Slavery in 18th-century Quebec

In this morning’s Montreal Gazette, columnist John Kalbfleisch writes about slavery in 18th-century Quebec and the ads his publisher once ran. He writes that “slaves were used mainly as indoor domestics rather than as outdoor field hands. . .Most farms in Quebec were small, and their owners rarely wealthy enough that buying a slave was a possibility. Nor was it even desirable, as the Canadian climate ensured that agriculture was far from a year-round activity. Slaves were a luxury that only the urban well-to-do were likely to consider.”

Thanks to my friend, Jacques Gagné, who fortunately reads the newspaper earlier than I do.