The French in North America

Transcription

1 Chapter Two The French in North America Big Ideas: *The affect of imperialism (the control a country has over other countries through economic or military influence) on New France and on Native American people. * How was imperialism responsible for the development of Acadia and New France? * Who were the key figures in the French exploration and settlement of North America? * Why were the Royal Government and Catholic Church important in New France?

2 What is imperialism? In order to understand imperialism, you need to know what a colony is first. Colony: a territory that is controlled by another country Now, put it in your own words! What is a colony? When a country like France, owns and operates more than one colony, it becomes known as an empire. In an empire, individual colonies had no independence or control over colony affairs. Decisions about politics or money were made by the home country, usually with the decision benefiting the home country.

3 Creating and controlling colonies to build up empires is known as imperialism. Imperialism works like this:

4 Why would European nations like France and Britain be interested in imperialism? In other words, what's in it for "them?" The "Silk Road" was a trading route linking Europe and Asia. The "road" was nothing like roads today. In fact, it was a series of paths over land through dangerous areas. The route was inefficient, meaning not as good as it could be, for many reasons. Thieves were common along the route and would steal goods or money from the traders on their way to or from Asia. The terrain itself was dangerous, sometimes causing injury or death to the traders. Also, traders were not able to carry much with them each trip. These reasons made goods that were brought back to Europe very expensive, but the demand for goods from Asia did not decrease.

5 Because the demand for these goods was so high, and the Silk Road was so inefficient and dangerous, Europeans became eager to find another route, preferably over water. *What is the biggest advantage of a water route? There were four basic incentives for Europeans to cross the oceans in search of a more efficient trade route with the East. They were: 1. Economics 2. Competition 3. Religion 4. Curiosity

6 Economics: European nations set up colonies to gain control of resources. New colonies meant new sources or additional sources of resources for the home country. Competition: Countries in Europe were often at war with each other over land and resources. They would compete with each other to try and use what was left in Europe. By establishing new colonies, countries not only looked better and more powerful, they had access to new and more resources.

7 Religion: Competition between Catholic France and Protestant Britain had these two nations attempting to send missionaries all over the world trying to get more people to follow their religion, even though both religions are Christian and very closely related. Curiosity: Europeans also started to become curious about what was "out there." New technology and better tools for navigation helped European explorers go farther than they'd ever been able to travel in history.

8 But how does the search for a better Silk Road lead to North America? At this period in time, Europeans did not know about North and South America. They believed that if they set sail in a Western direction that they would travel around the globe to eventually reach the east coast of Asia. Turns out, they were wrong!

9 The King of France at the time, King Francois I, was determined the French could and would find a passage to Asia through North America. Because of this determination, King Francois sent Jaques Cartier to North America. Cartier found Newfoundland after 20 days at sea. He continued looking and eventually found the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Exploring St. Lawrence led Cartier to come in contact with first the Mi'kmaq, then Haudenosaunee people. On a return trip, Cartier and his men attempted to stay the winter. Many of the men died from scurvy. The Haudenosaunee taught Cartier and his men to make a tea that provided their systems with vitamin C. Without this tea, all of Cartier's crew would have died that winter. Jacques Cartier proved to be a very important part of North American history. He attempted to set up a permanent colony along the St. Lawrence, but failed due to the winter conditions. He was unsuccessful in finding gold and riches to take back to France, but did initiate trade with aboriginal people in Canada. Cartier gathered great amounts of information about North America, including information about its geography.

10 For the next fifty years or so, French ships made their way to North America to fish or gather furs. By the early 1600's, demand for fur was so high in Europe that King Louis XIII decided a colony should be attempted in North America again. Louis XIII was also interested in expanding his Empire and wanted to be the most powerful leader in Europe. How would creating new colonies help Louis XIII be a more powerful ruler? To make it cheaper for the King to set up colonies, he granted a trade monopoly to a group of merchants (businessmen). What is a monopoly?

11 In exchange for the monopoly rights, the merchants were responsible for the costs of the colonies. They needed to pay for buildings, transportation, supplies, etc., as well as advertise for people to go to the colonies. They were responsible for the colonists as well. This meant the king did not have to use money and resources to build and support the colonies, but his Empire was able to benefit from the resources across the sea. Creation of Acadia In the spring of 1605, Pierre de Monts created a settlement at Port Royal. The French called the area Acadia and for the most part lived in harmony with the Mi'kmaq, at least for a time. More and more French people came to Acadia over time and had a hard life farming, but the chance for a fresh start. The colonists spread out along the bay and were successful farming, fishing, and hunting. The people living in Acadia bonded over their shared hardships and culture and formed a unique community.

