The recruitment program was initiated around 1661 and the recruiters went to a number of cities where there were large orphanages - a good source for potential candidates. Paris and other cities had several such orphanages where conditions, even in comparison with life in that period of time, were deplorable. As an incentive to enlist, the young girls were to be awarded with a gift (dowry) of from 50 French pounds and up. The Royal treasury provided the necessary funds and it was fully supported by the King of France. Thus, these recruits came to be called "les filles du roi" - the King's daughters. A number of those recruited also had money and property of their own, as much as 3,000 pounds, received as an inheritance from their deceased parents. Fifty pounds was a substantial amount of money in those days. For example, a common laborer would have to work almost a year to make such a sum and a surgeon made from 100 to 150 pounds a year. Thus, many orphaned girls saw this as an opportunity for adventure, money, marriage, and getting out of their situation. Recruited during the eleven years of this program were 414 orphaned girls . From 1663 to 1673 a total of 774 "Filles du Roi" made the journey to New France. The best year was in 1669 when 135 new "Filles du Roi" were enlisted. In 1670, 134 girls took up the cause. A total of 238 were from Paris, 175 from Bourgs, 46 from Rouen, 35 from La Rochelle, and the rest from other towns and cities. Three were from other countries -  England, Germany, and Portugal. Some of the girls who were originally recruited went only as far as the port of embarkation such as Dieppe in Normandy. When they saw what they were getting into, their minds quickly changed and withdrew from the "adventure."

The first stop in la Nouvelle-France was Québec (city) where most of them disembarked and remained. Shortly after their arrival, the girls were usually escorted to a place where they would meet eligible bachelors, and the rest is history. The number of single girls available to the French men in Québec were few and far between before this program was initiated. Consequently, some of the men married either local Indian girls or daughters of pioneer Québec families. The Church, seeing the need for female companions and wives for the growing number of bachelors in Québec, also supported this program. Within one year of their arrival most of the girls got married and the dowry promised them from the Royal treasury was received.
Some of the King's Daughters survived as many as four husbands. A few returned to France later on with their husbands. But, most of them remained in New France for the rest of their natural lives. The majority of these girls were "ordinary" in that sense, but a few were so-called "filles de qualité" from the bourgeois class, that is, daughters of business, professional or military officer families. They settled mainly in the Québec (city) area, raised their families, and led a relatively quiet but hard-working life. Very few of these girls became societal problems. Only five ever got into trouble with the courts for reasons of adultery, prostitution, or debauchery. Only one, Marie Quequejeu, widow of Pierre Rivaut, was executed in 1684 by the authorities for a very serious crime (actual records lost). On the same day, her son-in-law, Pierre Doret, a "coureur de bois," was also executed. Civil and Church laws were very strict at that time. As a whole, these pioneer women faired quite well considering the new and unique obstacles, hardships, and environment they had to face and endure. They surely had to be a very hardy, courageous and resolute group of young ladies.
Every Franco-American with roots in Québec has several of these King's Daughters as direct ancestors. Thirty-three of these girls are my ancestors from my father's side, and another thirty-three appear on my mother's side. Thus, nearly nine percent of the Filles du Roi are my direct ancestors (none of which were the problem ones).
On the lighter side, the reason Québec girls are said to be prettier than those from the Trois Rivières and Montréal areas is that the ships made their first stop at the port of Québec. Consequently, the Québec boys had "first pick." All the left-overs were sent up-river to the other two settlements. This, of course, is a joke among the folks in Québec city.

For those who wish to read more on this subject, one of the best volumes is the 380-page history and biography titled "Les Filles Du Roi en Nouvelle-France" by Silvio Dumas published in 1972 by the Société Historique de Québec. It is written in French but there should now be an English translation available. The book gives a history on the subject, details known about each of the girls, where they came from, their ages, their dowry, names of their parents, to whom, when and where they were married, and many other interesting facets about them. This is a volume that any Franco-American who is interested in his or her early Canadian roots should own. An example for one of the "filles du roi" is as follows:

CHARIÉ, Marie (1665), née au bourg de Saint-Jean de Gerberoy (PICARDIE), en 1637, veuve d'André Depost et fille d'Étienne et de Marie Lissegais. Elle contracta mariage avec Jacques Renaud, le 13 octobre 1665, à Québec (c. 8 octobre, m. Duquet). Cette femme dut comparaître devant la Prévôte, le 13 novembre 1673, pour répondre à l'accusation d'avoir injuré et frappé d'un coup de pied Charles Marquis (Le Marquis) qui l'avait insultée. (DGFC, I: 513).

From Canada's Virtual Museum, a  web site in English

See also this great site: France

Another Filles du Roi web site worthy of visiting: Filles du Roi & Carignan Regiment (names & dates)