who made up the sovereign council of new france
Sovereign Council of New France In April 1663, Louis XIV of France issued an edict creating a new governing council named the "Sovereign Council."[3] The new Sovereign Council had a broad policy mandate. The edict creating the Council authorized it to spend public funds, regulate the fur trade, regulate trade between colonists and French merchants, and issue police measures. The council was also to create a system of lower courts in Québec, Montréal, and Trois-Rivières, and was to appoint judges, bailiffs and other court officials.[4] The Sovereign Council possessed a larger membership than previous colonial councils, having nine members in 1663. These nine members were the governor general, the bishop (or, in his absence, the senior ecclesiastic), five councillors, an attorney general, and a clerk.[5]
French Constitution of 1791 After very long negotiations, the constitution was reluctantly accepted by King Louis XVI in September 1791. Redefining the organization of the French government, citizenship and the limits to the powers of government, the National Assembly set out to represent the interests of the general will. It abolished many “institutions which were injurious to liberty and equality of rights”. The National Assembly asserted its legal presence in French government by establishing its permanence in the Constitution and forming a system for recurring elections. The Assembly's belief in a sovereign nation and in equal representation can be seen in the constitutional separation of powers. The National Assembly was the legislative body, the king and royal ministers made up the executive branch and the judiciary was independent of the other two branches. On a local level, the previous feudal geographic divisions were formally abolished, and the territory of the French state was divided into several administrative units, Departments (Départements), but with the principle of centralism.