3 In Quebec City and region the production of cloth in the colonial periods (1660-1840) was shared by "Canadien" countrywomen using homespun and imported material and urban artisans of mainly British origin working with imported fabric. ("Canadien" is used throughout for French-speaking inhabitants. This term was used by both linguistic groups in Lower Canada when referring to members of the majority. Only a small number of anglophones identified themselves as Canadians; most preferred to be known as British citizens.) Although the cultivation of flax and hemp and the care of sheep were shared by men, spinning and weaving were, from at least the late seventeenth century, considered woman's work.2 Writing in the early 1830s, Joseph Bouchette maintained that weaving was the "universal" responsibility of the female members of the rural family, who worked at their looms during the late autumn and winter months.3 Since only a few references to male weavers exist and none has been found to men spinning, these activities seem to have been reserved almost exclusively for rural women.4

4 Urban textile trades were dominated by merchants and tailors. The major change in the role of these trades during the French and British regimes in Quebec was the gradual domination of the market by anglophones. The severe reduction in commercial relations between France and Quebec following the British takeover of the colony, combined with the difficulty francophone tailors and merchants had in trading with British textile suppliers, resulted in the disappearance of many of the French-speaking merchants and artisans in Quebec.

5 Merchants exporting British manufactured goods to the colonies were among those who benefitted most from mercantilism. The domination of the import and retail trades in Quebec by British merchants occurred almost overnight. In the 1760s, approximately 110 British merchants competed with 80 to 90 Canadien merchants.5 By the end of the century, anglophones controlled the import trade, including the acquisition and shipment of goods, and owned most of the wharves. Scots dominated the trade: between 1765 and 1800, approximately 45 per cent of the importers and retailers were Scots, 34 per cent were English, and 21 per cent were Canadiens.6 The role of the textile trade in making the import market an exclusive British domain is evident in the fact that during the latter part of the eighteenth century over 90 per cent of the textile merchants were anglophones.7 Although more Canadiens appeared in the textile trade in the early nineteenth century, most were relegated to the secondary position of retailers or shopkeepers. Even those trading with British textile suppliers did not succeed in importing the same diversity and quantity of merchandise as their British counterparts.8

6 The British domination of the import trade also contributed to the appearance of anglophones as auctioneers, shopkeepers, tailors and specialized workers. The British tailors' close association with the import and retail trades and their practice of choosing apprentices from the army garrison in Quebec and from English-speaking families in Montreal, Upper Canada and Great Britain9 led to the development of a craft dominated by anglophones: by 1840, 86 per cent of tailors were English speaking.10 Similarly, the few specialists in the textile trade, such as pattern-makers, dyers and satin imitators, were also of British origin.

7 Although most apprenticeship contracts signed between 1760 and 1830 for the female professions of seamstresses, cloakmakers, mantua-makers and milliners also involved anglophones, Canadien women continued to work as seamstresses.11 The traditional teaching of knitting in the home and of specialized trades in the convents of Lower Canada probably contributed to the continuation of skilled needlework among Canadien women.12

8 "Any sort of goods will sell if cheap and not out of the way articles" was the opinion of a Scottish merchant in early nineteenth-century Montreal.13 Because of their knowledge of the local market, merchants played an important role in the textile trade. They tended to respond quickly to the demands of the local population, to price changes and the availability of different types of imported articles. A comparison of merchants' stocks and household inventories will provide a rough idea of the types and quantities of imported textiles acquired by the local population. First, let us consider observations on the Canadian market made by British merchants and the role of the British in the European textile trade.

9 Two Scottish merchants residing in Lower Canada in the early nineteenth century have left revealing comments concerning the textile market. According to Alexander McDonald, fabrics sold if they were of good quality, attractive and cheap. If fabrics were also scarce, their value and the likelihood of selling them increased. Although customers demanded that material be finely woven, well combed and of the appropriate weight, clients could be seduced by inferior articles if they looked "extraordinary well and [were] cheaper than any has come to the country."14 Attractive and cheap items were considered "perfect for sale." Since coarse fabrics were not popular at this time, they did not sell well, even if inexpensive. Although McDonald questioned the wisdom of carrying an inventory of fabrics over the winter, his associate, John McKinsty, recommended this policy because most materials were sold during the active winter months and were not replenished before the arrival of ships in late spring. Thus, the merchant who had been able to keep material such as cotton on hand could sell it at a profit.

