2.4.4 French Imperialism
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2.4.4 French Colonialism
How did Canadian society develop as a result of historical globalization and imperialism?
Imperialism was an important force in Europe when the New World was discovered.
Every major European nation tried to gain colonies around the world to produce money and power. Explorers, political figures, and business people were accompanied by religious missionaries. By the mid-1800s, France had the second largest empire in the world, second only to the British Empire.
French imperialism relied on the church, the military, and the government.
Jacques Cartier was the leader of the first Frenchmen to come to North America in 1534. He was sent by the King of France to find a passage to Asia and to find gold. He travelled up the St. Lawrence as far as the prosperous village of Stadacona and built a fort there (now the site of Quebec City).
Watch the video on Jacques Cartier here.
Every major European nation tried to gain colonies around the world to produce money and power. Explorers, political figures, and business people were accompanied by religious missionaries. By the mid-1800s, France had the second largest empire in the world, second only to the British Empire.
French imperialism relied on the church, the military, and the government.
Jacques Cartier was the leader of the first Frenchmen to come to North America in 1534. He was sent by the King of France to find a passage to Asia and to find gold. He travelled up the St. Lawrence as far as the prosperous village of Stadacona and built a fort there (now the site of Quebec City).
Watch the video on Jacques Cartier here.
Jacques Cartier's first interview with the Indians in 1535
by Napolèon Sarony, 1850.
Courtesy Musèe de la Civilisation.
by Napolèon Sarony, 1850.
Courtesy Musèe de la Civilisation.
The first contact between the native people and the French in 1534 was positive. They traded goods and the Aboriginal people helped the French overcome bouts of scurvy with a tea of cedar bark. When spring came, Cartier took some Iroquois people by stealth, including chief Donnacona, back to France. Donnacona was treated well by the French, and he told the king about the wealth of Canada — valuable red stones and sparkling metal, which the king assumed to be rubies and gold. However, all the Iroquois died of disease while they were in France.
Cartier was sent on a second expedition in 1535 to found another colony. The colonists were angry when the promised gold and rubies were just quartz and pyrite. The Aboriginal people were angry about the death of Donnacona. Many of the colonialists died from scurvy and starvation during that second hard winter in the New World. In the spring, the remainder returned to France against orders. Thus, another party of colonialists also met with disaster and returned to France.
Despite Cartier's failed attempts,the French were still involved in fishing and fur trading at temporary outposts. French businessmen were given a royal monopoly to trade in Canada in exchange for settling the area, but they were more interested in profits than in establishing communities. They were unsuccessful in establishing permanent colonies.
Cartier was sent on a second expedition in 1535 to found another colony. The colonists were angry when the promised gold and rubies were just quartz and pyrite. The Aboriginal people were angry about the death of Donnacona. Many of the colonialists died from scurvy and starvation during that second hard winter in the New World. In the spring, the remainder returned to France against orders. Thus, another party of colonialists also met with disaster and returned to France.
Despite Cartier's failed attempts,the French were still involved in fishing and fur trading at temporary outposts. French businessmen were given a royal monopoly to trade in Canada in exchange for settling the area, but they were more interested in profits than in establishing communities. They were unsuccessful in establishing permanent colonies.
The French never tried to form a permanent colony in Canada until about 60 years later. During that time, they came each spring, fished all summer, and returned to France each autumn with tons of salted cod as well as some furs for which they had traded some goods to the First Nations people.
Rivalry between British and French: All the while the French were building their colonies, the British were doing the same nearby. This led to competition for land, resources, and power.
The American Revolution (1776-1781): At the same time as the British and French were competing for control of Canada, the British were trying to hold their power in what is now the United States of America. The American colonists wanted their own government. They wanted a democracy, and they also wanted to get rid of the British system of taxation that hindered their economic development. They wanted to continue to expand into territories of native habitation that had been promised to the First Nations people by treaty.
Rivalry between British and French: All the while the French were building their colonies, the British were doing the same nearby. This led to competition for land, resources, and power.
The American Revolution (1776-1781): At the same time as the British and French were competing for control of Canada, the British were trying to hold their power in what is now the United States of America. The American colonists wanted their own government. They wanted a democracy, and they also wanted to get rid of the British system of taxation that hindered their economic development. They wanted to continue to expand into territories of native habitation that had been promised to the First Nations people by treaty.
Imperialism and Warfare: Shortly after the French and British formed colonies in Canada, they became involved in the world's first global war. As
imperialism became important to European nations, Britain and France fought one another for superiority.
The legacy of New France: Although France had lost her colonies in Canada, the people of Quebec and other regions of Canada remained French-speaking. Today, that strong sense of identity as Francophones remains.
Learn more about the French.
Learn more about the Fur Trade.
To learn more about the early voyages of Jacques Cartier, visit this website.
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The major nations of Europe formed alliances and fought on several fronts for control of most of the world. The
Seven Years' War (1756-1763) carried over into Canada where each nation used native tribes in their struggle for control.
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The
French and Indian War (1754-1763) was an extension of the Seven Years' War and, as its name implies, was a war among the French, First Nations, and British for control of Canada. The British used the Iroquois while the French used the Huron. Eventually, the British won, defeating the French on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 at what is now Quebec City.
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In the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, France lost almost all its territory to England and Spain.
- The British feared the French colonists would join the American Revolution, so they passed the Quebec Act, an act of the British Parliament in 1774 that set the terms of the governing of Quebec. It restored French civil law and allowed the Roman Catholic faith to be practised.
The legacy of New France: Although France had lost her colonies in Canada, the people of Quebec and other regions of Canada remained French-speaking. Today, that strong sense of identity as Francophones remains.
Digging Deeper
Learn more about the French.
Learn more about the Fur Trade.
To learn more about the early voyages of Jacques Cartier, visit this website.