When men were recruited to come to New France in 1653, four surgeons signed up. Only three of them honoured their contracts: Étienne Bouchard, Louis Chartier and Pierre Piron.
In New France, surgeons were among the best paid individuals. Étienne Bouchard, for example, earned 150 livres per year. The salaries of those who signed up depended on their trade. A man who worked at clearing the land earned 60-75 livres per year on average, whereas as someone who practiced two trades (land clearer and mason, for example) could hope to earn 100 livres or more.
What exactly did a surgeon do in the 17th and 18th centuries? In the extremely hierarchical society of the French Regime, a clear distinction was made between the profession of physician and that of surgeon. For starters, their training was different. The physician studied for 6 or 7 years before practicing, whereas the surgeon often learned his skills in the field.* That was the case of Pierre Piron, who learned from his ancestors.
At the same time, social standing set the two professions apart. The surgeon enjoyed middle class status while the physician belonged to the nobility. By definition, a noble is someone who refuses any form of manual labour. For the noble, working with his hands was a degrading activity, reserved for the "little" people and those of base birth. As a result, the surgeon was responsible for the practical side of medical work. The surgeon performed amputations, removed abscesses, extracted teeth, bandaged wounds, bled patients and so on. In fact, he was disdained by the physician, who was responsible for intellectual work. The physician prescribed and diagnosed, but would never dare palpate a patient as part of his work. This posed some obvious problems when it came to detecting the symptoms of a disease. At the end of the 18th century, this rivalry ended and surgery was given its just value.
Moreover, it is interesting to note that the profession of surgeon was confused with that of the barber for a long time. In fact, starting in the 15th century, barbers were responsible for bleeding patients, just as they cut hair or shaved beards. It was only on April 23, 1743 that Louis XV issued an order officially declaring the rights of surgeons. From that time on, they practiced separately from barbers. Surgeons, who were more educated than barbers, learned Latin and philosophy and enjoyed certain rights and privileges. One thing is certain, it’s a good thing this profession has evolved a lot since those days.
To be continued on November 4, with the sawyer.
| * | This means that he learned the rudiments of his work gradually, by observing a more experienced surgeon. |
Sources:
LEBRUN, François. Se soigner autrefois: médecins, saints et sorciers aux 17e et 18e siècles, Paris: Messidor/Temps actuels, 1983. 202 p.
DEMESY-MAURENT, Jeannine. "Maître chirurgien à la veille de la Révolution" Cahiers d’histoires, vol. 33, no 1, 1988, pp. 43-70
BARIETY, Maurice; COURY, Charles. Histoire de la médecine, Paris, Fayard, 1963, pp. 585-586