Transcript France Takes an Interest in North America

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, NOT
 This 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 French in 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!
The French in Acadia
 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.
The French in Acadia
 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.
The French in Acadia
 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.
The Coureurs de Bois
Why do you think the job of a
Coureur de Bois was desired
by many French men?
The Coureurs de Bois
Adventure!
Freedom!
Money!
The Coureurs de Bois
 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.
Pierre Radisson and the Sieur des
Groseilliers
 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?
Pierre Radisson and the Sieur 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?
Pierre Radisson and the Sieur 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?
 They were claiming the land for France.
Pierre Radisson and the Sieur des
Groseilliers
 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.
Sovereign
Council
Governor
Intendant
Bishop
Appointed
Councillors
The Sovereign Council
Governor
Intendant
•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 ($).
Bishop
•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
What was the #1 goal of 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.
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 Economy of New France
How did New France make money?
 The fur trade and farming.
The Economy of New France
 The social structure was based on a Seigneurial
System.
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.
1.
The Economy of New France
 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.
Populating the Colony
 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)
1608
• 28
1641
• 240
1653
• 2000
Brainstorm
Why was it so difficult for New France’s
population to grow?
Populating the Colony
 Nobody wanted to leave France to live there.
 Death and disease
 There 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:
2 Pigs
1 Cow
1 Ox
2 Chickens
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 had to do hard
Women would receive an
labour
education
• Taken away to a strange
Men would receive help on
new world
their farm
• You wouldn’t know who
Companionship
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 Definitions
9 Multiple Choice
5 Listing/Short Answer (12 pts total)
1 Long Answer (5 points)