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{{short description|Area colonized by France in North America}}
{{redirect|Nouvelle France|other uses|Nouvelle France (disambiguation)|and|New France (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|French Quebec||Québécois (disambiguation){{!}}Québécois}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{native name|fr|Nouvelle-France}}
| conventional_long_name = New France
| common_name            = New France
| image_flag             = Pavillon royal de la France.svg
| stat_area1             = 8,000,000
| ref_area1              = <ref>Havard, Vidal, ''Histoire de l’Amérique française'', Flammarion, 2003, p. 67.</ref>
| flag_type              = [[Flag of France|Flag]]{{efn|The Royal Banner of [[early modern France]] or "[[House of Bourbon|Bourbon Flag]]" was the most commonly used flag in New France<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1214&ProjectElementID=3952|title=Royal Banner of France – Heritage Emblem|publisher=The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General |author =The Governor General of Canada|work=Confirmation of the blazon of a Flag. February 15, 2008 Vol. V, p. 202|date=12 November 2020 }}</ref><ref name="Association1915">{{cite book|author=New York State Historical Association|title=Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association with the Quarterly Journal: 2nd–21st Annual Meeting with a List of New Members|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eog-AAAAYAAJ|year=1915|publisher=The Association|quote=It is most probable that the Bourbon Flag was used during the greater part of the occupancy of the French in the region extending southwest from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, known as New France... The French flag was probably blue at that time with three golden fleur-de-lis .... }}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-flag-of-canada|title=Background: The First National Flags |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date= 2019 |access-date=1 March 2021 |quote=At the time of New France (1534 to the 1760s), two flags could be viewed as having national status. The first was the banner of France – a blue square flag bearing three gold fleurs-de-lys. It was flown above fortifications in the early years of the colony. For instance, it was flown above the lodgings of Pierre Du Gua de Monts at Île Sainte-Croix in 1604. There is some evidence that the banner also flew above Samuel de Champlain's habitation in 1608. ... the completely white flag of the French Royal Navy was flown from ships, forts and sometimes at land-claiming ceremonies.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://inquinte.ca/story/canada-150-years-of-history-the-story-behind-the-flag|title=INQUINTE.CA &#124; CANADA 150 Years of History ~ The story behind the flag|website=inquinte.ca|quote=When Canada was settled as part of France and dubbed "New France," two flags gained national status. One was the Royal Banner of France. This featured a blue background with three gold fleurs-de-lis. A white flag of the French Royal Navy was also flown from ships and forts and sometimes flown at land-claiming ceremonies.}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Wallace |first=W. Stewart |author-link=W. Stewart Wallace |title=Flag of New France |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia|The Encyclopedia of Canada]] |volume=II |location=Toronto |publisher=University Associates of Canada |year=1948 |pages=350–351|quote=During the French régime in Canada, there does not appear to have been any French national flag in the modern sense of the term. The "Banner of France", which was composed of fleur-de-lys on a blue field, came nearest to being a national flag, since it was carried before the king when he marched to battle, and thus in some sense symbolized the kingdom of France. During the later period of French rule, it would seem that the emblem...was a flag showing the fleur-de-lys on a white ground... as seen in Florida. There were, however, 68 flags authorized for various services by Louis XIV in 1661; and a number of these were doubtless used in New France}}</ref>}}
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of Kingdom of France.svg
| symbol_type            = [[National emblem of France|Coat of arms]]{{efn|Lesser version of the coat of arms as used by the [[Kingdom of France|French Government]].}}
| image_map              = New France (orthographic projection).svg
| alt_map                = Image of a globe centered on New France, with New France highlighted.
| map_width              = 220px
| image_map_caption      = New France’s territory at its height in 1712, before the [[Treaty of Utrecht]].
| national_motto         = {{unbulleted list |{{native phrase|fr|"[[Montjoie Saint Denis!]]"|italics=off}} |{{small|"Mountjoy Saint Denis!"}}}}
| national_anthem        = 
| status                 = [[Viceroyalty]] of the [[Kingdom of France]] (1534–1760)<br>Viceroyalty under British [[military occupation]] (1760–1763)
| empire                 = [[Kingdom of France]]
| capital                = [[Quebec City|Quebec]]
| official_languages     = [[French language|French]]
| religion               = [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
| title_leader           = [[List of French monarchs|King of France]]
| leader1                = [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] (first)
| year_leader1           = 1534–1547
| leader2                = [[Louis XV]] (last)
| year_leader2           = 1715–1763
| title_representative   = [[List of governors general of Canada|Viceroy of New France]]
| representative1        = [[Jacques Cartier]] (first; as Governor of New France)
| year_representative1   = 1534–1541
| representative2        = [[Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial|Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil]] (last)
| year_representative2   = 1755–1760
| legislature            = [[Sovereign Council of New France|Superior Council]]
| era                    = [[French colonization of the Americas|Colonial]]/[[French and Indian War]]
| event_start            = Exploration of [[Canada]] begins with [[Jacques Cartier]]
| year_start             = 1534
| date_start             = 24 July
| event3                  = [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] [[Montreal campaign|captures]] [[Montreal]] and its subject to a [[British military regime in New France|military regime]] throughout New France
| date_event3            = 8 September 1760
| date_event4            = 10 February 1763
| event4                 = [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]]
| event_end              = By the [[Royal Proclamation of 1763|Royal Proclamation]], King [[George III]] announces the end of military regime in [[Canada (New France)|Canada]] and renames it into the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]] and the forbidding all settlements west of a line drawn along the [[Appalachian Mountains]], which became the [[Indian Reserve (1763)|Indian Reserve]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Middlekauff |first1=Robert |title=The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789 |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-1951-6247-9 |pages=58–60 |edition=Revised Expanded |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nya0ODz-B-cC&pg=PA58}}</ref>
| year_end               = 1763
| date_end               = 7 October
| event1                 = [[Louis XIV]] integrates New France into the royal domain, endows it with a [[Sovereign Council of New France|new administration]] and founds the [[French West India Company]]
| date_event1            = 18 September 1663
| event2                 = By the [[Treaty of Utrecht]], [[Kingdom of France|France]] cedes most of [[Acadia]] to the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] as well as its claims on [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and [[Hudson Bay|Hudson's Bay]].
| date_event2            = 11 April 1713
| currency               = [[Livre tournois]]
| today                  = [[Canada]]<br />[[United States]]<br />[[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]{{efn|An overseas territory of [[France]].}}
}}

'''New France''' ({{langx|fr|Nouvelle-France}}) was the [[territory]] colonized by [[Kingdom of France|France]] in [[North America]], beginning with the exploration of the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]] by [[Jacques Cartier]] in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and [[Bourbon Spain|Spain]] in 1763 under the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]].

