| During the French Regime, health and education were mainly provided by women in religious orders. In 1639, the Ursuline nuns, under the direction of Marie de l'Incarnation, founded a school for young Canadian and Native girls in Québec City; the school gradually grew into the complex of buildings we see here. The background shows the convent that housed some 50 nuns, many of whom, according to a 1753 document, were busy teaching about 60 boarders and 150 day students. Mason (1710- ca. 1780) created this etching from a drawing made on the site by Richard Short (active 1747 to 1766). The National Archives holds 72 works by Short from this period. Etching
C-000358 |