Canada was a colony of France at a time when that country was an absolute monarchy, that is power was exclusively in the hands of the king and its administration was entrusted to his officers. This authoritarian system, in which there was no place for the expression of individual interests, was represented in the colony by the governor, the intendant and a host of civilian and military agents of the monarchy. The subject of this anonymous painting, Gilles Hocquart (1694-1783), was intendant of New France from 1729 to 1748, and his record as an administrator was a good one. The activities of the intendants were always restricted by the fact that most of the colonial budget was set aside for military expenditures such as the maintenance of troops and fortifications.