A vast [[viceroyalty]], ''New France'' consisted of five colonies at its peak in 1712, each with its own administration: [[Canada (New France)|Canada]], the most developed colony, which was divided into the districts of Quebec (around what is now called [[Quebec City]]), [[Trois-Rivières]], and [[Montreal]]; [[Hudson Bay]]; [[Acadia]] in the northeast; [[Terre-Neuve (New France)|Terre-Neuve]] on the island of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]; and [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]].<ref name=Francis2009>{{cite book |first1=R. Douglas |last1=Francis |first2=Richard |last2=Jones |first3=Donald B. |last3=Smith |title=Journeys: A History of Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbbZRIOKclsC&pg=PA51 |year=2009 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-17-644244-6 |page=51}}</ref><ref name=Territoire>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/nllefce/fr/intro.htm |title=La Nouvelle France: Le Territoire |trans-title=New France: The Territory |publisher=Government of France |language=fr |access-date=16 January 2017 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920111912/http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/nllefce/fr/intro.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> It extended from Newfoundland to the [[Canadian Prairies]] and from Hudson Bay to the [[Gulf of Mexico]], including all the [[Great Lakes of North America]].  The continent-traversing [[Saint Lawrence River|Saint Lawrence]] and [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] rivers were means of carrying French influence through much of North America.

In the 16th century, the lands were used primarily to extract natural resources, such as furs, through trade with the various indigenous peoples. In the seventeenth century, successful settlements began in Acadia and in Quebec. In the [[Peace of Utrecht|1713 Treaty of Utrecht]], France ceded to Great Britain its claims over mainland Acadia, Hudson Bay, and Newfoundland. France established the colony of [[Île-Royale (New France)|Île Royale]] on [[Cape Breton Island]], where they built the [[Fortress of Louisbourg]].<ref name=Johnston2001>{{cite book |title=Control and Order in French Colonial Louisbourg, 1713–1758 |first=Andrew John Bayly |last=Johnston |year=2001 |publisher=MSU Press |pages=8–9 |isbn=978-0-8701-3570-5 |jstor=10.14321/j.ctt7zt68f |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIV6AAAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref name=Louisbourg>{{cite web |url=http://www.fortressoflouisbourg.ca/Overview/mid/12 |title=History |publisher=Fortress of Louisbourg Association |access-date=23 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723021109/http://www.fortressoflouisbourg.ca/Overview/mid/12 |archive-date=23 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The population rose slowly but steadily. In 1754, New France's population consisted of 10,000 [[Acadian]]s, 55,000 ''[[French Canadians|Canadiens]]'', and about 4,000 settlers in [[Louisiana (New France)|upper and lower Louisiana]]; 69,000 in total.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jacques |last=Leclerc|author-link=:fr:Jacques Leclerc (linguiste) |url=https://www.uottawa.ca/clmc/linguistic-history/arrival-europeans |title=Arrival of the Europeans: Canada at the Time of New France |series=Linguistic History of Canada |publisher=University of Ottawa online |year=2018}}</ref> The British expelled the Acadians in the [[Expulsion of the Acadians|Great Upheaval]] from 1755 to 1764, and their descendants are dispersed in the [[The Maritimes|Maritime provinces]] of Canada and in [[Maine]] and [[Louisiana]], with small populations in [[Chéticamp, Nova Scotia]], and the [[Magdalen Islands#History|Magdalen Islands]]. Some also went to France.

After the [[Seven Years' War]] (which included the [[French and Indian War]] in America), France ceded the rest of New France to Great Britain and Spain in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] of 1763 (except the islands of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]). Britain acquired Canada, Acadia, and French Louisiana east of the [[Mississippi River]], except for the [[Île d'Orléans, Louisiana|Île d'Orléans]], which was granted to Spain with the territory to the west. In 1800, Spain returned [[Louisiana (New Spain)|its portion of Louisiana]] to France under the secret [[Third Treaty of San Ildefonso|Treaty of San Ildefonso]], and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] sold it to the United States in the [[Louisiana Purchase]] of 1803, permanently ending French colonial efforts on the American mainland.

New France eventually became absorbed within the United States and Canada, with the only vestige of French rule being the tiny islands of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]], an [[overseas collectivity]] of [[France]], although Quebec remains predominately French-speaking. In the United States, the legacy of New France includes [[List of place names of French origin in the United States|numerous place names]] as well as small pockets of [[French language in the United States|French-speaking]] communities.
{{TOC limit|4}}

==Settlements of New France==
{{Further|List of towns and villages in New France|List of French forts in North America}}
[[File:Québec-1608-Champlain-construisant-son-Habitation.jpg|upright|left|thumb|[[Samuel de Champlain]] overseeing the construction of the [[Habitation de Québec]], in 1608]]

{{quotation |New France had five colonies or territories, each with its own administration: [[Canada (New France)|Canada]] (the Great Lakes region, the Ohio Valley, and the St. Lawrence River Valley), [[Acadia]] (the Gaspé Peninsula, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, [[Isle Saint-Jean|St. John's Island]], and [[Île-Royale (New France)|Île Royale]]-Cape Breton), [[Hudson Bay]] (and [[James Bay]]), [[Terre-Neuve (New France)|Terre-Neuve]] (south Newfoundland), and [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]];.<ref name="p904">{{cite web | title=Arrival of the Europeans and introduction of English and French | publisher =University of Ottawa| date=Sep 1, 2024 | url=https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/official-languages-bilingualism-institute/clmc/linguistic-history/arrival-europeans | access-date=Sep 2, 2024}}</ref>}}

* [[Acadia|Acadia  (1604–1713)]] —(areas [[Port-Royal (Acadia)|Port Royal]], [[Île-Royale (New France)|Île-Royale]], [[Île Saint-Jean]], [[New Brunswick]], and [[Maine]])
* [[Canada (New France)|Canada (1608–1763)]] —(districts, [[Quebec City|Québec]], [[Trois-Rivières]], and [[Montreal District|Montreal]]; areas, [[Pays d'en Haut]] and [[Domaine du roy]])
*[[Hudson Bay expedition (1686)|Hudson Bay]] —([[List of Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay|Hudson Bay conflicts 17th and 18th centuries]])
* [[Terre-Neuve (New France)|Terre-Neuve (1662–1713)]]
* [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana (1682–1763, 1801–1803)]] —(district, [[Illinois Country]]; area, [[Ohio Country]])

The 1715 [[Peace of Utrecht|Treaty of Utrecht]] resulted in the relinquishing of French claims to mainland Acadia, the Hudson Bay and Newfoundland, and the establishment of the colony of [[Cape Breton Island|Île Royale]], now called Cape Breton Island, where the French built the [[Fortress of Louisbourg]].<ref name=Johnston2001 /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://slmc.uottawa.ca/?q=canada_new_france |title=Canada at the Time of New France |date=2004 |author=University of Ottawa |access-date=March 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325201714/https://slmc.uottawa.ca/?q=canada_new_france |archive-date=25 March 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Growth of the settlements===
{{see|Population of Canada#Former colonies and territories}}
[[File:Jean Talon illustration from The Great Intendant.jpg|thumb|[[Jean Talon]], count of Orsainville, first intendant of New France]]

