New France
New France was the territory of North America acquired by France, during the Age of Exploration. The territory stretched from Hudson Bay to New Orleans, with the seat of government based in Québec. The French colony existed from 1655 to 1763, when Britain took over and created the colony of Canada. The legacy of New France continues to this day, with a significant portion of the Canadian population being descended from the original settlers.
New France was colonized by France from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534. At its peak in 1712, the territory of New France extended from Newfoundland to Lake Superior and from the Hudson Bay to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and included much of what is now eastern Canada. The territory was then divided in five colonies, each with its own administration: Canada, Acadia, Hudson Bay, Newfoundland and Louisiana. About 16,000 French settlers came, and concentrated in villages along the St. Lawrence River. The French formed alliances with some of the Indian tribes, who helped the fur trappers extend their activity throughout the Great Lakes region. With France and Britain often at war, New France was frequently at war with the British colonies to the South.
The area around New Orleans and west of the Mississippi passed to Spain, which ceded it to France in 1803, allowing France to sell it as the Louisiana Purchase to the United States.
Further reading
- The Canadian Encyclopedia (2008) the best starting point
- The Dictionary of Canadian Biography(1966-2006), scholarly biographies of every major person in New France
- Dechêne, Louise. Habitants and Merchants in Seventeenth-Century Montreal (2003)
- Eccles, W. J. Essays on New France (1988) excerpt and text search
- Greer, Allan The people of New France (1997)
- Havard, Gilles, and Cécile Vidal, "Making New France New Again: French historians rediscover their American past," Common-Place (July 2007) v 7 #4 online version
- Moogk, Peter.; La Nouvelle France: The Making of French Canada a Cultural History (2000) to 1763 online edition
- Trudel, Marcel. The Beginnings of New France 1524-1663 (1973)