10 The merchants' capacity to sell fabrics depended on a number of factors. Worth discussing are the problems merchants experienced when farmers had poor crops and the market was flooded with goods. Both appear to have had a negative effect on the textile market: the first reduced the farming family's capacity to acquire goods and the second brought prices down. Whereas in 1801, McDonald ordered a whole range of materials (including printed cottons, fine linen, cotton handkerchiefs, flannel blankets and clothing accessories) from his Scottish suppliers, he complained in 1802 that

11 According to James Dunlop, a Montreal merchant and son of a Glasgow textile manufacturer, Brirish fabrics flooding the Canadian textile market were a major cause of the low price of goods.16 This is one of the reasons he was unable to sell a quantity of Russian and Scottish shirtings and Osnaburg linens and woollens in 1799. Discouraged with the textile market in 1811, he wrote to his sister: "The market for dry goods in Canada is very bad ... I don't think I will import dry goods again."17 Contrary to the situation in 1799 and 1811, Dunlop was able to sell a large supply of Osnaburg and Russian shirtings to the government in 1813. Encouraged by the possibility of selling fabrics to the military during the 1812-14 war, he ordered a large supply of dry goods, including 2,000 pairs of blankets. Since the government had also ordered military cloths, blankets, shoes and stockings, Dunlop found himself without a lucrative market. The following year, he complained that peace had reduced the value of his goods by at least £15,000.18 The abundance of fabrics on the market in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is an indication that urbanités were buying large quantities of imported fabrics. Poor growing seasons affected the rural population's capacity to acquire fabrics and likely resulted in increased domestic production during difficult times.19 In the early nineteenth century, poor agricultural returns seemed to have been more critical in terms of the habitant's capacity to buy textiles than the high prices charged for fabrics. According to some merchants, many items did not sell in spite of low prices. The merchants' policy of acquiring goods according to changing conditions suggests that their inventories are a good point from which to begin an analysis of consumer textile habits. As mentioned earlier, the merchant's inventory appears, moreover, to be an accurate record of his stock.

12 If one excludes mixed materials like camlet (included in Table 1 in the category "other"), the most important fabrics present in the stocks of Quebec cloth merchants were cotton (42 per cent), wool (30 per cent), linen (1 per cent) and silk (5 per cent). According to an analysis of census returns from between 1827 and 1852 linen and wool were the most common fabrics produced in Lower Canada (Table 2). Although farming families in Lower Canada made more linen per inhabitant than their counterparts in Upper Canada, and some merchants traded small amounts of it, both Canadien and British merchants imported greater quantities of cotton and wool than linen. The cloth merchant's preference for cotton and wool corresponds well to the position of Great Britain in the European market and to the British government's policy of encouraging its traditionally strong textile manufactures. In the late eighteenth century, a French government official maintained that the French had some advantages in the production of fine woollens, but "could not complete with common woollens made of cheap British and Irish wool whose staple and lustre were unmatched in Europe."20 Similarly, though the French could match the British in the manufacture of printed cotton, the latter's technological advance resulted in a cheaper cotton cloth, The French could compete, however, in silk and linen. According to the British Board of Trade, Scottish cambrics and lawns were neither as cheap nor as fine as those made in France, and French silks, laces and millinery were such a threat to the domestic market that the British had excluded their free entry in 1765.21 Given the British superiority in the production of woollen and cotton cloth, it is not surprising to see large quantities of these fabrics in the cloth merchant's store in Lower Canada. In 1830 the relative values of fabrics exported to British North America from Britain corresponds well to the quantities of material found in the inventories of Quebec City merchants: cotton: £349,256 (or 45 per cent of the total value of fabrics); wool: £281,895 (36 per cent); linen: £81,960 (10 per cent); silk: £71,613 (9 per cent).22

