Royalist colony of New France

Louis XIV, who had assumed power in 1661, was immediately made aware of the problem of New France, which, according to contemporary testimony, was on the brink of ruin. At the beginning of 1663 the king accepted the withdrawal of the Compagnie des Cent-Associés, and New France became a royal possession again. Louis XIV then proceeded to carry out a vast administrative reorganization. The governor’s powers were conspicuously reduced, many being transferred to the intendant and the Conseil Souverain. The creation of the latter in April 1663 marked the establishment of royal justice in New France. However, permanent transformation into a royal colony only occurred in 1674, that is, after the revocation of the prerogatives granted by the king to the Compagnie des Indes Occidentales in 1664.