, Canada
1838 - Levels of illiteracy among the French-speaking people were about 73% in 1838 but reached 88% in the countryside.

By 1838, literacy rates among the French-speaking population of Lower Canada were strikingly low, with roughly 73% of the population unable to read or write, and the figure rising to an alarming 88% in rural areas. These statistics reflected a combination of structural, political, and cultural factors that hindered educational development in the colony.

The provision of schooling in Lower Canada was inconsistent at best. Government investment in education was minimal, with few public schools, limited funding, and uneven access across parishes and townships. Religious institutions, particularly the Catholic Church, provided some instruction, but coverage was patchy, and priorities often emphasized moral and religious education over literacy for practical civic or economic purposes.

Cultural factors also played a role. Many habitants—the French-speaking rural farmers—resisted formal education, viewing it as unnecessary or even threatening to their traditional way of life. Farming obligations, geographic isolation, and economic hardship limited the ability of families to send children to school, and literacy was often seen as secondary to the skills needed for survival on the land.

The result was a deeply rural society in which the majority of people lacked basic reading and writing skills, reinforcing social hierarchies and limiting participation in civic, economic, and political life. These literacy patterns would have long-term implications for the development of Lower Canada, shaping its economic opportunities, social mobility, and the capacity of its population to engage with broader currents of reform and modernization in the 19th century.

richardjohnbr.blogspot.com/ 2010/ 10/ seigneurial-system-and-settlement.html

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