13 Because of the difficulty of distinguishing between clothing identified simply as wool or linen cloth and that clearly listed as homespun (étoffe du pays or toile du pays), it is not easy to determine the relative amounts of homespun and imported cloth present in rural wardrobes. Imported wool and to a lesser degree cotton were more commonly found in rural household inventories than imported linen. Since flax was a traditional Canadien crop, farmers were experienced in producing this cloth. In the nineteenth century it was used extensively for household linen. According to an analysis of rural inventories, over 50 per cent of shirts and household linen (sheets, pillowslips, pockets, sacks and bedcovers) were produced on the farm.24 If only the clothing identified as imported is considered, the results are convincing: over 50 per cent of articles such as short dress coats and capes (mantelets), dresses, pants, vests, suits and winter coats were not homespun (Table 3). Although many of these items were likely part of the family's "Sunday dress" and therefore less numerous than working clothes, the presence of imported pieces of a more common nature, such as skirts and hooded coats, suggests that an important part of the rural family's wardrobe was made of British fabrics imported in the form of cloth or clothing.

14 Although difficult to verify, subtle changes apparently occurred in the consumption and production of textiles by rural residents. For example, whereas a slightly higher number of men's items (pants, vests and suits) were produced domestically between 1792 and 1812, a greater amount of imported clothing was acquired by rural women.25 The increasing number of patterns for men's clothing, especially vests (appearing in newspapers and in the stocks and commercial correspondence of merchants in the early nineteenth century 26), were probably being used by country women to make clothes which were previously purchased ready-made. Merchants were also importing large quantities of fabric designed for use with patterns, such as material for vests. The comment by British traveller John Lambert in 1806 that women from the country near Quebec City were buying more clothing is not only confirmed by country inventories, it is also seen in a different perspective because of them, it is possible that male farmers were buying more imported clothing than their female counterparts in the late eighteenth century and that this situation began changing in the early nineteenth century.

15 The rural residents desire to imitate or acquire imported goods was probably due in part to the negative impressions urbanites had of the farmer's homespun fabric. A desire for something fancy, and for a change from the traditional, was likely another reason for the habitant's taste for manufactured clothing. When country residents could exchange an article worn out of necessity for something new, few hesitated.

16 The rural attitude concerning the importance of imported styles is reflected in the many alterations made to clothing. Writing in the early 1800s, G.L. Robin maintained that only the habitant's long hooded coat (capot) had survived the waves of changing styles.27 Yet even this coat had been altered often: colours, fringes and epaulettes were only a few of the aspects obviously added or changed. Farming families adapted well to their situation: when they could afford to do so they acquired imported cloth, when they could not, homespun cloth was made and patterns and alterations introduced to make it conform to existing styles. Consumer habits are difficult to follow, but it is evident that, although the quantities of imported cloth in rural wardrobes fluctuated, it remained important during the first part of the nineteenth century.

27 Residents of Quebec City had a reputation for dressing in the latest mode. According to the keen Swedish eighteenth-century observer, Peter Kalm, Canadiens adopted styles within a year of their appearance in France.47 This traditional interest in the latest styles continued into the nineteenth century. Urbanités, and especially members of the élite, consumed far more imported goods than rural residents and members of the urban working class. So much fabric was brought to Quebec City that every social group found material to suit its needs. Fine woollens, such as cashmere, calamanco, and woollen serge, as well as expensive linens, like cambric, exclusive cotton muslins and chintz and a wide assortment of silks, ribbons and lace were made up in the latest styles to satisfy the desires of the urban élite. Flannel, rough woollens and cheap cottons were imported for the urban working class.

28 The variety and value of cloth and clothing consumed depended on an individual's social standing. According to an analysis of the household possessions of urbanités, merchants not only consumed a greater quantity and variety of clothing and household linen than other groups, but they also spent a larger percentage of their money on cloth. Whereas clothing and household linen made up an average of 9 to 10 per cent of the total value of a farming family's possessions, it was 17 to 19 per cent of a merchant's.48 Obviously the involvement of most merchants in some aspect of the import trade facilitated their acquisition of cloth and clothing.

