The source of these documents.
An ordinance was a law, an edict or a decree from the king, the administrators
of the colony, or a court officer. It could concern all of the inhabitants
of Nouvelle-France, the inhabitants of a specific region, or a single individual.
Ordinances addressed a large number of topics: the filing of minutes by a notary; customs and regulations; lodging and supplies for troops; and general rules, from the price of bread to the presence of pigs in the streets.
The purpose of these documents.
Ordinances are an important source of reference for the study of government
activities in Montréal and efforts to regulate various aspects of daily life
in the colony. As well, they play an essential role in having a better understanding
of the context in which the fire occurred and the trial against Angélique
and Claude Thibault.
How to locate these documents.
Ordinances kept at the Montréal centre of the Archives nationales du Québec
are generally copies of ordinances sent from Québec to inform the local authorities
and inhabitants. The ordinances are classified in chronological order. At
the centre in Montréal, they are under the serial number, TL4 S35, Ordonnances,
1684-1760; at the Québec centre of the Archives nationales du Québec they
are under the serial number E1, S1, Ordonnances, 1666-1760.