Summary:
Jacques Cartier sailed to explore North America in 1533. The king of France had ordered him to find gold, riches, and a short sea route to Asia. Between 1533 and 1542, Cartier made several trips. However he didn't find a route to Asia.
Introduction
Jacques Cartier sailed to explore North America in 1533. The king of France had ordered him to find gold, riches, and a short sea route to Asia. Between 1533 and 1542, Cartier made several trips. However he didn't find a route to Asia. However his voyages were not in vain. Cartier discovered the St. Lawrence River and claimed the land for France in what today is Canada. He called this territory New France. NF would soon grow to be a huge French empire in North America.
1.France Claims Land in the Americas
After Cartier failed to find gold, riches, and a route to Asia, France lost interest in North America for almost 50 years. Then, in the late 1500s and early 1600s, King Henry IV of France began to worry. England and other European nations were also exploring NA. The king of France wanted to protect his country's land claims in NA. He wanted more colonists to come to NF. He believed that only by settling the area would it remain French.
Henry IV made a deal with French merchants. He allowed them to trade for furs with NA in NF. By doing this the merchants would be able to sell the furs in Europe for a huge profit. However, the French king said the merchants could take part in the fur trade only if they brought colonists to America. The merchants agreed and began forming French fur-trading companies.
A.First Settlements
Samuel de Champlain, a geographer, worked for one such fur- trading company. In 1605 Champlain founded a trading post at Port Royal in Nova Scotia. It was the 1st permanent French settlement in NA.
In 1608, Champlain continued to explore the St. Lawrence River. At the point where the river narrowed, he had to stop. There he founded a fur trading fort called Quebec. Quebec became the center of NF.
Champlain explored the territory around Quebec. He wanted to find Native Americans from whom he could buy furs. He met the Huron, a powerful Native American nation living near Quebec. Champlain made peace treaties with these people. The Huron sold their valuable furs to his company. As he traveled in Huron territory, Champlain studied the way of life of these people. Champlain described the Huron and their culture in his book The Voyages.
Champlain wanted to strengthen the friendship between the French and Huron nations. So he joined them in a battle against their enemies, the Iroquois. This began serious trouble for the French. The Iroquois nation was very powerful. They kept the French from expanding their settlements for many years.
B.Farther Inland
In 1663, King Louis took direct control of settlements in New France. He sent troops to fight the Iroquois. The Catholic Church also sent Jesuit missionaries to New France. Jesuits were members of a special Catholic order. These missionaries tried to convert the Huron and other Native Americans. From the NA's the missionaries learned of a large river to the west that might lead to the Pacific Ocean. The French hoped it was a sea route to Asia.
Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette set off to find the large river. Joliet was an experienced fur trader. Father Marquette was a Jesuit priest. In 1673, they reached the river. They called it the Mississippi. At first, the river flowed west, but then it turned south. Joliet and Marquette traveled as far south as Arkansas. They turned back when they were sure that the Mississippi did not flow into the Pacific.
Marquette and Joliet brought back valuable information about the territory they explored. The French then built trading Forts along the Mississippi. They also built forts near other rivers in the regions.
C.South to the Gulf of Mexico
Another French explorer continued where Joliet and Marquette had stopped. Robert Cavalier de La Salle aided by NA guides, traveled farther down the Mississippi. In 1682, he reached the Gulf of Mexico. La Salle called this entire region Louisiana, after King Louis XIV, and claimed it for France.
In 1718, the French built a city near the Gulf. They named it New Orleans. It became a major French trading center. New Orleans grew into one of the largest cities in the Americas.
2. New France Depends on the Fur Trade
A group of young French women came ashore in NF in the 1660s. In France, some had been homeless. Others were from large families that couldn't afford to care for them. They were called the "kings daughters" because King Louis XIV of France paid their fare across the Atlantic Ocean. They were met by crowds of men in NF. Within a few weeks all the young women were married. The French King gave each couple a wedding present which was a few farm animals, salted meat, and some money. Over the years 1000 of these young women came to NF.
A.) Fur Traders
The king sponsored the "Kings Daughters" project because he wanted to encourage settlement in NF. The first colonists I NF had been men. They hoped to make money in the fur trade. Almost everyone in NF had something to do with the fur trade.
French fur traders were called coureurs de bois. This means runners of the forest. The coureurs de bois traveled miles to trade with Native Americans. They used snowshoes and dog sleds to move furs through NF's snowy forests. Each spring when the ice in the rivers melted the traders brought furs in canoes to the trading posts.