29 As one might imagine from the quantity of imported fabrics in urban households, textile equipment was rare in Quebec City. Only seven spinning wheels and one reel were found in household inventories of urban residents between 1792 and 1835.49 All the wheels, moreover, were owned by artisan families. The small number of wheels and the absence of looms suggests that urban women made little if any cloth. They made clothing instead. The large quantities of thread, buttons, scissors, sewing, darning and knitting needles advertised in newspapers and found in the merchants' inventories is an indication that women knit garments from yarn and made clothing from imported cloth.50

30 Household inventories of the city's working class not only contained more textile equipment than those of the élite, they also included more homespun fabric. The only homespun in the possession of the urban élite was found in household linen: 10 and 20 per cent of the linen of merchants and professionals, respectively, was made of country cloth.51 Between 24 and 42 per cent of household linen owned by Quebec artisans was homespun (Table 7). Though limited when compared to rural households, the families of labourers and artisans also possessed a few homespun coats, trousers and skirts.52 Since the highest percentage of homespun material was found in the 1820s, it seems evident the peak in domestic production, mentioned earlier, had an effect on the acquisition of country-made fabric by members of the urban working class.

31 Quantities of inexpensive materials in the Quebec market allowed many urbanités to buy imported fabric. With no textile manufactures in Lower Canada to compete with British goods, the latter had almost a monopoly of the market. The appearance of cheap cotton cloth was an important factor in the urbanite's dependence on imported fabric. The practice of merchants in the late eighteenth century of advertising a limited number of cotton clothes or of ordering exclusive calico cloth for clients from Great Britain53 changed in the early nineteenth century when ads and orders for a greater variety of more common cotton cloth and a wider range of clothing began appearing. The increasing importance of cotton cloth is evident in household inventories and especially in those of the cloth merchants. The percentage of cotton in the latters' stores grew from an average of approximately 24 per cent in the late eighteenth century to 52 per cent in the early nineteenth century; it remained at that level until the 1830-35 period when it dropped to 37 per cent.54 A number of factors, all of which will not be studied here, were responsible for the increasing quantity of cotton in merchants' stores. Cheaper prices for cotton cloth, resulting from changes in the American and British textile industries, as well as the appearance of cotton imported from the United States, were factors influencing the market.55 As cotton became cheaper, producers and merchants began promoting it as a substitute for expensive linen.56

32 In the Quebec City of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, clothing was more than a means of protection against the elements, it was a symbol of social and ethnic distinctions. Wealth, rank, profession, origin and social relations "were worn on one's sleeve." Native peoples, voyageurs, merchants, the religious orders and the military were clad in some of the most remarkable outfits, but other groups and professions such as rural residents, urban labourers, housewives and lawyers were also known by their distinctive clothing. Clothing depicted function and hierarchy. Because most members of the elite, and especially notaries, lawyers, colonial officials, politicians and merchants, were involved in non-manual labour which was often highly remunerative, they were able to dress in delicate, elaborate and finely woven cloth of the latest styles. Ready access to Europe as well to the services of experienced tailors meant that members of the élite could have imported cloth made up in European styles to fit their needs.

33 Hierarchy, so evident in the great variety of buttons, colours, badges and braid which were carefully and logically designed as distinguishing marks of the military man, permeated clothing worn in British North America.57 Intricately embroidered and matching vests and coats, accompanied by silk shirts and socks which were worn by merchants, physicians and military officers, represented more than elegance, they suggested social distinctions since most labourers, artisans and farmers were unable to acquire such items. Similarly, the élite woman's full-skirted, silk taffeta dress, with tightly fitting bodice (occasionally covering a corset) was rarely worn by rural or urban working-class women.58

34 The abundance of fine suits, robes and skirt's and of lounging clothes of silk, satin and fine cottons indicates that the wealthy rarely dressed in the inexpensive cloth worn by the common people. When one adds to this collection of clothing curtains of calico and serge, it suggests élite intimacy and informality were separated from others by layers of expensive cloth. Curtains, tight-fitting corsets, silk dresses, shirts, socks and lounging wear and three-piece suits were rare in rural and urban working-class homes. For six and sometimes seven days of the week most people involved in manual labour went about their activities clad in rough woollen and linen clothing, often protected by an apron.