The European population grew slowly under French rule,<ref name="Preston2009b">{{cite book |first=David L. |last=Preston |title=The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Frontiers of Iroquoia, 1667–1783 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-9N6-6UCnoC&pg=PA43|year=2009|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-2549-7|page=43}}</ref> thus remained relatively low as growth was largely achieved through natural births, rather than by immigration.<ref name="Powell2009t">{{cite encyclopedia |first=John |last=Powell |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of North American Immigration |title=New France |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNCX6UsdZYkC&pg=PA203|year=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1012-7|page=203 |access-date=March 8, 2021}}</ref> Most of the French were farmers, and the rate of natural increase among the settlers themselves was very high.<ref name="McIlwraithMuller2001">{{cite book |first1=Thomas F. |last1=McIlwraith |first2=Edward K. |last2=Muller |title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fa--xLT_dRYC&pg=PA72 |year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4616-3960-2|page=72}}</ref> The women had about 30 per cent more children than comparable women who remained in France.<ref name=Landry/> Yves Landry says, "Canadians had an exceptional diet for their time."<ref>{{cite journal |first=Yves |last=Landry|title=Fertility in France and New France: The Distinguishing Characteristics of Canadian Behavior in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries |journal=Social Science History |jstor=1171305|year=1993|volume=17|issue=4|publisher=Université de Montréal|pages=577–592, quote p 586|doi=10.1017/S0145553200016928|s2cid=147651557 }}</ref> The [[1666 census of New France]] was the first census conducted in North America.<ref name=new>{{cite web|title=North America's First Census|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/kits-trousses/jtalon2-eng.htm|publisher=Statistics Canada|year=2009|access-date=23 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616060433/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/kits-trousses/jtalon2-eng.htm|archive-date=16 June 2012}}</ref> It was organized by [[Jean Talon]], the first [[Intendant of New France]], between 1665 and 1666.<ref name=new/> According to Talon's census there were 3,215 people in New France, comprising 538 separate families.<ref name=Talon>{{cite web |title=Tables of census data collected in 1665 and 1666 by Jean Talon|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/kits-trousses/5200679-eng.htm|publisher=Statistics Canada|year=2009|access-date=23 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202195703/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/kits-trousses/5200679-eng.htm|archive-date=2 December 2010}}</ref> The census showed a great difference in the number of men at 2,034 versus 1,181 women.<ref name=Talon/>

By the early 1700s, the New France settlers were well established along the [[Saint Lawrence River]] and [[Nova Scotia peninsula#Historic name|Acadian Peninsula]] with a population around 15,000 to 16,000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm|publisher=Statistics Canada|year=2009|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> The first population figures for Acadia are from 1671, which enumerated only 450 people.<ref name="auto"/>

After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, New France began to prosper. Industries such as fishing and farming, which had failed under Talon, began to flourish. A "King's Highway" (''[[Chemin du Roy]]'') was built between Montreal and Quebec to encourage faster trade. The shipping industry also flourished as new ports were built and old ones were upgraded. The number of colonists greatly increased. By 1720, Canada had become a self-sufficient colony with a population of 24,594.<ref name=Belanger>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/stats/pop05-44.htm |title=Population of Quebec 1605–1844 |last=Bélanger |first=Claude |publisher=Marianopolis College |location=Montreal |work=Quebec History: Statistical Material and Charts |date=23 August 2000 |access-date=July 25, 2016|quote=Year 1765 Population 69,810}}</ref> 
Mainly due to natural increase and modest immigration from [[Regions of France|Northwest France]] ([[Brittany]], [[Normandy]], [[Île-de-France]], [[Poitou-Charentes]] and [[Pays de la Loire]]) the population of Canada increased to 55,000 according to the last French census of 1754.<ref name="Leslie1988a">{{cite book |first=Peter M. |last=Leslie |title=Ethnonationalism in a Federal State: The Case of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7NXifhZKfgC&pg=PA6|year=1988|publisher=Queen's University|isbn=978-0-88911-456-2|page=6 note 5}}</ref> This was an increase from 42,701 in 1730.<ref name="Hartz1969">{{cite book |last=Hartz |first=Louis |title=The Founding of New Societies: Studies in the History of the United States, Latin America, South Africa, Canada, and Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7YFyzsBYnEC&pg=PT231|year=1969|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=0-547-97109-5|page=231}}</ref> By 1765, the population approached 70,000.<ref name=Belanger />

By 1714, the Acadian population had expanded to over 2,500 and to about 13,000 people by the end of the 1750s.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://umaine.edu/canam/publications/st-croix/acadian-deportation-migration-resettlement/ |title=Explanatory maps of Saint Croix & Acadia: Acadian Deportation, Migration, and Resettlement |work=Canadian-American Center, University of Maine |year=2005 |editor-first=Stephen J. |editor-last=Hornsby |access-date=March 8, 2021}}</ref> This was mostly from natural increase rather than immigration that affected other French settlements.<ref name="auto"/>

European population of Louisiana is estimated at 5,000 by the 1720s.<ref name="Works1891">{{cite book |title=Annual Report of Department of Public Works, Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SCQAAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA3-PA10|year=1891|pages=3–4}}</ref> This would dramatically change in the mid-1730s with the loss of 2,000 French settlers and the introduction of African slaves.<ref name="LescarbotBiggar1907"/> Enslaved men, women and children represented approximately 65 percent of the 6,000 non-indigenous population of Louisiana by the end of French rule.<ref name="LescarbotBiggar1907">{{cite book |first1=Marc |last1=Lescarbot |first2=Henry |last2=Percival Biggar |first3=William Lawson |last3=Grant |first4=William Francis |last4=Ganong |title=Histoire de la Nouvelle-France |trans-title=History of New France |year=1907|publisher=Champlain Society|page=21 |language=fr}}</ref>

==History==
===Early exploration (1523–1650s)===
Around 1523, the [[Republic of Florence|Florentine]] navigator [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]] convinced King [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] to commission an expedition to find a western route to [[Cathay]] (China).<ref>{{cite book |first=Raymonde |last=Litalien |title=Champlain: The Birth of French America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnE0tjj9MbgC&pg=PA115 |year=2004 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |isbn=978-0-7735-7256-0 |page=115}}</ref> Late that year, Verrazzano set sail in [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]], crossing the Atlantic on a small [[caravel]] with 50 men.<ref name="CoxAlbala2009">{{cite book |first1=Caroline |last1=Cox |first2=Ken |last2=Albala |title=Opening Up North America, 1497–1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=75WxGsZD2DIC&pg=PA27 |year=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-60413-196-3 |page=27}}</ref> After exploring the coast of the present-day [[The Carolinas|Carolinas]] early the following year, he headed north along the coast, eventually anchoring in the [[The Narrows|Narrows]] of [[New York Bay]].<ref name="CoxAlbala2009"/>

The first European to visit the site of present-day New York, Verrazzano named it [[New Angoulême|Nouvelle-Angoulême]] in honour of the [[king]], the former count of [[Angoulême]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Evan T. |last=Pritchard |title=Native New Yorkers: The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5hky9f5PgoC&pg=PA21 |year=2002 |publisher=Council Oak Books |isbn=978-1-57178-107-9 |page=21}}</ref> Verrazzano's voyage convinced the king to seek to establish a colony in the newly discovered land. Verrazzano gave the names ''Francesca'' and ''Nova Gallia'' to that land between [[New Spain]] (Mexico) and English Newfoundland.<ref>{{cite book |first=Alan |last=Axelrod |title=A Savage Empire: Trappers, Traders, Tribes, and the Wars That Made America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cdu0uWIe9rMC&pg=PA50 |year=2011 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-4299-9070-7 |page=50}}</ref>
[[File:Samuel de Champlain Carte geographique de la Nouvelle France.jpg|thumb|A map of New France made by [[Samuel de Champlain]] in 1612]]
In 1534, [[Jacques Cartier]] planted a cross in the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] and claimed the land in the name of [[King Francis I]].<ref name=Riendeau>{{cite book |first=Roger E. |last=Riendeau |title=A Brief History of Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFWy0EfzlX0C&pg=PA36 |year=2007 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0822-3 |page=36}}</ref> It was the first province of New France. The first settlement of 400 people, Fort [[Charlesbourg-Royal]] (present-day [[Quebec City]]), was attempted in 1541 but lasted only two years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fort Charlesbourg Royal National Historic Site of Canada |url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=16661 |publisher=Canada's Historic Places: Parks Canada |access-date=31 July 2018}}</ref>