12 But what about the Mi'kmaq? According to the information on the previous slide, the Mi'kmaq did not mind the French colonists at first. Explain the pros and cons for the Mi'kmaq people of living near the new colony of Acadia. Pros Cons Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain worked hard to develop the new colony of Quebec. He lived in the struggling colony for 27 years, and made eight separate trips back to France, trying to convince the king to send more resources and support for the settlement. Champlain was a key piece of building relationships with aboriginal peoples. He built alliances with the Montagnais, Algonquin, and Wendat tribes. Champlain also made an agreement with the Wendat to protect them from the Haudenosaunee, an action that caused trouble for the people at New France for another hundred years. Champlain died before the colony of Quebec was successful, but he is viewed as the founder of New France.

13 Coureurs de Bois "runners of the woods" Coureurs de Bois were adventurers. The promise of a lifestyle with adventure, freedom and money led many young men to adopt this lifestyle. Coureurs de Bois lived peacefully among First Nations peoples for long periods of time, learning to speak their languages and understand their culture, government structure, and economy. Many of these adventurers became so comfortable among the tribes, they married Aboriginal women and raised families. Their children were the first Metis. Pierre Radisson Sieur de Groseilliers Two famous coureurs de bois, Radisson and Groseilliers were the first Europeans to travel as west as the far end of Lake Superior. As they travelled, they named settlements, lakes, rivers, and other landforms with French names, claiming them for France. Years later, the two ventured north to Hudson Bay because First Nations peoples had told them there were many furbearing animals. The Hudson's Bay Company was founded as a result of the explorations of these two adventurers.

14 A Question of Ownership Part of Imperialism is creating and supporting colonies. In order for a nation to collect more land, it must take if from someone else. In North America, the someone else Imperial Empires took land from was Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people did not believe individuals could own land. They believed it belonged to everyone and shared the resources equally. The concept of owning a section of land was completely foreign to them until the arrival of French Imperialists. Government in New France In the early days of New France, the colony relied on the home country for military protection, supplies, and people. In return, they supplied France with resources like furs and fish. The merchants who ran the colonies had no reason to build up population because their money came from trading furs, NOT from building up and supporting the colony. In 1663, this changed. France sent military, people, and supplies to the colonies. Colonies sent fur and fish back to France.

15 King Louis XIV took control of the colonies from the merchants and put a Sovereign Council in charge which was made up of appointed councillors and three key figures. The Governor was the King's personal representative and was the most powerful member on the council. He was in charge of defence of the colony and alliances with neighbouring groups. The Intendant was next in importance. He looked after day-to-day business in the colony like courts, road construction and maintenance, settlers affairs, and economics. The Bishop was the head of the church in the colony and was included in the politics as well.

16 How is the government structure in New France similar to the government structure of the Aboriginal groups we studied? How is it different? The Catholic Church in New France Religion was extremely important to Europeans. France was largely Catholic and that meant most colonists were Catholic as well. To meet the needs of these people, the Catholic Church sent priests, nuns, and missionaries to New France. These people spent time running hospitals and schools, caring for the poor, and of course, running religious services. The colonists supported the work by donating a percentage of their income. This donation was called a tithe. The most important goal of the Church was to spread Catholic faith. Europeans believed First Nations people were ignorant and tried to convert them to Catholicism. Many missionaries were adventurers traveling to places that had never been visited by Europeans before.

17 Women in New France Women in New France had more freedom and opportunity in the new colony than they had enjoyed in France. They worked very hard with their husbands in the fields, ran their homes, cared for their children and helped to manage the family finances. Girls in the colonies were sent to schools, run by nuns, where they were taught to read and write as well as some domestic chores. In fact, girls often received better educations than boys did in New France, giving them more opportunity than they would have had back home in France. How were women's lives in New France similar to Aboriginal Women's lives? How were they different?

18 While the fur trade was an important part of New France's economy, it was not the only part of it. Most colonists were farmers. The colony was based on the Seigneurial System. The king of France gave nobles large areas of land bordering the St. Lawrence River. These nobles then became responsible for encouraging colonists to come and settle on their land. Nobles charged the colonists a portion of the crops they raised and other taxes in order for them to farm the land. The more colonists on a noble's land, the more money he could make, so it was in a nobleman's best interest to entice as many colonists to come to New France as possible. In return, the nobles had to build a church and mill on their land for the colonists to use. Economy in New France How was the economy of New France similar to Aboriginal economies? How was it different? Tied to environment; bailed out by France.

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