The French Period
Beginning in the mid-16th century, another commercial activity started—the fur trade. In order to promote its fur-trading activities in the region it called Acadia (the Atlantic coast of Canada), France attempted to settle colonists near trading posts it had built there. In 1598 the Marquis de la Roche established a colony on Sable Island east of present-day Nova Scotia. It did not flourish and was abandoned, as was an inland settlement founded by Pierre de Cahauvin de Tonnetuit at Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay River in what is now Quebec. The harsh northern climate and lack of provisions were major factors in the failure of these early settlements.
In 1603 the Sieur de Monts was given a trading monopoly in Acadia with the obligation of settling colonists there. The following year, de Monts with the aid of Samuel de Champlain established a settlement on St. Croix Island (now Cochet Island, Maine). Because of severe weather the French relocated the settlement in 1605 to the mainland, at Port Royal (Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia). This colony also failed. In 1608 de Monts sent Champlain to found a settlement on the St. Lawrence River, at what is now Quebec City.
Quebec City became headquarters for the fur trade, which was to be the main economic activity of New France, as French possessions in Canada were then called. Champlain made explorations into the interior and formed an alliance with the Huron and Algonquin Indians. This association soon involved the French in a war against the Iroquois, and they incurred the lasting enmity of the tribes of this powerful confederation.
The French government encouraged settlement in New France, but initially few settlers came. In 1615 there were only about 50 French colonists in the St. Lawrence settlement. In order to bring Christianity to the Indians, Champlain invited Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries to New France. The French hoped to build a strong Catholic Indian state to block expansion by the English, who were colonizing to the south in what is now the United States. Missions among the Indians were established far into the interior, but few Indians were converted. For a time, the Jesuits exerted a strong influence over the civil affairs of New France. Particularly powerful was the first bishop of New France, François Xavier de Laval-Montmorency.
Meanwhile, in 1627, England and France had gone to war in Europe, and the English began to make incursions into New France. In 1627 Sir William Alexander, a Scottish colonizer who had been granted title to what is now Nova Scotia (New Scotland) by King James I of England, established a settlement there at the abandoned site of Port Royal. In 1629 an English adventurer, David Kirke, seized Quebec. The city was restored to the French, as was Port Royal, by the Treaty of St. Germaine-en-Laye in 1632.
In 1642 Ville-Marie (now called Montreal) was founded by Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, mainly for missionary activities. It flourished as a trade center, giving new life to the struggling colony of New France. By the 1660's, however, there were only some 2,500 settlers in New France, as compared to more than 40,000 English colonists to the south. From 1627 to 1663, the Company of New France, a fur-trading company, controlled all activity in New France. In 1663 Louis XIV, who was determined to build a self-sufficient empire in North America, made New France a royal colony under his direct control.
In 1672 Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, was appointed governor. For nearly 20 years, 1672–82 and 1689–98, he ruled New France with a firm hand. He expanded the fur trade to Lake Superior and Hudson Bay, established a number of military posts, defended the colony against attacks by the Iroquois, and conducted a series of raids against English settlements. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 18th century, the prospects for the survival of New France were not favorable.