French fishing fleets continued to sail to the Atlantic coast and into the St. Lawrence River, making alliances with Canadian [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] that became important once France began to occupy the land. French merchants soon realized the St. Lawrence region was full of valuable [[fur]]-bearing animals, especially the [[American Beaver|beaver]], which were becoming rare in [[Europe]]. Eventually, the French crown decided to colonize the territory to secure and expand its influence in America.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

[[Acadia]] and [[Canada (New France)]] were inhabited by [[indigenous peoples of North America|indigenous]] nomadic [[Algonquian peoples]] and sedentary [[Iroquoian]] peoples. These lands were full of unexploited and valuable natural resources, which attracted all of Europe. By the 1580s, French trading companies had been set up, and ships were contracted to bring back furs. Much of what transpired between the indigenous population and their European visitors around that time is not known, for lack of historical records.<ref name=Riendeau/>

Other attempts at establishing permanent settlements were also failures. In 1598, a French trading post was established on [[Sable Island]], off the coast of Acadia, but was unsuccessful. In 1600, a trading post was established at [[Tadoussac, Quebec|Tadoussac]], but only five settlers survived the winter.<ref name=Riendeau/>

In 1604, a settlement was founded at [[Saint Croix Island, Maine|Île-Saint-Croix]] on Baie François ([[Bay of Fundy]]), which was moved to [[Habitation at Port-Royal|Port-Royal]] in 1605.<ref name=Riendeau/> It was abandoned in 1607, re-established in 1610, and destroyed in 1613, after which settlers moved to other nearby locations, creating settlements that were collectively known as [[Acadia]], and the settlers as [[Acadians]].<ref name=Riendeau/>

====Foundation of Quebec City (1608)====
[[File:Champlain Habitation de Quebec.jpg|thumb|left|Champlain's Habitation {{circa|1608}}]]
In 1608, King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] sponsored [[Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons]] and [[Samuel de Champlain]] as founders of [[Quebec City|the city of Quebec]] with 28 men. This was the second permanent French settlement in the colony of [[Canada, New France|Canada]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grenon |first1=Jean-Yves |title=Pierre Dugua De Mons: Founder of Acadie (1604–05), Co-Founder of Quebec (1608) |translator-first=Phil |translator-last=Roberts |location=Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia |publisher=Peninsular Press |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-9682-0162-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Liebel |first=Jean |title=Pierre Dugua, sieur de Mons, fondateur de Québec |location=Paris |publisher=Le Croît vif |date=1999 |isbn=978-2-9079-6748-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Binot |first=Guy |title=Pierre Dugua de Mons: gentilhomme royannais, premier colonisateur du Canada, lieutenant général de la Nouvelle-France de 1603 à 1612 |location=[Vaux-sur-Mer] |publisher=Bonne anse |date=2004 |isbn=978-2-9144-6313-3}}</ref> Colonization was slow and difficult. Many settlers died early because of harsh weather and diseases. In 1630, there were only 103 colonists living in the settlement, but by 1640, the population had reached 355.<ref>{{cite web |title=Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm |publisher=Statistics Canada |year=2009 |access-date=26 August 2010}}</ref>

Champlain allied himself with the [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]] and [[Innu|Montagnais]] peoples in the area, who were at war with the [[Iroquois]], as soon as possible. In 1609, Champlain and two French companions accompanied his Algonquin, Montagnais, and [[Wyandot people|Huron]] allies south from the St. Lawrence Valley to [[Lake Champlain]]. He participated decisively in a battle against the Iroquois there, killing two Iroquois chiefs with the first shot of his [[arquebus]]. This military engagement against the Iroquois solidified Champlain's status with New France's Huron and Algonquin allies, enabling him to maintain bonds essential to New France's interests in the fur trade.<ref name="Douglas Hunter 2000, pp. 240+">{{cite book |first=Douglas |last=Hunter |title=God's Mercies: Rivalry, Betrayal and the Dream of Discovery |publisher=Random House of Canada |date=2007 |pages=240–242 |isbn=978-0-3856-6058-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzoSiqV--t8C&pg=PA240}}</ref>
[[File:Western New France, 1688.jpg|thumb|A map of western New France, including the [[Illinois Country]], by [[Vincenzo Coronelli]], 1688]]
[[File:1592 4 Nova Doetecum mr.jpg|thumb|1592 map of New France by [[Petrus Plancius]].]] 
Champlain also arranged to have young French men live with local indigenous people, to learn their language and customs and help the French adapt to life in North America. These ''[[coureurs des bois]]'' ("runners of the woods"), including [[Étienne Brûlé]], extended French influence south and west to the [[Great Lakes]] and among the Huron tribes who lived there. Ultimately, for the better part of a century, the Iroquois and French clashed in a series of attacks and reprisals.<ref name="Douglas Hunter 2000, pp. 240+"/>

During the first decades of the colony's existence, only a few hundred French people lived there, while the [[English colonial empire|English colonies]] to the south were much more populous and wealthy. [[Cardinal Richelieu]], adviser to [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]], wished to make New France as significant as the English colonies. In 1627, Richelieu founded the [[Company of One Hundred Associates]] to invest in New France, promising land parcels to hundreds of new settlers and to turn Canada into an important mercantile and farming colony.<ref name="Knecht 1991 165">{{cite book |last=Knecht |first=R.J. |title=Richelieu |year=1991 |publisher=Pearson Education Limited |location=Essex, England |isbn=978-0-582-43757-9 |page=165}}</ref> He named Champlain as the [[Governor of New France]] and forbade non-[[Catholic Church|Catholics]] to live there. Consequently, any [[Protestant]] emigrants to New France were forced to convert to Catholicism, prompting many of them to relocate to the English colonies instead.<ref name="Knecht 1991 165"/>

The Catholic Church, and missionaries such as the [[Recollets]] and the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]], became firmly established in the territory. Richelieu also introduced the [[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneurial system]], a semi-feudal system of farming based on [[ribbon farm]]s that remained a characteristic feature of the St. Lawrence valley until the 19th century. While Richelieu's efforts did little to increase the French presence in New France, they did pave the way for the success of later efforts.<ref name="Knecht 1991 165"/>

Simultaneously, the English colonies to the south began raiding the St. Lawrence Valley, also capturing and holding Quebec until 1632.<ref name=Michael>{{cite book |last=Fry |first=Michael |title=The Scottish Empire |publisher=Tuckwell Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-84158-259-7 |page=21}}</ref> Champlain returned to Canada that year and requested that Sieur de Laviolette found another trading post at [[Trois-Rivières, Quebec|Trois-Rivières]], which Laviolette did in 1634. Champlain died in 1635.

