The French Empire
in North America
What motivated Europeans to embark on voyages of discovery in the 15th century?
The main counties involved were:
- Spain
- Portugal
- France
- England
They wanted:
- Commercial Prestige (wealth)
- Political Prestige (power and influence)
- Scientific knowledge
- To promote Christianity (except England)
In 1534 the King of France sent Jacques Cartier to explore North America.
There were three (3) purposes:
- Find a route to Asia
- Bring back riches (a return on the investment!)
- Claim land for the King of France (areas of exclusive trading rights).
He made three (3) voyages:
3.) Returned to Montreal, but failed to set up a colony (1541-42). France lost interest in North America for the next 70 years.
How did the French and Indians influence each other?
French
First Nations
Why did the King of France want to set up colonies in the 1600s?
- To establish trading posts, as furs became more popular in Europe.
- The furs (through the colony) would bring big profits to the King.
How did the French and Indians influence each other?
French
- gave Natives guns.
- pots and pans and other metal tools.
- wool clothing.
First Nations
- showed French snowshoes, toboggans, canoes.
- Herbal medicines.
Why did the King of France want to set up colonies in the 1600s?
- To establish trading posts, as furs became more popular in Europe.
- The furs (through the colony) would bring big profits to the King.
Samuel de Champlain: Father of New France
By the early 1600s, the King of France was again interested in setting up a colony in the Americas.
The French established trading posts at:
Tadoussac (1600)
Port-Royal, Acadia (1605)
Quebec City (1608)
Trois-Rivieres (1634)
Montreal (Ville-Marie) (1642)
The French established trading posts at:
Tadoussac (1600)
Port-Royal, Acadia (1605)
Quebec City (1608)
Trois-Rivieres (1634)
Montreal (Ville-Marie) (1642)
Tadoussac was far from the main sources of fur, and was not good for farming, so it was abandoned in 1610. Port-Royal was not a good source of furs, so it was abandoned in 1607.
In 1608, Samuel de Champlain established his Habitation at Quebec, and there has been a French presence in the area ever since!
How did the King plan to exploit his colony?
The King had no money to develop a colony, so what did he do?
- He granted a “monopoly” (exclusive rights) over all fur trading activities in New France to “the Company of 100 Associates”.
In exchange, the Company paid the King money (“royalties”) from their profits. Another part of the deal was that the Company of 100 Associates was supposed to populate the colony (attract settlers, or colonists). But they failed! Why?
The Company of 100 Associates was in the fur trading business. They wanted good relations with the Natives (you don’t trade with people you don’t like!). They thought settlers would be bad for their business: settlers would clear land for farms, which would hurt relations with the local Natives, and also drive the fur-bearing animals farther away!
Mercantilism: An economic system where the home-country (or “Mother Country”) hopes to exploit its colonies for profit. The main characteristics are:
- A country becomes rich and powerful by collecting as much gold and silver as possible.
- A country becomes rich and powerful by increasing the number of colonies it has.
- The mother country should produce manufactured goods, while the colonies should provide natural resources.
- A country should have more exports than imports.
Vocabulary:
Mercantilism
Mother Country
Colony
Colonists
Monopoly
Exploit
Two Types of Colonies
Two types of colonies developed in the Americas at this time:
1. Commercial Colony:
a.) The main economic activity was trade.
b.) Population was small.
c.) Most of what people needed was imported from the Mother Country.
d.) Economy was based on Mercantilism (colony supplies raw materials to Mother Country, who in turn sends manufactures to the colony.)
2. Settlement Colony:
a.) Purpose was to attract settlers, or colonists.
b.) Merchants and professionals were needed to supply the goods of the colony.
c.) Mother country hoped to raise money by taxing the settlers.
New France remained mostly a commercial colony, whereas New England became a settlement colony. New England looked and felt more like England, with businesses, merchants, farmers, newspapers, pubs, etc. New France never resembled France. New France was never subsistent – it always needed to import most of what it needed from France. This difference had major results: in 1750, the population of New France was about 60,000 people. New England had between 2,500,000 and 4,000,000 people.
The Results of the Fur Trade
The fur trade was the primary economic activity of New France.
Why did French explorers go further and further inland? Initially the French company men would wait in their trading posts for the Natives to come to them. As the demand for furs in Europe began to grow, the French set out to look for new sources of fur.
How did the fur trade work?
1. Native trappers caught the animals in winter, when their pelts were thickest. While the men did the trapping, women often prepared the pelts before exchange.
2. Coureurs de bois: French who travelled through the forests to buy furs directly from the Native communities. They often lived with Native communities for extended periods of time.
3. Voyageurs: French who travelled great distances in large canoes, carrying European goods for exchange, and then taking great bundles of furs back to major centers like Montreal and Quebec City.
4. Traders: They financed these expeditions – they had the licenses, paid for the goods to be exchanged, hired the Voyageurs, etc.
5. Company: Shipped the furs back across the ocean to France.
6. Craftsmen in Europe fashioned the furs into hats and other luxury items, which were then sold to Shopkeepers, who sold them to the public.
Results of the Fur Trade:
On the Natives:
First Nations’ people became dependent on European goods; more time spent trapping than hunting and gathering; European diseases spread rapidly and increased mortality; the introduction of alcohol caused many social problems; conflict between First Nations people became more frequent, and more violent; traditional ways of life were changed forever.
On the French:
Many young men preferred to be Coureurs de Bois and Voyageurs, instead of farmers – this meant fewer people settling in New France; expanding their territory put the French in direct conflict with the English colonists, who eventually cross the Appalachians and attempt to settle the West.