June 1663: The first contingent of the King's daughters leaves La Rochelle for New France. Aboard the ship L'Aigle d'Or, these "marriageable girls," the youngest of whom, Catherine Moitié, is only 13 years old, set sail into the unknown, enduring multiple dangers: promiscuity, disease, acrimonious relations with the crew, insufficient rationing, vermin, apathy, and dwindling hope. This deadly voyage of three months, three weeks, and three days claimed some sixty victims... but did bring 36 survivors to safety.