On 23 September 1646, under the command of [[Pierre Legardeur de Repentigny (admiral)|Pierre LeGardeur]], Le Cardinal arrived to Quebec with Jules (Gilles) [[Trottier#The first Trottiers in Québec|Trottier II]] and his family. Le Cardinal, commissioned by the [[Company of Habitants|Communauté des Habitants]], had arrived from [[La Rochelle|La Rochelle, France]]. Communauté des Habitants at the time of Trottier traded fur primarily. On 4 July 1646, by Pierre Teuleron, sieur de Repentigny, granted Trottier land in La Rochelle to build and develop New France, under the authorization [[Jacques Leneuf de La Poterie|Jacques Le Neuf de la Poterie]].

===Royal takeover and attempts to settle===
[[File:Naval Flag of the Kingdom of France (Civil Ensign).svg|thumb|The Merchant Flag of France {{nowrap|(1689 design)}}, inspiration for the [[flag of Quebec]] ]]
In 1650, New France had seven hundred colonists and Montreal had only a few dozen settlers. Because the First Nations people did most of the work of beaver hunting, the company needed few French employees. The sparsely populated New France almost fell to hostile Iroquois forces completely as well. In 1660, settler [[Adam Dollard des Ormeaux]] led a Canadian and Huron [[militia]] against a much larger Iroquois force; none of the Canadians survived, although they did turn back the Iroquois invasion.

In 1627, Quebec had only eighty-five French colonists and was easily overwhelmed two years later when three English privateers plundered the settlement. In 1663, New France finally became more secure when [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] made it a royal province, taking control away from the [[Company of One Hundred Associates]]. In the same year the [[Société Notre-Dame de Montréal]] ceded its possessions to the [[Society of Saint-Sulpice|Seminaire de Saint-Sulpice]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Young |first=Brian |title=In Its Corporate Capacity: the Seminary of Montreal as a Business Institution, 1816–76 |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1986 |chapter=Chapter 1, Holy Housekeeping: The Company and Business Management |pages=[https://archive.org/details/initscorporateca0000youn/page/n26 3]–37 |isbn=978-0-7735-0554-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lEF2PSj_S-QC |url=https://archive.org/details/initscorporateca0000youn |url-access=registration }}</ref>

The Crown paid for transatlantic passages and offered other incentives to those willing to move to New France as well, after which the population of New France grew to three thousand.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alan |title=American Colonies: The Settling of North America |date=2001 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-14-200210-0 |pages=365–366 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NPoAQRgkrOcC&pg=PA365}}</ref>

In 1665, Louis XIV sent a French garrison, the [[Carignan-Salières Regiment]], to Quebec. The colonial government was reformed along the lines of the government of France, with the Governor General and [[Intendant of New France|Intendant]] subordinate to the French Minister of the Marine. In 1665, [[Jean Talon]] Minister of the Marine accepted an appointment from [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]] as the first Intendant of New France. These reforms limited the power of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec|Bishop of Quebec]], who had held the greatest amount of power after the death of Champlain.

Talon tried reforming the seigneurial system by forcing the ''seigneurs'' to reside on their land and limiting the size of the ''seigneuries,'' intending to make more land available to new settlers. Talon's attempts failed since very few settlers arrived and the various industries he established failed to surpass the importance of the fur trade.

====Settlers and their families====
[[File:The Arrival of the French Girls at Quebec, 1667 - C.W. Jefferys.jpg|thumb|One group of [[King's Daughters]] arrives at Quebec, 1667]]

The first settler, brought to Quebec by Champlain, was the apothecary [[Louis Hébert]] and his family of Paris. They expressly came to settle and remain in New France so as to make the settlement viable. Waves of recruits came in response to the requests for men with specific skills, ''e''.''g''., farmers, architects, and blacksmiths. At the same time, the government encouraged intermarriages with the indigenous peoples and welcomed [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]], or ''engagés'' sent to New France. As couples married, cash incentives to have large families were put in place and proved effective.

To further strengthen the nascent [[French colonial empire|France's colonial empire]], [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] sponsored single women, virtuous, physically fit, and aged between 15 and 30 years, known as the [[King's Daughters]], or, in French, ''les filles du roi'', to move to New France. The King paid for their passage and granted goods or money as their dowries upon their marriage to single settlers. Approximately 800 women, primarily from the impoverished Parisian, Norman, and West-Central families, relocated during 1663–1673. By 1672, the population of New France had risen to 6,700 people, a marked increase from the population of 3,200 people in 1663.<ref name=peupl>{{cite web |title=Le peuplement d'un pays |url=http://www.mcq.org/histoire/filles_du_roi/peuplem.html |publisher=Musée de la civilisation |year=1998 |access-date=3 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101021441/http://www.mcq.org/histoire/filles_du_roi/peuplem.html |archive-date=1 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:1664AmeriqueNord.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Political map of the northeastern part of North America in 1664]]
This rapid demographic growth was predicated both on the high demand for children and on the ready supply of natural resources to support them. According to Landry, "Canadians had an exceptional diet for their time. This was due to the natural abundance of meat, fish, and pure water; the good food conservation conditions during the winter; and an adequate wheat supply in most years."<ref name=Landry>{{cite journal |first=Yves |last=Landry |title=Fertility in France and New France: The Distinguishing Characteristics of Canadian Behavior in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries |journal=Social Science History |date=Winter 1993 |volume=17 |issue=4 |page=586 |jstor=1171305 |doi=10.2307/1171305}}</ref> Consequently, colonial women bore about 30% more children than comparable women in France. 

Besides household duties, some women participated in the fur trade, the major source of money in New France. They worked at home alongside their husbands or fathers as merchants, clerks, and provisioners. Some were widows who took over their husbands' roles. Some even became independent and active entrepreneurs.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jan |last=Noel |title=N'être plus la déléguée de personne: une réévaluation du rôle des femmes dans le commerce en Nouvelle-France |journal=Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française |year=2009 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=209–241 |doi=10.7202/044453ar|url=http://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/haf/2009-v63-n2-3-haf3904/044453ar.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Settlements in Louisiana====
{{Main|Louisiana (New France)}}
[[File:New orleans plan 1728.jpg|left|thumb|Map of New Orleans in 1728]]
The French extended their territorial claim to the south and to the west of the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] late in the 17th century, naming it for King Louis XIV, as [[Louisiana (New France)|La Louisiane]]. In 1682, [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]] explored the [[Ohio River]] Valley and the [[Mississippi embayment|Mississippi River Valley]], and he claimed the entire territory for [[Early modern France|France]] as far south as the [[Gulf of Mexico]].<ref name="Magocsi1999w">{{cite book |first=Paul R. |last=Magocsi |title=Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbUuX0mnvQMC&pg=PA539 |year=1999 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-2938-6 |pages=539–540}}</ref>

La Salle attempted to establish the first southern colony in the new territory in 1685, but inaccurate maps and navigational issues led him to instead establish his [[French colonization of Texas|Fort Saint Louis]] in what is now [[Texas]]. The colony was devastated by disease, and the surviving settlers were killed in 1688, in an attack by the area's [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous population]].<ref>{{cite book |first=René |last=Chartrand |title=The Forts of New France: The Great Lakes, the Plains and the Gulf Coast, 1600–1763 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r24OvgAACAAJ |year=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=9781846035043 |page=51}}</ref> Other parts of Louisiana were settled and developed with success, such as [[New Orleans]] and [[Illinois Country|southern Illinois]], leaving a strong [[History of Louisiana#French exploration and colonization (1682–1763)|French influence]] in these areas long after the [[Louisiana Purchase]].