However the fur trade didn't increase NF's population enough. By the 1600s there were only 2500 settlers in NF.
The French king tried many ways to increase NF's population. Sending the kings daughters to NF was one way. The French government also gave rewards to couples who had large families. It gave money to who married by 20 and to girls who married by the age of 16. Men who refused to marry were punished with heavy fines. By the 1680s the French population of NF had reached 10000.
B.) Farming the Land
The government of NF also tried to get colonist to become farmers. The government divided the land along the St Lawrence River into large pieces. These pieces were given to nobles or retired army officers. These large landowners got colonists to farm smaller pieces of land.
These farmers of smaller pieces of land were called habitants. Farming in NF was not easy. The cold climate made farming difficult. NF's thick forests made it hard for habitants to clear the land. However habitants raised farm animals and crops. These crops were sent to markets at trading posts.
The number of farmers slowly increased. However, their crops only supplied their families and the fur traders. The crops were not enough to be sent back to Europe. Therefore the fur trade remained the colony's main source of money.
D.Government in NF
There was much less self government in NF than the British Colonies. The
Top ranking official in NF was the governor, appointed by the king.
The Catholic Church played an important role in governing NF. It was the only religion in the colony. The bishop of the church ranked just below the governor of NF. The church also owned huge amounts of land. Its priests and nuns ran hospitals and schools. Missionaries also tried to convert the Native Americans.
E.Relations with NA's
The French usually got along well with the Native Americans. The French didn't threaten the NA way of life. Coureurs de bois lived among NA's and learned their languages. Some married NA women.
The French also did not destroy the places where NA's hunted. Since fur-bearing animals lived in the forests, fur traders needed the forests. In NF farms didn't pay as well as the fur trade. So the French didn't cut down much forest to make farms.
Another reason that the French got along with NAs was that the population of NF stayed small. NF had far fewer colonists than the British colonies. By 1759, the population of NF was still only 80000. There were more than 1 million colonists in the British colonies. NAs didn't fear that the French would take their lands.
2.The British and the French Wage a War
Great Britain and France were rivals. By the middle 1700s they were the 2 most powerful nations in Europe. They fought each other in both Europe and North America. The name of the war in North America was called the French and Indian War. It began in 1754.
A.Taking Sides
The French found allies in their struggles against the British. An ally is a person or group of persons who joins with others for a common purpose. Many NAs worried about the thousands of farmers in the British colonies. NAs feared British colonists would take their land. So the NAs sided with the French.
One important exception was the powerful Iroquois nation. The Iroquois didn't forgive the French for joining the Huron. In 1754, the British asked the Iroquois to side with them. At first the Iroquois refused. They pointed out that the French and the British were fighting over Iroquois land. However later in the war the Iroquois supported the British.
B. French Success
The French goal in NA was to control the Ohio Valley. British fur traders had come to the region. The French intended to drive the British out.
The French had an important fort in the Ohio Valley. It was called Fort Duquesne. In 1754, a British force of 200 colonists marched into the valley. They were led by a 22 year old colonel, George Washington. The British force was attacked by about 800 French and 400 NAs. The British colonists were badly out numbered. Many were killed or wounded. George Washington had no choice but to surrender. The French allowed Washington and his troops to return home.
The French won a bigger victory in 1755. A large British force led by General Edward Braddock marched toward Fort Duquesne. George Washington warned him that the French and NAs would hide behind trees and attack in the forest. But Braddock did not listen. He expected the French to fight out in the open because that was how armies fought in Europe.
The French did exactly as Washington predicted. They destroyed Braddock's army. Braddock was killed in battle. Washington brought the survivors home. The French continued to win battles for the next 2 years.
B.British Victory
In 1756, the British king named William Pitt as head of Britain's government. Pitt improved the army. The British began to win the war in NA. In 1759, the British conquered Quebec. Although there was fighting for another year, the British had won the war.
The British and French signed a peace treaty in 1763. The French gave up most of their NA territory. Spain, Frances ally in the war, received French territory west of the Mississippi River. The British took all the territory between the 13 colonies and the Mississippi. Only New Orleans remained out of British hands. This meant that British colonies could move westward.
The British also took control of Canada. However, large parts of what was once NF kept French traditions. French culture is still strong in those regions today.
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