France Expands Its Empire

France Expands Its Empire

Monopoly: When only one company or group is allowed to sell or trade a product in a certain area.

France Expands Its Empire

Jacques Cartier’s settlement failed but the French did not completely forget about North America; Fishing fleets still returned to North America. Fur traders still came to trade with First Nations

trappers.

France began to build North American colonies at Acadia and Québec.

The French Return

By the early 1600’s, the demand for furs in Europe was growing.

King Louis XIII wanted to be the most powerful ruler in Europe and needed to expand France’s colonial empire to do so.

The French king, Louis XIII, decided that France should build a colony in North America. That way they would have access to the abundant supply of furs.

The French Return

Resources from the colonies would also give France a military advantage.

The king realised that building a colony would be very expensive for him to build and support.

He decided to let someone else pay for it.

The king granted a trade monopoly to a group of merchants.

The French Return

A trade monopoly, NOTThis meant that only merchants within the

group holding the monopoly would be allowed to trade for furs in the colony.

In return, the merchants agreed to build settlements in North America and find French citizens to live in them.

The French in Acadia

In 1604, a French noble named

Pierre de Monts received a monopoly. He sailed to North America to set up a colony.

He took a map-maker and explorer named Samuel de Champlain with him.

In the spring of 1605, de Monts established a settlement at Port Royal on the Bay of Fundy.

The French called the area Acadia.


The Mi’kmaq were already living on this land.

How do you think they reacted to the newcomers?

A)They didn’t object because they would be able to trade with them.

B)They were afraid of them and avoided them.C)They wanted them off their land and started

destroying their property. D)They wanted them off their land and started

a war!


At first, the Mi’kmaq who lived there did not

object to the newcomers. The French did not interfere with their

hunting and fishing activities, and the Mi’kmaq welcomed the chance to trade their furs for metal goods and blankets.

The Mi’kmaq were willing to share the land.


In time, more and more French people came to Acadia.

Although life here was hard, it was no harder than it had been back in France. Acadia offered poor farmers a new start.

These colonists spread out along the shores of the Bay of Fundy.


They survived through farming, fishing, and hunting.

They formed a unique community and culture.

The Founding of Québec

Port Royal was a long way

from the centre of the fur trade, so de Monts and Champlain decided to move to the St. Lawrence River.

They chose a site near Stadacona, where Jacques Cartier had built a fort many years earlier.

The French colonists called their settlement Québec.

The Founding of Québec

It was an ideal place to trade furs, but living conditions were far from ideal.

During their first winter, 20 of the 28 newcomers died due to the weather and lack of food.

Questions

France Expands Its Empire (pg 39-42)5) What are the three main benefits of France building

more colonies in North America? (3)6) Describe Acadia. Include:

a) Who founded it (2) b) Where it was located (1)c) How the Mi’kmaq felt about the settlers (2)d) Who the “Acadians” were (1 pt)

7) Why did the French colonists choose Quebec’s location? How did things work out for them? (2)

Exploring Deeper into the Continent

Coureur de bois: A Canadian trader (“runner of the woods”) who paddled on long journeys into the wilderness to trade for furs with the First Nations.

Métis: People of mixed First Nations and European ancestry.

Exploring Deeper into the Continent

Aside from the official explorers, the first people to leave the settlements of New France and begin roaming the countryside were the coureurs de bois.

The Coureurs de Bois

They were a unique group of adventurers. They lived for long periods of time with

the First Nations. Many married First Nations women, and

became parents to the Métis. They learned to speak the First Nations’

languages and how to build birch bark canoes.

They also learned many other survival skills.


Why do you think the job of a Coureur de Bois was

desired by many French men?


Adventure!Freedom!Money!


Their main interest was fur trapping, but they also acted as guides and interpreters for the French traders.

In this way, they were responsible for much of the early European exploration of the continent.

Étienne Brûlé

In 1610, the French and Wendat agreed to a cultural exchange.

Brûlé went to live with the Wendat, and a Wendat man named Savignon went to live in France. What do you think Brûlé gained

from living among the Wendat? What do you think Savignon

gained from living in France?

Étienne Brûlé

Brûlé gained an appreciation for the Wendat way of life, learned their language and practised their customs. He travelled with the Wendat and came to know their territory.

He was the first European to travel up the Ottawa River into Georgian Bay.

Étienne Brûlé

Savignon learned to speak French but was eager to return to North America.

When he returned he did not describe France as a good place: Children were treated badly. Beggars were living in the

streets, arguing loudly with one another.

Pierre Radisson and the Sieur des Groseilliers

Radisson came to New France in 1650 as a boy and lived for two years among the Mohawk as a teenager before returning to Québec.

While living with the Mohawk he learned to speak their language and survive in the woods.

It was only natural that he become a coureur de bois.


In 1659, he joined des Groseilliers on a trading trip deep into the Lake Superior.

No Europeans had ever been there before.

How do you think the First Nations treated Radisson and des Groseilliers?


Everywhere they went, they were welcomed by the First Nations.

As they travelled their knowledge of the fur country grew. They also gave French names to some of the settlements, lakes, rivers and mountains they encountered.

What were they doing when they did this?


Everywhere they went, they were welcomed by the First Nations.

As they travelled their knowledge of the fur country grew. They also gave French names to some of the settlements, lakes, rivers and mountains they encountered.