35 Many individuals, and especially carters, who wore homespun or cheap imported cloth were identified by British visitors as part of the rural or urban working class because of the coarse fabric of their clothing.59 These people saw their clothing more in terms of its cost, warmth and durability than its style. Brightly coloured, coarse clothing accompanied by a variety of scarves and hats were distinctive traits of working-class clothing. Living alongside their warmly dressed neighbours, was a large group of urbanités who dressed according to the others, notably to a number of Canadien women, they latest styles. Working-class people did not have to worry about soiling their clothes, and even some of those who did, such as housewives, dressed in printed cotton dresses, stylish vests, pants and shoes. Thus, although residents of Lower Canada were clad in a wide range of cloths and Quebec City as a means of identifying with the British styles, their profession and social status were usually easily recognized by the type of clothing they wore.

36 Ethnic characteristics could also be identified by clothing. Two of the most easily spotted urban groups included the Catholic and French-speaking religious orders and the British military.60 British military uniforms symbolized the occupation of Quebec City by a foreign army of about 2,000 between 1814 and 1840.61 With so many soldiers in the city, it is not surprising to read of conflicts between Canadien residents and the "red coats."62 Although military uniforms represented foreign domination to some, to others, notably to a number of Canadien women, they symbolized security and prestige.63

37 Imported textiles were not only a source of revenue, they were important to the commercial community in Quebec City as a means of identifying with the British Empire. Diaries and travel literature of English-speaking visitors to Quebec refer to the fact that local residents dressed in British styles, or that clothing stores in the city offered a choice of fabrics and accessories unequalled in Great Britain.64 When one considers the clothing and household possessions of British merchants in Quebec, it is obvious they were recreating a familiar environment in a colonial setting.65 Moreover, the language used to describe clothing spoke of British imperialism and international influences: "Scottish and Russian seeting, English blankets, Yorkshire clothes, Wellington boots, Nankeen breeches, Leicester wool, Indian cotton, cashmir shawls, French shoes, Moroccan leather, Chinchillan fur" were only a few of the terms employed in the streets and stores of Quebec.

38 Merchants, colonial officials and Canadien politicians were well aware of the advantages gained by British commerce because of the government policy of discouraging domestic production. Crops of flax and hemp were considered useful by anglophone merchants and officials as long as they were sent to Great Britain as raw materials, or if the sale of such produce provided the farming family with money with which to acquire British manufactured goods.66 Similarly, domestic clothing was seen by the British, and probably by a large number of Canadians, as distinctively colonial in character. One of the reasons the habitant's clothing was considered as typically Canadian was that it was both homespun and colonial. In spite of some of its admirable qualities, homespun cloth was considered by many British residents and urbanités in Quebec as unrefined and therefore unacceptable.

39 Members of the Canadian élite responded in a number of ways to the large volumes of British textiles arriving at the port of Quebec. Some, such as the retail merchants mentioned earlier, not only sold fabric acquired from British wholesale importers to the urban clientele, they also wore it. Others, like physician Philippe-Louis-François Badelard, attempted to maintain clothing traditions by dressing in the latest French styles.67 French hats, shoes, gloves and clothing were imported to Quebec via England in modest quantities during this period, providing inhabitants with the possibility of dressing according to French styles.68 It is doubtful, however, that this material was consumed solely by Canadiens interested in identifying with the French. Members of the British élite in Quebec resembled its European counterpart whose tastes in consumer products knew no boundaries.69

