New France(French:Nouvelle-France,Latin:Nova Gallia) was the areacolonizedbyFranceinNorth Americaduring a period extending from the exploration of theSaint Lawrence River, byJacques Cartierin 1534, to the cession of New France toSpainandBritainin 1763. At its peak in 1712 (before theTreaty of Utrecht), the territory of New France extended fromNewfoundlandto the Rocky Mountains and fromHudson Bayto theGulf of Mexico. The territory was then divided in five colonies, each with its own administration:Canada,Acadia,Hudson Bay,Newfoundland(Plaisance),[1]andLouisiana. The Treaty of Utrecht resulted in the relinquishing of French claims to mainland Acadia, the Hudson Bay and Newfoundland colonies, and the establishment of the colony ofÎle Royale(Cape Breton Island) as the successor to Acadia.[2][3]
France ceded the rest of New France to Great Britain and Spain at theTreaty of Paris, which ended theSeven Years War(theFrench and Indian War). Britain received all lands east of theMississippi River, including Canada, Acadia, and parts of Louisiana, while Spain received the territory to the west – the larger portion of Louisiana. Spain returned its portion of Louisiana to France in 1800, but the French sold it to theUnited Statesin theLouisiana Purchaseof 1803, permanently ending French colonial efforts on the North American mainland.
Early exploration
Around 1523, the Italian navigatorGiovanni da Verrazzanoconvinced the king,Francis I, to commission an expedition to find a western route toCathay(China).[4]Late that year, Verrazzano set sail inDieppe, crossing the Atlantic on a smallcaravelwith 50 men.[4]After exploring the coast of the present-dayCarolinasearly the following year, he headed north along the coast, eventually anchoring in theNarrowsofNew York Bay. The first European to discover the site of present-day New York, he named itNouvelle-Angoulêmein honour of the king, the former count ofAngoulême. Verrazzano’s voyage convinced the king to seek to establish a colony in the newly discovered land. Verrazzano gave the namesFrancescaandNova Galliato that land between New Spain (Mexico) and English Newfoundland.[4]
Map of New France made by Samuel de Champlain in 1612.
In 1534,Jacques Cartierplanted a cross in theGaspé Peninsulaand claimed the land in the name of King Francis I.[5]It was the first province of New France. However, initial French attempts at settling the region met with failure.[5]French fishing fleets, however, continued to sail to the Atlantic coast and into the St. Lawrence River, making alliances withFirst Nationsthat became important once France began to occupy the land. French merchants soon realized the St. Lawrence region was full of valuablefur-bearing animals, especially thebeaver, which were becoming rare inEurope. Eventually, the French crown decided to colonize the territory to secure and expand its influence in America.
Another early French attempt at settlement in North America wasFort Caroline, established in what is nowJacksonville, Florida, in 1564. Intended as a haven forHuguenots, Caroline was founded under the leadership ofRené Goulaine de LaudonnièreandJean Ribault. It was sacked by theSpanishled byPedro Menéndez de Aviléswhich then established the settlement ofSt. Augustineon September 20, 1565.
AcadiaandCanada (New France)were inhabited byindigenousnomadicAlgonquianpeoples and sedentaryIroquoianpeoples. These lands were full of unexploited and valuable natural riches which attracted all of Europe. By the 1580s, French trading companies had been set up, and ships were contracted to bring back furs. Much of what transpired between the natives and their European visitors around that time is not known for lack of historical records.[5]
Early attempts at establishing permanent settlements were failures. In 1598, a trading post was established onSable Island, off the coast of Acadia, but was unsuccessful. In 1600, a trading post was established atTadoussac, but only five settlers survived the winter.[5]In 1604, a settlement was founded atÎle-Saint-Croixon Baie François (Bay of Fundy) which was moved toPort-Royalin 1605.[5]It was abandoned in 1607, reestablished in 1610, and destroyed in 1613, after which settlers moved to other nearby locations, creating settlements that were collectively known asAcadia, and the settlers asAcadians.[5]
In 1608, sponsored byHenry IV,Pierre Dugua, Sieur de MonsandSamuel de Champlainfounded the city ofQuebecwith 28 men, the second permanent French settlement in the colony ofCanada.[6][7][8]Colonization was slow and difficult. Many settlers died early, because of harsh weather and diseases. In 1630, there were only 103 colonists living in the settlement, but by 1640, the population had reached 355.[9]
Champlain quickly allied himself with the Algonquin andMontagnaispeoples in the area, who were at war with theIroquois. In 1609, Champlain, along with two other French companions, accompanied by his Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron allies, travelled south from the St. Lawrence valley toLake Champlain, where he participated decisively in a battle against the Iroquois, killing two Iroquois chiefs with the first shot of his harquebus. This military engagement against the Iroquois solidified the position of Champlain with New France'sHuronand Algonquin allies, bonds vital to New France in order to keep the fur trade alive. However, for the better part of a century the Iroquois and French clash in a series of attacks and reprisals.[10]He also arranged to have young French men live with the natives, to learn their language and customs and help the French adapt to life in North America. These men, known ascoureurs des bois(runners of the woods) (such asÉtienne Brûlé), extended French influence south and west to theGreat Lakesand among theHurontribes who lived there.
