<P> The 1666 census of New France was conducted by France's intendant, Jean Talon, in the winter of 1665--66 . It showed a population of 3,215 habitants in New France, many more than there had been only a few decades earlier, but also a great difference in the number of men (2,034) and women (1,181). </P> <P> Talon tried to reform the seigneurial system, forcing the seigneurs to actually reside on their land, and limiting the size of the seigneuries, in an attempt to make more land available to new settlers . These schemes were ultimately unsuccessful . Very few settlers arrived, and the various industries established by Talon did not surpass the importance of the fur trade . </P> <P> The first settler was brought to Quebec by Champlain--the apothecary Louis Hébert and his family, of Paris . They came expressly to settle, stay in one place to make the New France settlement function . Waves of recruits came in response to the requests for men with specific skills, like farming, apothecaries, blacksmiths . As couples married, cash incentives to have large families were put in place, and were effective . </P> <P> To strengthen the colony and make it the centre of France's colonial empire, Louis XIV decided to send single women, aged between 15 and 30 known as the King's Daughters or in French, les filles du roi, to New France, paying for their passage and granting goods or money as a dowry . Approximately 800 arrived during 1663--1673 . The King's Daughters found husbands among the male settlers within a year or two, as well as a new life for themselves . They came on their own choice, many because they could not make a favorable marriage in the social hierarchy in France . They were from commoner families in the Paris area, Normandy and the central - western regions of France . By 1672, the population of New France had risen to 6,700, from 3,200 in 1663 . </P>

What country was responsible for the exploration of the st lawrence and mississippi rivers