At the onset of the 18th century, when Canada was known as "New France", trade was largely in the hands of merchants at Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and Quebec. Drawing from notarial and parish records, this study shows that merchants were divided into two different social groups--one Roman Catholic, aligned with the clergy, the official financiers, and other ruling elements in the French empire; the other Huguenot, aligned with emigre and foreign businessmen...