Map of western New France, including the Illinois Country, byVincenzo Coronelli, 1688.
For the first few decades of the colony's existence, the French population numbered only a few hundred, while theEnglishcolonies to the south were much more populous and wealthy.Cardinal Richelieu, adviser toLouis XIII, wished to make New France as significant as the English colonies. In 1627, Richelieu founded theCompany of One Hundred Associatesto invest in New France, promising land parcels to hundreds of new settlers and to turn Canada into an importantmercantileandfarmingcolony. Champlain was namedGovernor of New France. Richelieu then forbade non-Roman Catholicsfrom living there.Protestantswere required to renounce their faith to establish themselves in New France; many chose instead to move to the English colonies. The Roman Catholic Church, and missionaries such as theRecolletsand theJesuits, became firmly established in the territory. Richelieu also introduced theseigneurial system, a semi-feudalsystem of farming that remained a characteristic feature of the St. Lawrence valley until the 19th century.
At the same time, however, the English colonies to the south began to raid the St. Lawrence valley, and, in 1629, Quebec itself was captured and held by the British until 1632.[11]Champlain returned to Canada that year, and requested that Sieur de Laviolette found another trading post atTrois-Rivières, which he did in 1634. Champlain died in 1635.
[edit]Jesuit missions
Main article:Jesuit missions in North America
Le Grand Voyage du Pays desHurons,Gabriel Sagard, 1632.
The French Catholic Church, which after Champlain’s death was the most dominant force in New France, wanted to establish autopianChristiancommunity in the colony.[12]In 1642, they sponsored a group of settlers, led byPaul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, who founded Ville-Marie, precursor to present-dayMontreal, farther up the St. Lawrence.[13]Throughout the 1640s, Jesuit missionaries penetrated the Great Lakes region and converted many of the Huron natives. The missionaries came into conflict with the Iroquois, who frequently attacked Montreal. By 1649, both the Jesuit mission and the Huron society were almost completely destroyed byIroquois invasions(seeCanadian Martyrs).
Thetransportinfrastructure in New France was almost nonexistent, with few roads and canals.The canals would be up to 3 miles long at times and boats were thin and simple. Thus people used the waterways, especially theSt. Lawrence River, as the main form of transportation, bycanoes. In the winter, when the lakes froze, both the poor and the rich travelled bysledspulled by dogs or horses. A land transportation system was not developed in the region until the 1830s, when stretches of road were built along the river, and the Rideau Canal project was not completed until 1840.
[edit]Royal takeover and attempts to settle
Great Seal of King Louis XIV used in New France after the colony was reformed as a province of France in 1663.
In the 1650s, Montreal still had only a few dozen settlers and a severely underpopulated New France almost fell completely to hostile Iroquois forces. In 1660, settlerAdam Dollard des Ormeauxled a Canadian and Huronmilitiaagainst a much larger Iroquois force; none of the Canadians survived, but they succeeded in turning back the Iroquois invasion. In 1663, New France finally became more secure whenLouis XIVmade it a royal province. In 1665, he sent a French garrison, theCarignan-Salières Regiment, to Quebec. The government of the colony was reformed along the lines of the government of France, with the Governor General andIntendantsubordinate to the Minister of the Marine in France. In 1665,Jean Talonwas sent by Minister of the MarineJean-Baptiste Colbertto New France as the first Intendant. These reforms limited the power of theBishop of Quebec, who had held the greatest amount of power after the death of Champlain.
The1666 census of New Francewas conducted by France's intendant, Jean Talon, in the winter of 1665–66. It showed a population of 3,215habitantsin New France, many more than there had been only a few decades earlier, but also a great difference in the number of men (2,034) and women (1,181).[14]This was because most of the explorers, soldiers, fur traders and settlers who had come to New France were men. To strengthen the colony and make it the centre ofFrance's colonial empire,Louis XIVdecided to dispatch more than 700 single women, aged between 15 and 30 (known asles filles du roi) to New France. At the same time, marriages with the natives were encouraged andindentured servants, known asengagés, were also sent to New France. One suchengagé, Etienne Truteau (La Rochelle, 1641 – Montréal, 1712) was the ancestor of the Trudeaus in America, such as thePrime Minister of CanadaPierre Elliott Trudeau.