Many strategic [[fort]]s were built there, under the orders of Governor [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac]]. Forts were also built in the older portions of New France that had not yet been settled.<ref>{{cite book |first=René |last=Chartrand |title=The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600–1763 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r24OvgAACAAJ |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9781472803184 |pages=6–8}}</ref> Many of these forts were garrisoned by the [[Troupes de la Marine]], the only regular soldiers in New France between 1683 and 1755.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Evan |last1=Haefeli |first2=Kevin |last2=Sweeney |title=Captive Histories: English, French, and Native Narratives of the 1704 Deerfield Raid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yJnL7eqZvTQC&pg=PA207 |year=2006 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |isbn=978-1-55849-543-2 |page=207}}</ref>

===Conquest of New France===
{{Excerpt|Conquest of New France}}

==Fur trade and economy==
{{Main|Beaver Wars}}
{{See also|List of French forts in North America}}
[[File:Monnaie de carte du Canada, 1714 (recto-verso).png|thumb|[[Card money in New France]] had the same currency value in the colony as minted currency. c.1714]]
According to the [[staples thesis]], the economic development of New France was marked by the emergence of successive economies based on staple commodities, each of which dictated the political and cultural settings of the time. During the 16th and early 17th centuries New France's economy was heavily centered on its [[Atlantic]] fisheries. This would change in the later half of the 17th and 18th centuries as [[France|French]] settlement penetrated further into the continental interior.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Watkins |first=Melville H. |title=A Staple Theory of Economic Growth |journal=The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=141–158 |date=May 1963 |jstor=139461 |doi=10.2307/139461}}</ref> Here French economic interests would shift and concentrate itself on the development of the [[North American fur trade]]. It would soon become the new staple good that would strengthen and drive New France's economy, in particular that of [[Montreal]], for the next century.

The trading post of [[Ville-Marie, Montreal|Ville-Marie]], established on the current island of Montreal, quickly became the economic hub for the French fur trade. It achieved this in great part due to its particular location along the [[St. Lawrence River]]. From here a new economy emerged, one of size and density that provided increased economic opportunities for the inhabitants of New France. In December 1627 the [[Company of New France]] was recognized and given commercial rights to the gathering and export of [[furs]] from French territories.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Adair |first=E. R. |url=http://www.erudit.org/revue/ram/1942/v21/n1/300228ar.pdf |title=The Evolution of Montreal under the French Regime |journal=Report of the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Historical Association |volume=21 |issue=1 |date=1942 |pages=20–41 |doi=10.7202/300228ar|doi-access=free }}</ref> By trading with various indigenous populations and securing the main markets its power grew steadily for the next decade. As a result, it was able to set specific price points for furs and other valuable goods, often doing so to protect its economic hegemony over other trading partners and other areas of the economy.

The fur trade itself was based on a [[commodity]] of small bulk but high value. Because of this it managed to attract increased attention and/or input capital that would otherwise be intended for other areas of the economy. The Montreal area witnessed a stagnant agricultural sector; it remained for the most part subsistence orientated with little or no trade purposes outside of the French [[colony]]. This was a prime example of the handicapping effect the [[fur trade]] had on its neighbouring areas of the [[economy]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Innis |first=H.A. |title=Significant Factors in Canadian Economic Development |journal=Canadian Historical Review |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=374–384 |date=1937 |doi=10.3138/CHR-018-04-02|s2cid=162329527 }}</ref>
[[File:Auberge Du Tresor.jpg|thumb|[[Company of New France]] building in present-day [[Quebec City]]]]
Nonetheless, by the beginning of the 1700s, the economic prosperity the fur trade stimulated slowly transformed Montreal. Economically, it was no longer a town of small traders or of fur fairs but rather a city of merchants and of bright lights. The primary sector of the [[fur trade]], the act of acquiring and the selling of the furs, quickly promoted the growth of complementary second and tertiary sectors of the economy. For instance a small number of tanneries was established in Montreal as well as a larger number of inns, taverns and markets that would support the growing number of inhabitants whose livelihood depended on the fur trade. Already by 1683 there were well over 140 families and there may have been as many as 900 people living in Montreal.

The founding of the [[Compagnie des Indes]] in 1718, once again highlighted the economic importance of the fur trade.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wien |first=Thomas |url=http://www.erudit.org/revue/jcha/1990/v1/n1/031021ar.pdf |title=Selling Beaver Skins in North America and Europe, 1720–1760: The Uses of Fur-Trade Imperialism |journal=Journal of the Canadian Historical Association |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=1990 |pages=293–317 |doi=10.7202/031021ar|doi-access=free }}</ref> This merchant association, like its predecessor the Compagnie des Cent Associés, regulated the fur trade to the best of its abilities imposing price points, supporting government sale taxes and combating black market practices. However, by the middle half of the 18th century the [[fur trade]] was in a slow decline.<ref name = "illegalfurtrade">{{cite journal |last=Lunn |first=Jean |url=http://www.erudit.org/revue/ram/1939/v18/n1/300187ar.pdf |title=The Illegal Fur Trade out of New France, 1713–60 |journal=Report of the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Historical Association |volume=18 |number=1 |year=1939 |pages=61–76 |issn=0317-0594 |access-date=20 February 2012 |doi=10.7202/300187ar|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The natural abundance of furs had passed and it could no longer meet market demand. This eventually resulted in the repeal of the 25 percent sales tax that had previously aimed at curbing the administrative costs New France had accumulated. In addition, dwindling supply increased black market trading. A greater number of indigenous groups and fur traders began circumventing [[Montreal]] and New France altogether; many began trading with either [[United Kingdom|British]] or [[Netherlands|Dutch]] merchants to the south.<ref name = "illegalfurtrade"/>

By the end of French rule in New France in 1763, the fur trade had significantly lost its importance as the key staple good that supported much of New France's economy for more than the last century. Even so, it did serve as the fundamental force behind the establishment and vast growth of Montreal and the French colony.

===Coureurs des bois and voyageurs===
[[File:Arrival of Radisson in an Indian camp 1660 Charles William Jefferys.jpg|thumb|The arrival of [[Pierre-Esprit Radisson|Radisson]] in an [[Amerindian]] camp in 1660]]
The [[coureurs des bois]] were responsible for starting the flow of trade from [[Montreal]], carrying [[France|French]] goods into upper territories while indigenous people were bringing down their [[furs]]. The coureurs traveled with intermediate trading tribes, and found that they were anxious to prevent French access to the more distant fur-hunting tribes. Still, the coureurs kept thrusting outwards using the [[Ottawa River]] as their initial step upon the journey and keeping Montreal as their starting point.<ref name="Rich, E. E. 1966"/> The Ottawa River was significant because it offered a route that was practical for Europeans, by taking the traders northward out of the territory dominated by the [[Iroquois]]. It was for this reason that Montreal and the Ottawa River was a central location of indigenous warfare and rivalry.

