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 Le Prévôt | The Provost

In New France, a "prévôté" was the court of justice for a particular jurisdiction. The prévôté was headed by a "prévôt" (sometimes spelled "prévost"), or provost, often a lieutenant general acting as the king's prosecutor, supervised by the attorney general. The provost's authority and powers were similar to that of a sheriff. Like the attorney general, he was named by the king. He acted as a military commander, police officer, and at times, a junior prosecutor. The provost received a stipend of 500 livres per year.

In 1677, the Prévôté of Québec was authorized to establish its first "maréchaussée" (marshalcy/marshalsea) in New France. It consisted of a small troop of six law enforcement officers, called "archers", commanded by a provost. A lieutenant, second in command, was later added to this small brigade, as well as an exempt (a type of sergeant) and a clerk. A smaller unit was established in Montreal in 1709, consisting of a lieutenant and three archers, in order to handle "disturbances caused by brandy." In essence, this was Canada's first police force. They were tasked with maintaining law and order, for investigating crime and punishing those responsible. The crimes they contended with included murder, robbery, duels, prostitution, abortion, counterfeiting and more. Needless to say, their effectiveness was questionable given their small numbers and the vast territory they were expected to cover.

No official descriptions of dress or uniform exist for the provost or those under his command. However, we do know that the provost carried a command baton, similar to the batons that would have been carried by their counterparts in France. It was normally covered in blue velvet with embroidered gold lilies.   

The provosts of New France:

• Philippe Gaultier, sieur de Comporté (1677-1687)

• Paul Denys de Saint-Simon (1689-1714)

• Charles-Paul Denys de Saint-Simon, son of the above (1714-1749)

• Charles Duplessis de Morampont (1749-1751); though Duplessis was still officially a provost after 1751, he left for France during that year and never returned.

In legal and notarial documents, the provost could be called by any of the following terms:

• Prévôt général des maréchaux

• Prévôt de la Maréchaussée

• Prévôt des maréchaux

• Prévôt général des maréchaux  

• Prévôt de monseigneur le Maréchal de France en Nouvelle-France

• Prévôt de nos seigneurs les maréchaux

• Grand prévôt

• Grand prévôt de la Maréchaussée

• Grand prévôt de la Nouvelle-France

Sources:

• René Chartrand, "The Constabulary and Archers in New France", Le Journal, Vol. 25, no. 3 Summer 2009 (https://www.frenchcolonialstudies.org/uploads/b/9f7234c0-96bb-11e9-bbc6-216d6a196288/LeJournal_25.3.pdf).

• Government of Canada, "The Organization of New France: The Police in New France", Canadian Military History Gateway (http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh-pmc/page-157-eng.aspx).

• André Lachance, "Le contrôle social dans la société canadienne du Régime français au XVIIIe siècle," Criminologie, 18(1), 7-18, 1985, digitized by Érudit (https://doi.org/10.7202/017203ar).

• Philippe Fournier, La Nouvelle-France au fil des édits (Septentrion, Québec : 2011), 151, 327, 552.

• André Lachance, "Regnard Duplessis De Morampont, Charles-Denis", Dictionary of Canadian Biography (http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/regnard_duplessis_de_morampont_charles_denis_3E.html), published 1974, revised 2018.

• Jacques L’Heureux, "L’organisation judiciaire au Québec de 1764 à 1774”, Revue générale de droit 1, no 2 , 266–331, 1970, digitized by Érudit (https://doi.org/10.7202/1059835ar).

• A. J. E. Lunn, "Denys de Saint-Simon, Paul", Dictionary of Canadian Biography (http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/denys_de_saint_simon_paul_2E.html), published 1969, revised 1982.

• Céline Mélisson, "Philippe Gaultier de Comporté : soldat de Carignan-Salières devenu officier de plume", Cap-aux-Diamants (122), 17-20, 2015, digitized by Érudit (https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/79288ac)