Marketplace, 1740

Hey! Soldier! Yes, you over there. Aren’t you part of the brigade that’s responsible for security in the town? Look here – there’s a shiny button in amongst the onions. Someone will be sorry to have lost such a fine thing. It’s not every day you can afford a button like that. You’d better find out who it belongs to before they leave the market!

© Pointe-à-Callière, musée d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal
Photo : Luc Bouvrette

Conduct your own investigation at the market. Click on the blinking characters and objects for clues. When you find out who lost the button, click on “I found it!”.

Yuck! Good thing I’m wearing my wooden clogs! Oh, well, I guess I’m used to mud and manure. The streets are always like that. I’m here at the market to buy some fresh food, to feed the wealthy family of Sieur Leber. He’s a fur trader and he imports goods from France.

Sorry! She’s wearing work clothes. Go back to the market and look for more clues.

Parcs Canada Photo: F. Cattroll

Servants, employed by a master, wore work clothes: a heavy apron, black leather shoes or wooden clogs and woollen clothing. They rolled their sleeves up to their elbows, and the women wore headscarves.

Here I am back in town! I paddled away in May, and spent the summer in the Great Lakes region. I’m heading out to see my old father on his farm, but first I need to pick up some nails, an axe and some tea. You can’t get that kind of thing out in the country!

Sorry! He’s wearing clothes for trekking through forests and crossing rivers. Go back to the market and look for more clues.

© Francis Back

Voyagers made long canoe trips to trade goods for furs, which they brought back to the merchants who hired them. During their difficult trips they had to paddle long hours, carry very heavy loads and keep from tipping over.

Now, stop that! You’re old enough to know better. Soon I hope you’ll become an apprentice so that you can learn a trade. You’ll be able to work with wood or metal or leather, and do something useful.

Sorry! She doesn’t have any gold buttons on her habit. Go back to the market and look for more clues.

Bibliothèque et archives Canada (domaine public), C-012340

The Hospitaller nuns looked after the hospital, while the sisters of the Congregation Notre-Dame saw to the education of French and Native children.

That’s it, enjoy yourselves! People have been throwing eggs at me and calling me names for hours now. As you can see from the sign around my neck, my only crime was to insult some passers-by. It’s a good thing I didn’t insult the King or the Bishop, because then I would have been whipped!!

Sorry! His shirt has no buttons. Go back to the market and look for more clues.

© Pointe-à-Callière, musée d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal
Photo: Normand Rajotte

Criminals were punished in the marketplace. Some were branded or whipped. Debtors were thrown in prison, and petty thieves were put in the stocks, where they were jeered at by marketgoers.

Fresh eggs! Hens ... going cheap! Come see my good vegetables, straight from the garden! I have everything you’re looking for, from garlic to carrots, beans, onions, beets and cabbage. I have melons and apples, too ...

Sorry! He’s the one asking about the owner of the button. Go back to the market and look for more clues.

© Francis Back

Farmers lived in the countryside, in small wooden houses. They came into town to sell their produce, so that townspeople could buy fresh food. Back in those days, people didn’t have refrigerators.

Watch where you’re going! There are a lot of people here, and it’s very noisy. I’m waiting for that voyageur I hired. He’s bringing me furs, and he’ll want to be paid.

Sorry! The merchant has nice clothing, you’re right, but he’s not the one who lost the button. Go back to the market and look for more clues.

Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, C-017059

It was risky to send coins from France by boat. That’s why money was often scarce in New France, so people in the colony paid their debts and settled their accounts with playing cards marked with a value. They called it card money.

I love coming to the market. I get to catch up on the latest news with all the neighbours, check prices, and run errands for my family. And it’s not far from the bakery, so I can bring the children along.

Sorry! His clothes are made from his parents’ castoffs. Go back to the market and look for more clues.

© Francis Back

Women made clothing for their children from their parents’ castoffs. They also kept the house clean, did the washing and cooking, ran errands and looked after the children.

I have to be clean and in uniform when I’m on duty. If I’m not perfectly turned out when I appear in public, I’ll be reprimanded by my superior.

That’s right! The officer has fine buttons on his uniform. Unfortunately, in all the hustle and bustle at the market, he lost one. Thanks to you he can now have his manservant sew it back on, so he won’t get in trouble.

BRAVO !

Parcs Canada Photo: I.K. MacNeil H.03.30.06.09(72)

Officers patrolled the town. Their presence kept the young and often excitable soldiers in line.

This is where the merchant lives with his family. It is a stone house, with a shop and a warehouse in the basement. They don’t have running water. There is a garden in the backyard, along with a privy, the kind of toilet people used back then.

© Francis Back

The merchant was a wealthy man. He could afford a fine home built from stone and other costly materials. Shoemakers, blacksmiths and other craftspeople lived in small wooden houses.

This is where the button was found, in amongst the onions. Who might have passed this way?

© Francis Back

Farmers arrived and set up early, in the middle of the marketplace, to sell their hens, rabbits, fruit and vegetables.