HYGIENE IN NEW FRANCE
“The more a ram smells, the more the goat loves him.” - Translation of a proverb from the French regime
All historians agree that the 17th and 18th centuries were among the worst periods in terms of physical hygiene. Although the hot baths and public baths of the Middle Ages still existed, the French regime sounded the death-knell for this tradition, which was inherited from the Romans. Moreover, the French regime was generally a period of extreme modesty. As a result of the religious renewal that took place during this time, nudity was poorly viewed. This sense of modesty was so extreme that, even when washing, people avoided getting completely unclothed. This made complete washing almost impossible. Finally, in the 17th and 18th centuries, filth was considered beneficial and it was primarily for this reason that people of the time avoided washing. According to the medical theories of the time, germs - which were called miasmas then - floated about in the air and entered the body through the skin, contaminating it. Water - and particularly hot water - was harmful since it opened the pores of the skin, making the individual more vulnerable to disease.Moreover, therapeutic virtues were attributed to dirtiness. As a result, for example, when a child was born, he was washed only very briefly. The placental remains and the blood on his skin were considered protection against the external elements. In a similar manner, the settlers were satisfied with simply drying urine-filled diapers before using them again, without first washing them. Moreover, urine was occasionally used as a beauty product to treat acne, among other things. Finally, people avoided washing their hair since scalp oil was considered excellent for shiny, healthy hair. As result, most people at the time had head lice.
As a result of this situation, until the end of the 18th century, most people bathed “dry” or, in other words, using as little water as possible as a cleansing agent. In the case of nobles, cleanliness was ensured through the use of cosmetics: perfume and cologne to chase away bad odours, powder to dry greasy hair, etc. All sorts of artificial means, such as wigs, were used to provide the appearance of cleanliness.
The peasants, on the other hand, settled for changing the shirt they used as their underclothing a few times a month, and washing the parts of the bodies that were not covered by clothing (neck, face, hands and arms) quickly with cold water.
Finally, everyone had poor oral hygiene. Since there were no toothbrushes, people who lived at the time of the French regime, settled for rubbing their gums and teeth with a cloth. Then they would scrape the remains of food from their teeth with toothpicks. It should also be noted that the settler in New France generally ate a raw onion per day to prevent disease and the observations made by Pehr Kalm - a traveler who visited the country in 1749 - are quite easy to understand:
“French people of modest condition occasionally smell so strong that anyone who meets them in the street and who is not used to this situation must hold his nose!”
Obviously, this lack of hygiene was responsible for several diseases. To learn more about the pathologies of New France and the manner in which they were treated, we invite you to return on October 19, 2004.
| * | Starting in this period, the Church condemned public baths, considering them places of debauchery. |
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| Quote taken from: ROUSSEAU, Jacques et Guy BÉTHUNE. Voyage de Pehr Kalm au Canada en 1749. Traduction annotée du journal de route par Jacques Rousseau et Guy Béthune, Montréal, Pierre Tisseyre, 1977, p. 413, item 833. |
Sources:
LACHANCE, André. Vivre, aimer et mourir en Nouvelle-France. La vie quotidienne aux 17e et 18e siècles, Montréal, Éditions Libre Expression, 2000, 222 p.
ROUSSEAU, Jacques et Guy BÉTHUNE. Voyage de Pehr Kalm au Canada en 1749. Translation of his journal annotated by Jacques Rousseau and Guy Béthune, Montréal, Pierre Tisseyre, 1977, 674 p.