Montreal faced difficulties by having too many coureurs out in the woods. The furs coming down were causing an oversupply on the markets of [[Europe]]. This challenged the coureurs trade because they so easily evaded controls, monopolies, and taxation, and additionally because the coureurs trade was held to debauch both French and various indigenous groups. The coureur debauched Frenchmen by accustoming them to fully live with indigenous, and indigenous by trading on their desire for alcohol.<ref name="Rich, E. E. 1966"/>

The issues caused a great rift in the [[colony]], and in 1678, it was confirmed by a General Assembly that the trade was to be made in public so as to better assure the safety of the indigenous population. It was also forbidden to take spirits inland to trade with indigenous groups. However, these restrictions on the coureurs, for a variety of reasons, never worked. The [[fur trade]] remained dependent on spirits, and increasingly in the hands of the coureurs who journeyed north in search of furs.<ref name="Rich, E. E. 1966"/>

As time passed, the Coureurs des bois were partially replaced by licensed fur trading endeavors, and the main canoe travel workers of those endeavors were called [[voyageurs]].

===Indigenous peoples===

The French and [[Algonquin people|Algonquins]] first encountered one another in 1603 after [[Samuel de Champlain]] established France's first permanent North American settlement along the [[St. Lawrence River]]. In 1610, the Algonquins continued to solidify their relations with the French by guiding [[Étienne Brûlé]] into the interiors of Canada.

The relationship between the [[Iroquois]] and the French first began in 1609, when [[Samuel de Champlain|Samuel De Champlain]] engaged in battle against the Iroquois. Champlain travelled from the [[St. Lawrence River|St. Lawrence Valley]], accompanied by his [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]], [[Innu|Montagnais]], and [[Huron-Wendat Nation|Huron]] allies, and managed to kill three Iroquoian chiefs on [[Lake Champlain]] with the first shots of his [[arquebus]]. Subsequently, the two factions (Iroquois and French) were constantly at war with one another until the [[Great Peace of Montreal|Great Peace of Montréal]] in 1701.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=La Rochelle, 1641 {{!}} Virtual Museum of New France |url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/archives/cmc/explore/virtual-museum-of-new-france-4/headlines/la-rochelle-1641/ |access-date=2022-11-09}}</ref>

[[File:Beaver wars map.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Map showing the approximate location of major [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribes and settlements<ref>{{cite book |last=Jennings |first=Francis |title=The Ambiguous Iroquois Empire |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-393-01719-9 |publisher=W. W. Norton |pages=15, 26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfxdH5pslt4C}}</ref>]]

The [[French people|French]] were interested in exploiting the land through the fur trade as well as the timber trade later on. Despite having tools and guns, the French settlers were dependent on Indigenous people to survive in the difficult climate in this part of North America. Many settlers did not know how to survive through the winter; the Indigenous people showed them how to survive in the New World. They showed the settlers how to hunt for food and to use the furs for clothing that would protect them during the winter months.<ref>{{cite book |last=Friders |first=James S. |title=Native Peoples in Canada: Contemporary Conflicts |location=Scarborough: Ontario |publisher=Prentice-Hall Canada |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-1301-2204-9}}</ref> Modern historians have highlighted that despite largely functional relations with indigenous peoples, administrators in France viewed co-operation as a wholly irritating task.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Crouch |first=Christian Ayne |title=Nobility Lost: French and Canadian Martial Cultures, Indians, and the End of New France |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2014 |location=New York |pages=164 |language=en}}</ref> Geographically removed from the colonies, Parisian courtiers viewed indigenous peoples as '''sauvages''<nowiki/>', often criticising New French officials for even interacting with nations.<ref name=":3" />

As the fur trade became the dominant economy in the New World, French voyageurs, trappers and hunters often married or formed relationships with Indigenous women. This allowed the French to develop relations with their wives' Indigenous nations, which in turn provided protection and access to their hunting and trapping grounds.

One specific Indigenous group borne of these relationships are the [[Métis]] people, who are descendants of marriages between French men and Indigenous women. Their name originates from an old French term for “person of mixed parentage.”<ref>{{Cite web |title=metis {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning of metis |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/metis |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |language=en}}</ref> At the beginning of the fur trade, these relationships were encouraged by the French as a way to encourage the First Nations to adopt French culture and solidify alliances, but as the Métis began to emerge as an independent culture around the 1700s, it began to be discouraged by the French.<ref>Government of Alberta. "[https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/worldviews/documents/metis_people.pdf Walking Together: First Nations, Métis and Inuit Perspectives in Curriculum. FNMI Worldviews: The Métis People.]" . Accessed November 9, 2022.</ref> Many Métis families moved to western Canada in response to this, as well as for other reasons, such as fur trading opportunities. One major settlement at this time was in the [[Red River Valley]], strategically placed in a significant area for the fur trade. This was the origin of the modern Métis nation, which was legally recognized by modern Canada as a protected Indigenous group in the [[Constitution Act, 1982]]. Its prior legal history has its roots in acts such as the [[Manitoba Act, 1870]], which began to recognize the Métis nation as a separate group with various rights and protections, but was not supported by the vast majority of Métis as it removed many from land that was rightfully theirs.

The fur trade benefited Indigenous people as well. They traded furs for metal tools and other European-made items that made their lives easier. Tools such as knives, pots and kettles, nets, firearms and hatchets improved the general welfare of indigenous peoples. At the same time, while everyday life became easier, some traditional ways of doing things were abandoned or altered, and while Indigenous people embraced many of these implements and tools, they also were exposed to less vital trade goods, such as alcohol and sugar, sometimes with deleterious effects.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carlos |first1=Ann M. |last2=Lewis |first2=Frank D. |title=Commerce by Frozen Sea: Native Americans and the European Fur Trade |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0812204827 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wjc34n1z8pYC&pg=PP1}}</ref> The [[Iroquois]], like most tribes, began to rely on the importation of European goods, like firearms, which contributed significantly to a decrease in the beaver population of the [[Hudson Valley]]. This decline resulted in the fur trade moving further north, along the [[St. Lawrence River]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iroquois Confederacy - The Iroquois Confederacy's role in the French-British rivalry {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Iroquois-Confederacy/The-Iroquois-Confederacys-role-in-the-French-British-rivalry |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Formal entry of England in New France area fur trade===
[[File:Claude Bernou Carte de lAmerique septentrionale.jpg|thumb|1681 French map of the New World above the equator: New France and the [[Great Lakes]] in the north, with a dark line as the [[Mississippi River]] to the west in the [[Illinois Country]] and the mouth of the river (and future New Orleans) then ''[[terra incognita]]'']]

