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More about French Colonialism
How did Canadian society develop as a result of historical globalization and imperialism?
Samuel de Champlain founded the permanent site of Quebec City. He became the governor of New France and lived there until his death in 1635. He is known in history as the Father of New France.
Champlain's legacy: Champlain was an excellent mapmaker, and he took detailed notes and sketches of what he saw. He was able to form many alliances with the native people, especially the Huron, Algonquin, and Montagnais people. He sponsored and encouraged exploration of a great deal of Canada. Much of what we know about early Canada is thanks to Champlain.
Government policy: Thirty years after the death of Champlain, the policy of mercantile colonialism still had not been successful in establishing permanent settlements. By the late 1600s, only 3000 French settlers were in Canada.
The government decided political involvement was required. It established a government in New France, which it treated as a province. Under French control, notably under the leadership of the first intendant of New France, Jean Talon, the colony became successful. Soldiers and peasants set up farms under the French seigneurial system. These men were later joined by 800 filles du roi (daughters of the King), single women who were sent to marry the colonists.
Rècollet priests were sent to New Canada, where they were called Black Robes because of the colour of their vestments. The population expanded quickly with high birth rates. Farms of the unique French style were established along the St. Lawrence and in Acadia (in present-day Nova Scotia). By the early 1700s, 20 000 French were living in North America from Newfoundland to the Mississippi to the Great Lakes.
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 British eventually won, driving the Acadians (located in what is now Nova Scotia) from their territory in 1755, taking over the fortress in Louisbourg in 1758, and defeating the French on the Plains of Abraham in 1759. In the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, France lost almost all its territory to England and Spain.
Because the British feared the French colonists would join the American Revolution, they passed the Quebec Act. This act of government encouraged the French to feel that they were a part of Canada. It also meant that the American revolutionaries failed to gain the support of the French Canadians during the American Revolution.
Champlain's legacy: Champlain was an excellent mapmaker, and he took detailed notes and sketches of what he saw. He was able to form many alliances with the native people, especially the Huron, Algonquin, and Montagnais people. He sponsored and encouraged exploration of a great deal of Canada. Much of what we know about early Canada is thanks to Champlain.
Government policy: Thirty years after the death of Champlain, the policy of mercantile colonialism still had not been successful in establishing permanent settlements. By the late 1600s, only 3000 French settlers were in Canada.
The government decided political involvement was required. It established a government in New France, which it treated as a province. Under French control, notably under the leadership of the first intendant of New France, Jean Talon, the colony became successful. Soldiers and peasants set up farms under the French seigneurial system. These men were later joined by 800 filles du roi (daughters of the King), single women who were sent to marry the colonists.
Rècollet priests were sent to New Canada, where they were called Black Robes because of the colour of their vestments. The population expanded quickly with high birth rates. Farms of the unique French style were established along the St. Lawrence and in Acadia (in present-day Nova Scotia). By the early 1700s, 20 000 French were living in North America from Newfoundland to the Mississippi to the Great Lakes.
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 British eventually won, driving the Acadians (located in what is now Nova Scotia) from their territory in 1755, taking over the fortress in Louisbourg in 1758, and defeating the French on the Plains of Abraham in 1759. In the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, France lost almost all its territory to England and Spain.
Because the British feared the French colonists would join the American Revolution, they passed the Quebec Act. This act of government encouraged the French to feel that they were a part of Canada. It also meant that the American revolutionaries failed to gain the support of the French Canadians during the American Revolution.
Royal Arms of France, 1594
Theo van der Zalm
GNU Licence
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 each powerful European nation, Britain and France fought one another for superiority. The major nations of Europe formed alliances and fought on a number of fronts for control of most of the world. The
Seven Years' War (1756-1763) carried over into Canada where each nation used different native tribes in their struggle for control. The British used the Iroquois while the French used the Huron. The
French and Indian War (1754-1763) was an extension of the Seven Years' War and, as its name implies, was a war between the French, First Nations, and British people for control of Canada.
The American Revolution (1776-1781): At the same time as the British and French were competing for control of Canada, the British were also 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. As well, they wanted to continue to expand into territories of native habitation that had been promised to the First Nations people by treaty.
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. Many French people intermarried with Aboriginal people, creating the Mètis. The legacy of French colonialism is strong in Canada and around the world.
The American Revolution (1776-1781): At the same time as the British and French were competing for control of Canada, the British were also 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. As well, they wanted to continue to expand into territories of native habitation that had been promised to the First Nations people by treaty.
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. Many French people intermarried with Aboriginal people, creating the Mètis. The legacy of French colonialism is strong in Canada and around the world.