They were claiming the land for France.

What were they doing when they did this?


In 1670, they travelled to Hudson Bay because the First Nations people had told them it was rich in fur-bearing animals.

Later that year The Hudson Bay Company was founded as a result of their accomplishments.

Economy and Government in New France

King Louis XIV: King of France also known as the “Sun King” because he was all powerful. He was so forceful in acquiring colonies that other countries of Europe united against him.

Sovereign Council: A government with three officials: a governor, an intendant, and a bishop, set up by King Louis XIV to govern the colony of New France.

Definitions contd.

Habitants: A Francophone farmer of New France. Jesuits: An order of missionaries who came to

North America to convert First Nations peoples to the Catholic religion.

Canadien(ne): A Francophone descendent of the settlers of New France living anywhere in North America, including the West (in use until about the First World War).

Seigneurial System: A system based on nobles (or seigneurs) who rented land to farmers (or habitants).

The Royal Takeover

As a colony, New France depended on France for its survival.

France provided: Colonists, supplies and military protection

New France supplied: Resources such as furs and fish

The colony of New France made France richer and more powerful.

The Royal Takeover

In 1663, King Louis XIV took control of the colony from the merchants.

The Royal Takeover

He established a Sovereign Council to govern the colony.

The Sovereign Council

Governor Intendant Bishop•The most powerful member of the S.C.•The King’s representative. •Took charge of the defence of the colony and its relationships with allies and enemies.

•In charge of the day-to-day affairs of the colony. •Supervised courts and made sure the colonists were looked after. •Managed the economy ($).

•The head of the church.•Leading role in politics.

The Sovereign Council

The royal government paid the colony’s expenses.

The government of New France was all powerful and the colonists had to follow the rules and laws established by the Sovereign Council.

The courts received complaints from the colonists but overall, the people enjoyed greater freedom in New France.

The Catholic Church

Religion had an important place in the lives of Europeans.

Priests, nuns, and missionaries who went to New France helped build the colony. They held religious services, taught schools, ran hospitals and cared for the poor.

The colonists supported the church by donating a portion of their income, called a tithe.

The Catholic Church

What was the #1 goal of the Catholic Church?

The Catholic Church

The most important goal of the church was to spread the Catholic faith.

The missionaries came to New France to convert the First Nations peoples to their religion.

What was the #1 goal of the Catholic Church?

The Catholic Church

The missionaries travelled into the interior of the continent.

As they travelled they wrote accounts of their travels and experiences. Many of these writing have survived through the centuries and are important historical documents.

The Economy of New France

How did New France make money?


The fur trade and farming. How did New France make money?

The social structure was based on a Seigneurial System.

1.The king gave large tracts of land along the St.Lawrence to the nobles aka seigneurs.

2.Each seigneur had to find colonists aka habitants to settle the land. These habitants rented strips of land and set up farms.

3.Seigneurs and habitants had duties which were protected by law. Habitants had to give a portion of their crop and pay

other fees to the seigneur. The seigneur had to build a church and mill on his land.


The king knew the Seigneural System would help populate New France.

If the seigneur did not find tenants to farm is land, he would not make any money.


Questions

Please complete the “Royal Takeover” and “Catholic Church” sheets in your Chapter 2 booklet.

Populating the Colony

Fille du Roi: The women known as the “king’s daughters” who were sent to New France to become wives.

Key Characteristics of the Catholic Church

in New France

Class Notes:The bishop led the church.The church operated the schools and hospitals.The church tried to convert First Nations peoples.Missionaries travelled deep into the interior of the

continent. Important historical information was provided

through journals and diaries.


In the early days, New France was simply a place for trading furs run by merchants.

They had little interest in building settlements. Few people wanted to move there, and the

colony failed to prosper.

The Population of New France (pg 45)

Brainstorm

Why was it so difficult for New France’s population to grow?

Nobody wanted to leave France to live there.

Death and diseaseThere were hardly any WOMEN!

What do you see as the biggest problem?


Les Filles du Roi

Between 1665 and 1673, the King sent approximately 900 single young women and girls to New France to become wives.

How would you feel if you were one of these girls torn away from your family to marry a strange

man and live in the New World?

Payment – A Wedding Gift

When they married, the king gave them:

1 Cow1 Ox

2 Chickens

2 Pigs

Salt Beef

A purse of money

Women in New France

Women worked hard alongside their husbands in the fields.

They cared for their homes and children and helped manage the family finances.

Girls in New France received a better education than they would have in France.

Within 14 years, the colony’s population grew from 3200 to 10 000.

These 10 000 colonists are the original Canadiens.

“I will or will not marry you!”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting married in New France?

Advantages Disadvantages• Gifts from the King• Women would receive an

education• Men would receive help on

their farm• Companionship

• Women had to do hard labour

• Taken away to a strange new world

• You wouldn’t know who you were marrying.

• Disease and Death.

“I will or will not marry you!”

You will be given the identity of a Fille du Roi or a French settler. After meeting your “match” you must decided individually if you will marry your match or not.

You must provide two reasons for why you will or will not marry your match.

“Yes, Jean Gui I will marry you because....”“No, Marguerite I will not marry you because...”

Test Format

10 Definitions9 Multiple Choice5 Listing/Short Answer (12 pts total)

1 Long Answer (5 points)

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France Expands Its Empire