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CHAPTER 5 + Val ues and Behavior IT IS EASY TO ASCRIBE MEANINGS TO HUMAN ACTIONS; IT IS MORE DIFFICULT TO be right. The comprehension ofothers is at best a foggy realm. The mist thins sometimes , yet never entirely disappears. Reliefarrives when one is able to discern a shape or pattern that looks familiar. Yet there is always an edge of uncertainty, which increases the more one tries to go beyond a simple retelling of the surface layer of behavior in order to grasp underlying significance. Part of the problem is the passage of time and the changes that occur, as each generation has its own interests, and its own thoughts on what matters. My goal in this chapter is to peer through some of the fog that surrounds questions pertaining to the values which were cherished in eighteenth-century Louisbourg. The preceding pages were devoted to an examination of largely institurional and official manifestations of controls in the parallel realms of civil and military society on He Royale, especially in the capital of Louisbourg. From this point on, I seek to illuminate a portion of the attitudes of the people whose actions have been chronicled , to offer interpretations of where groups and individuals, including the courts, drew the lines of acceptability on the actions of their fellow citizens. What behavior was permitted or encouraged and what was not? The end result should be to understand better some of the prevailing and fundamental values in the busy seaport and fortified town. The subject area is as complex as it is vast. To keep the task manageable, I have selected five areas ofcolonial life. The first inquiry is into the most fundamental relationship found in any society, that between men and women. By extension, therefore , the discussion touches on some aspects of family life. The most promising fields 223 Control and Order in French Colonial Louisbourg, [7[3-[758 of inquiry are provided by incidents in which community norms were called into question or clearly transgressed. Three areas stand out: verbal abuse, sexual exploitation , and physical abuse. In all three, not surprisingly, women rather than men were usually the victims. The second area relates to the diverse origins of the colonial population. The ethnic diversity in the Cape Breton colony was greater than was usually the case in New France. The available documentation gives indications as to the ways in which different segments of the community interpreted the cultural and linguistic mix. Was there evidence of tension between groups? Did rivalries undermine or make more difficult the task of creating and maintaining an ordered society? The third topic concerns the ways in which opinions were expressed on He Royale. I refer not to the well-articulated points of view of the top-level royal officials, who had easy access to various means of issuing public pronouncements; rather, were different segments of the public able to let the administrators of the colony know what they thought and felt abour different issues? If they were able to influence or participate in the overall decision-making process, how did they do it? Fourth, I explore the subject of marginalite in the context of He Royale. There were different groups and individuals in the colony whose behavior or status were disapproved of by the surrounding, mainstream society. The task is to identify these people and to understand why their activities or occupations were considered unacceptable by the community at large. Fifth, and finally, I examine the crimes committed in the colony. I make no claim to offer an exhaustive analysis of all aspects of crimes et criminalite at Louisbourg, a subject worthy of a major study all its own. It is also an area with many complications , the most elementary of which is the difficulty of knowing how many incidents of criminal behavior actually ended up in the court records. Rather, my aim is the relatively simple one of trying to indicate the broad patterns of criminal activity , then to follow with quick reviews of the accused and their victims in terms of status, background, and occupation. I also examine the range ofpunishments administered in the colony. Such an overview of crime and punishments makes a fitting closing point for the entire study. For, where a community or society draws the line on behavior tells us a great deal about the values of that society, as well as the sorts of controls it is willing to accept to achieve order. MEN AND WOMEN Demographic Context Louisbourg...

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