Talon also tried to reform the seigneurial system, forcing theseigneursto actually reside on their land, and limiting the size of theseigneuries, in an attempt to make more land available to new settlers. These schemes were ultimately unsuccessful. Very few settlers arrived, and the various industries established by Talon did not surpass the importance of the fur trade.
[edit]Military conflicts
Main article:French and Indian Wars
SinceHenry Hudsonhad claimedHudson Bay, and the surrounding lands for England, English colonists had begun expanding their boundaries across what is now theCanadiannorth beyond the French-held territory of New France. In 1670, with the help of Frenchcoureurs des bois,Pierre-Esprit RadissonandMédard des Groseilliers, theHudson's Bay Companywas established to control the fur trade in all the land that drained intoHudson Bay(known asRupert's Land).[15]This ended the French monopoly on the Canadian fur trade. To compensate, the French extended their territory to the south, and to the west of theAmerican colonies. In 1682,René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salleexplored theOhioand Mississippi valleys, and claimed the entire territory for France as far south as theGulf of Mexico.[16]He named this territoryLouisiana. La Salle attempted to establish the first colony in the new territory in 1685, but inaccurate maps and navigational issues led him to instead establish his colony,Fort Saint Louis, in what is nowTexas. The colony was exterminated by disease and Indian attack in 1688.
Map ofNorth America(1702) - Britain (pink), France (blue), and Spain (orange)
Although little colonization took place in this part of New France, many strategic forts were built there, under the orders of GovernorLouis de Buade de Frontenac. Forts were also built in the older portions of New France that had not yet been settled. Many of these forts were garrisoned by theTroupes de la Marine, the only regular soldiers in New France between 1682 and 1755.
In 1689, the English and Iroquois launched a major assault on New France, after many years of small skirmishes throughout the English and French territories. This war, known asKing William's War, ended in 1697, but a second war (Queen Anne's War) broke out in 1702. Quebec and Acadia survived the English invasions of both these wars, and during the wars France seized many of the EnglishHudson's Bay Companyfur trading centres onHudson BayincludingYork Factory, which the French renamedFort Bourbon.
The finalConquest of Acadiahappened in 1710. In 1713, peace came to New France with theTreaty of Utrecht.[17]Although the treaty turned Hudson Bay,Newfoundlandand part ofAcadia(peninsularNova Scotia) over to Great Britain, France remained in control of Île Royale (Cape Breton Island), as well as Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) and the northern part ofAcadia, what is todayNew Brunswick. Construction ofFortress Louisbourgon Île Royale, a French military stronghold intended to protect the approaches to the St. Lawrence River setttlements, began in 1719.[18]
After the Treaty of Utrecht, New France began to prosper. Industries, such as fishing and farming, that had failed under Talon began to flourish. A "King’s Highway" (Chemin du Roy) was built between Montreal and Quebec to encourage faster trade. The shipping industry also flourished as new ports were built and old ones were upgraded. The number of colonists greatly increased, and, by 1720, Canada had become a self-sufficient colony with a population of 24,594 people. The Church, although now less powerful than it had originally been, controlled education and social welfare. These years of peace are often referred to by French Canadians as New France's "Golden Age".
Peace lasted until 1744, when news of the outbreak of theWar of the Austrian Successionreached Fort Louisbourg. The French forces went on the attack first in a failed attempt to captureAnnapolis Royal, the capital of the British Nova Scotia. In 1745William Shirley, governor ofMassachusetts, led a counterattack on Louisbourg. Both France and New France were unable to relieve the siege, and Louisbourg fell to the British. With the famedDuc d'Anville Expedition, France attempted to retake Acadia and the fortress in 1746 but failed. The fortress was returned to France under theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, but the peace treaty, which restored all colonial borders to their pre-war status, did little to end the lingering enmity between France, Britain, and their respective colonies, nor did it resolve any territorial disputes. Within Acadia and Nova Scotia,Father Le Loutre's War(1749-1755) began with the British founding ofHalifax.
Map ofNorth Americain 1750, before theFrench and Indian War, that is part of the greater world-wide conflict known as theSeven Years' War(1756 to 1763). - possessions of Britain (pink), France (blue), and Spain (orange,California, Pacific Northwest, and Great Basin not indicated) -
Fort Duquesne, located at the confluence of theAlleghenyandMonongahela Riversat the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, guarded the most important strategic location in the west at the time of the Seven Years' War. It was built to insure that the Ohio River valley remained under French control. A small colonial force from Virginia began a fort here but a French force underSieur de Contrecoeurdrove them off in April 1754. New France claimed this as part of their colony and the French were anxious to keep the British from encroaching on it. The French built Fort Duquesne here to serve as a military stronghold and as a base for developing trade and strengthening military alliances with the Aboriginal peoples of the area.