“Sun King” more significant to colonial than domestic subjects

TORONTO, September 13, 2004 -- France’s legendary ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV probably had a more profound political and cultural impact on his subjects thousands of kilometres away in what was eventually to become Quebec, than he actually did in France, according to research being carried out by York University Professor Colin Coates.

 

“In effect, the king was more valid to his far away subjects, precisely because there were so few competing power bases in the colony,” says Coates, who is Canada Research Chair in Canadian Cultural Landscapes at York, adding, “Rituals and ceremonies conveyed the king’s legitimacy, and images of the king in portraits, prints, statues and even on coins, illustrated his authority and bolstered his prestige.”

 

In documenting how Louis XIV established and maintained his legitimacy in New France, Coates hopes to clarify how European concepts of political legitimacy were transferred to colonies.

Portrait: Louis XIV

 

Coates notes that when early French settlers first set foot in the New World, they weren’t completely leaving the Old World behind them. He explains that in addition to demonstrating control, displays of royal authority in the distant territory also served as entertainment for the settlers. The arrival of a new governor, the highest-ranking official in the colony, was such an occasion. The new governor, dressed in his finery, would lead a procession of his attendants to the cathedral in Quebec City. The pomp and splendour, so different from settlers’ everyday lives, created a spectacle that many would rush to see.

 

Coates also points to the unveiling of a bust of Louis XIV in Quebec City’s Place Royale in 1686 — a replica of which still exists today — as an important civic ceremony and an example of the representation of the king in his distant colony.

 

 

Photo: Professor Colin Coates

 

Coates is this year’s recipient of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Léger Fellowship. Established in 1979, the Jules and Gabrielle Léger Fellowship honours the former Governor General and his wife for their dedicated service to Canada. The award promotes research on the contributions of the Crown and its representatives.

 

York University is the leading interdisciplinary teaching and research university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city.  The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 180,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 21 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries.  This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges.

 

-30-

 

For further information or to arrange an interview (in English or French), please contact:

George McNeillie, Assistant Director, York University Media Relations, 416-736-2100, x22091 / gmcneil@yorku.ca

 

YU/118/04