupied the positions of power at the beginning of the century had been replaced by Francophone Catholic jurists and mrechants by 1900. According to the author's research, while Franco-Catholics who settled in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the earlier part of the century sought to integrate into the local Anglo-Protestant bourgeoisie through marriage or simply by speaking English in their daily lives, by mid-century relations had begun to reverse. Families that had progressively anglicised began to attend French Canadian institutions and a growing number of Anglophones integrated into French Canadian networks. The author concludes that the case of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu brings nuance to the idea that a Francophone elite replaced a pre-existing Anglophone elite as a result of a French Canadian "reconquest" and shows instead that elites adapted to economic change by altering their networks and cultural practices.

Mens: Revue d'histoire intellectuelle et culturelle

Vol. 17

no. 1-2

41-77

Automne 2016-Printemps 2017

fr