40 Concern over the negative economic effects of the consumption of large amounts of imported goods, especially alcohol and textiles, began appearing in newspapers in the 1820s and reached a peak in 1837. During the 1830s members of the Canadien élite along with a few anglophone sympathizers, such as the editors of the Vindicator, began identifying locally produced articles, including homespuns, as symbols of independence from Great Britain. A campaign led by the nationalist politician Louis-Joseph Papineau urged the replacement of imports by domestic products. This campaign originated in a conflict between the colonial government and Canadien politicians over the former's refusal to give the latter control over taxes levied on imports, especially alcoholic beverages. Speaking to a crowd after his re-election in 1834, Papineau had suggested an effort be made to replace imported fabric and alcoholic beverages with homespun material and locally produced alcohol.70 During the spring and summer of 1837 committees were established throughout the province to promote domestic production: newspapers reported promotion dinners where food was prepared in traditional ways and alcoholic beverages, tablecloths and dishes were of local manufacture.71 Numerous resolutions were passed by different committees suggesting the "urgent necessity" to reduce the consumption of imported goods as much as possible by using those previously acquired and producing domestic articles.72

41 If one can judge from information appearing in news papers, the symbolic use of homespun by Canadian politicians was not important before the summer of 1837. On May 15, 1837, Papineau informed his supporters he had ordered material from the country and would set an example for his compatriots by dressing in homespun fabric.73 During the summer Papineau was seen in different parts of the country dressed in homespun and in August, he, along with a number of parliamentarians, were reported arriving in Quebec for the fall session of the Assembly clad in étoffe du pays.74

42 Exhortations by Papineau and other leaders began to have an effect on clothing worn by urbanites: newspaper articles reported that well-known individuals were seen wearing gloves, shoes, dresses, pants and vests of attractive, well-finished homespun fabric made from "exquisite patterns of the latest mode."75 Similarly the patriots' campaign to increase the production and consumption of homespun fabric resulted in the appearance on the urban market of more domestic material than ever before.76

43 The effect of this enthusiasm for domestic manufactures is evident in the celebrations and meetings occurring at Saint-Denis, a village known for its support of the patriots. At a celebration of Saint-Jean-Baptiste day in 1837, 113 people, most dressed in homespun, were reported to have attended a banquet of homemade foods and alcoholic beverages where even the tablecloths were of domestic material.77 A month later, a resolution passed by the central committee of the Richelieu, meeting at Saint-Denis, defined the role homespun clothing was taking in the struggle with the British government: "During our trips and holidays, wrote a member of the committee, we will be proud to appear dressed in clothes which prove we are worthy of liberty, because we are taking the means with which to overcome despotism, the only imported articles of clothing we will wear are those we already possess."78

44 The anglophone press thought it unlikely the Canadiens would abandon their custom of wearing imported clothing for such undignified looking dress, but there was a slight possibility the patriots' campaign could have a negative effect on British textiles. After suggesting in a letter to the editor that "a deep-laid scheme of ruin to British commerce existed" a contributor to the Quebec Gazettte ridiculed the patriots' dress:

45 Another contributor to the Gazette suggested that the textile trade would not be affected because cloth merchants could sell British imitations of the Canadian homespun fabric which resembled the latter so closely that members of the population would not know they were buying imported fabric. Because the attitude and antipathy of much of the British élite for the patriots' homespun campaign are so well expressed in this article, it is worth quoting extensively. "We understand," wrote an apparently informed commentator,

46 Obviously anglophones, and especially those residing in Quebec City, were sceptical of the patriots' campaign. In a note criticizing the Vindicator editor's optimism concerning the success of the non-consumption scheme, the editor of the Quebec Gazette suggested that it was a pity Papineau had not been in Quebec City "to see nearly 180 ships arrive in two tides."81 In spite of the campaign, the steady stream of imported goods into the city had not changed. Enthusiasm for the non-consumption program was higher in the Montreal area, perhaps understandably, since some of the most vocal leaders came from there.82 With its port, citadel and traditional dependence on the import-export trade, it is not surprising to find that the residents of Quebec City and area were slower to respond to a call to undermine one of the region's economic mainstays.