Parish registers, notarial acts, administrative and judicial archives were used extensively to provide a comprehensive view of the formation and evolution of this society in its seigneurial context. In La Prairie en Nouvelle-France the seigneury comes into its own as a vantage point from which to view Canadian society under the French régime. The comparative approach that informs the entire work permits parallels and contrasts between colonial and metropolitan societies.

Parish registers, notarial acts, administrative and judicial archives were used extensively to provide a comprehensive view of the formation and evolution of this society in its seigneurial context. In La Prairie en Nouvelle-France the seigneury comes into its own as a vantage point from which to view Canadian society under the French régime. The comparative approach that informs the entire work permits parallels and contrasts between colonial and metropolitan societies.