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During the eighteenth century, the French and British empires mobilized thousands of workers in what is now Canada through a system of mandatory labour known as corvée. Rooted in the feudal obligations of peasants to their landlords, corvée was introduced by the French, and later exploited by the British, becoming part of their arsenal during the American revolutionary wars.
Richard Tomczak chronicles the transformation of the corvée system over a century. Under the French regime, corvée was mostly directed towards local public works projects, such as building roads and bridges. After the conquest of Quebec, the system assumed greater scope. The British realized their need for labour in an underpopulated region and co-opted corvée for their imperial ends, requiring the male inhabitants of New France to work in state enterprises such as iron mining and logging, and conscripting Canadians to support their military expeditions during the American Revolution. This surging demand for labour in the service of the state precipitated widespread protests in New France, forcing the governor to ratify a new provincial code regulating the use of corvée. Tomczak also sheds light on the rhythms of French Canadians’ working lives, their understanding of corvée obligations, and the ways they expressed resistance when the system became burdensome.
Exploring a lesser-known aspect of the labour arrangements that propped up the colonial state, Workers of War and Empire from New France to British America, 1688–1783 puts French Canadian workers front and centre in the history of early Canada.
"Tomczak has contributed a remarkable study taking the corvée not as a mere substitute for monetary taxation but instead as a unit of analysis in its own right. It is a necessary read for those interested in the development of statecraft, society, and economics in early modern North America." H-Net
“[Tomczak's] fascinating look at a little-known chapter of our country’s history reveals surprising layers of French-British tensions as well as corvée’s role in the American Revolution.” Literary Review of Canada
“This study constitutes the most complete examination of corvée labor in New France to date. To say merely that it fills a gap in the scholarship ignores the important ways that Tomczak links corvée to broader trends in the construction of the French and British Atlantic worlds. And as a study of the relationship between states, armed forces, and work, Workers of War and Empire advances the case that labor history remains a rich vein for scholars to mine.” William and Mary Quarterly
“This book is a valuable contribution to histories of labor and empire in Early America, Canada, and the Atlantic World. It also bridges a still significant gap in interweaving the eighteenth-century histories of what are currently the United States and Canada, two countries with a rich shared history that is too often siloed. Tomczak’s book reveals that the story of British empire in North America was fraught with significant popular uprisings and legal conflicts that did not result in colonial independence, but nonetheless shaped the course of empire.” American Historical Review