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Revisiting the Château Saint-Louis (Part 1): New France's Elite and the Humble Canadian

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Wine bottle seals bearing the coat of arms of the Marquis de Beauharnois, Governor General of New France from 1726 to 1746, excavated at the Château Saint-Louis Before anyone asks, no, I haven't had the chance to visit Québec again recently. I would love to, of course - especially given the new knowledge and discoveries that I plan to share with you today - but for the time being, this "revisit" of Québec's Château Saint-Louis (my first visit to which is documented  here ) is purely figurative. This story begins with two websites I came upon by chance whilst browsing through my Pinterest feed early this year:  Furnishing New France  and its associated blog . Both of these are the work of one Philippe Halbert, who has drawn upon primary source records (more on that below) to piece together the material culture of the social and political elite in New France: many of whom would have been based in the capital city of Québec, including at Saint-Louis. Needless to say, I w