Les magistrats de Nouvelle-France et le rapt de séduction : juger en droit ou juger en conscience ?

Abstract

Since the 16th century, abduction through seduction has been considered a crime punishable by death. New France’s judicial records, like those of mainland France, show that judges refused to apply such harsh laws. In 1753, a resounding case of the crime of abduction took place in Québec, the Rouffio case. The judges of the Superior Council of Québec accepted a financial transaction, legally impossible, between the two families. They preferred to judge in equity rather than in law.