Since [[Henry Hudson]] had claimed [[Hudson Bay]], and the surrounding lands for England in 1611, English colonists had begun expanding their boundaries across what is now the [[Canada|Canadian]] north beyond the French-held territory of New France. In 1670, King Charles II of England issued a charter to Prince Rupert and "the Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson Bay" for an English monopoly in harvesting furs in [[Rupert's Land]], a portion of the land draining into [[Hudson Bay]]. This is the start of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], ironically aided by French ''coureurs des bois'', [[Pierre-Esprit Radisson]] and [[Médard des Groseilliers]], frustrated with French license rules.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hbcheritage.ca/content/timeline |title=Hudson's Bay Company is born May 2, 1670 |publisher=HBC Heritage, Hudson's Bay Company |access-date=14 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/people/explorers/radisson.asp |title=Explorers: Radisson and des Groseilliers |publisher=HBC Heritage, Hudson's Bay Company |access-date=14 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=Fuchs>{{cite journal |first=Denise |last=Fuchs |title=Embattled Notions: Constructions of Rupert's Land's Native Sons, 1760 To 1861 |url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/44/embattlednotions.shtml |journal=Manitoba History |publisher=Manitoba Historical Society |date=March 2002 |volume=44 |pages=10–17 |issn=0226-5044}}</ref> Now both France and England were formally in the Canadian fur trade.<ref name="Our History: People">{{cite web |url=http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/people/explorers/samuelhearne.asp |title=Our History: People - Samuel Hearne |access-date=14 November 2007 |publisher=HBC Heritage, Hudson's Bay Company}}</ref>

===The economy of ''La Louisiane''===
[[File:Fer - Le Canada, ou Nouvelle France, la Floride, la Virginie, Pensilvanie, Caroline.png|thumb|left|Map of Canada (New France) in 1703, showing full length of Mississippi River]]
The major commercial importance of the Louisiana Purchase territory was the Mississippi River. New Orleans, the largest and most important city in the territory, was the most commercial city in the United States until the Civil War, with most jobs there being related to trade and shipping; there was little manufacturing. The first commercial shipment to come down the Mississippi River was of deer and bear hides in 1705.<ref name=GarveyWidmer>
{{cite book |title=Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans |last1=Garvey |first1=Joan |last2=Widmer |first2=Mary Lou |year=2012 |edition=reprint |publisher=Pelican Publishing |location=Gretna, Louisiana |isbn=978-1455617425 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=imY-2Q5n9doC&pg=PP1}}</ref> The area, always loosely defined in those early times of European claims and settlements, extended as far east as the city that is now [[Mobile, Alabama#Colonial|Mobile, Alabama]], begun by French settlers in 1702.

The French (later Spanish) Louisiana Territory was owned by France for a number of years before the money-losing territory was transferred to French banker [[Antoine Crozat]] in 1713 for 15 years. After losing four times his investment, Crozat gave up his charter in 1717. Control of Louisiana and its 700 inhabitants was given to the Company of the Indies in 1719. The company conducted a major settlement program by recruiting European settlers to locate in the territory. Unemployed persons, convicts and prostitutes were also sent to the Louisiana Territory. After the bankruptcy of the company in 1720, control was returned to the king.<ref name=GarveyWidmer/><ref>{{cite book |first=Glenn R. |last=Conrad |title=The French Experience in Louisiana |publisher=Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-9409-8497-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hkl5AAAAMAAJ&pg=PP1}}</ref>

[[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]] saw little value in Louisiana, and to compensate Spain for its losses in the [[Seven Years' War]], he transferred Louisiana to his cousin [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]] in 1762. Louisiana remained under the control of Spain until it was demanded to be turned over to France by Napoleon. Although Louisiana was property of France by the [[Third Treaty of San Ildefonso]] in 1800, Louisiana continued to be administered by Spain until the [[Louisiana Purchase]] in 1803. Following the American acquisition of the territory, its population tripled between 1803 and Louisiana statehood in 1812.

==Religion==
{{Main|Jesuit missions in North America}}
Before the arrival of European colonists and explorers, First Nations followed a wide array of mostly [[Native American religion|animistic religions]].<ref name="Tooker1979">{{cite book|author=Elizabeth Tooker|title=Native North American spirituality of the eastern woodlands: sacred myths, dreams, visions, speeches, healing formulas, rituals, and ceremonials|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LBKoyY455PQC&pg=PA20|year=1979|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=978-0-8091-2256-1|page=20}}</ref> During the colonial period, the French settled along the shores of the [[Saint Lawrence River]], specifically [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], including a number of [[Jesuit missions in North America|Jesuits]] dedicated to converting the indigenous population; an effort that eventually proved successful.<ref name="FindlingThackeray2010">{{cite book|author1=John E. Findling|author2=Frank W. Thackeray|title=What Happened? An Encyclopedia of Events That Changed America Forever|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8ZHHz7AQN8C&pg=PA52|year= 2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-622-5|page=52}}</ref>

The Catholic Church, which after Champlain's death was the dominant force in New France, wanted to establish a [[Christians|Christian]] community in the colony.<ref>{{cite book |first=Li |last=Shenwen |year=2001 |title=Stratégies missionnaires des Jésuites Français en Nouvelle-France et en Chine au XVIIieme siècle |publisher=Les Presses de l'Université Laval, L'Harmattan |page=44 |isbn=978-2-7475-1123-0}}</ref> In 1642, they sponsored a group of settlers, led by [[Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve]], who founded Ville-Marie, precursor to present-day [[Montreal]], farther up the St. Lawrence.<ref name="Miquelon">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Dale |last=Miquelon |title=Ville-Marie (Colony) |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |edition=online |date=16 December 2013 |orig-year=7 February 2006 |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ville-marie-colony |access-date=14 June 2016 |archive-date=27 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227080146/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/ville-marie-colony/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Throughout the 1640s, Jesuit missionaries penetrated the Great Lakes region and converted many of the [[Wyandot people|Huron]]. The missionaries came into conflict with the [[Iroquois]], who frequently attacked Montreal.
[[File:Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons 1632 Gabriel Sagard.jpg|thumb|upright|''Le Grand Voyage du Pays des [[Hurons]]'', [[Gabriel Sagard]], 1632]]

The presence of Jesuit missionaries in Huron society was nonnegotiable. The Huron relied on French goods to facilitate life and warfare. Because the French would refuse trade to all indigenous societies that denied relations with missionaries, the Huron had more of a propensity towards Christian conversion.<ref name="Seeman 2011 95">{{cite book |first=Erik R. |last=Seeman |title=The Huron-Wendat Feast of the Dead: Indian-European Encounters in Early North America |location=Baltimore |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2011 |page=95 |isbn=978-0-8018-9854-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pY-4vfAXRrwC&pg=PA95 }}</ref> The Huron heavily relied on European goods to perform burial ceremonies known as [[The Huron Feast of the Dead]]. Trading with the French allowed for larger amounts of decorative goods to be buried during ceremonies as opposed to only a bare minimum.<ref name="Seeman 2011 95"/> With the growing epidemics and high number of deaths, the Huron could not afford to lose relations with the French, fearing to anger their ancestors.<ref name="Seeman 2011 95"/>

Jesuit missionaries explored the Mississippi River, including the [[Illinois Country]]. Father [[Jacques Marquette]] and explorer [[Louis Jolliet]] traveled in a small party, starting from Green Bay down the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi River, communicating with the tribes they met en route. Although Spanish trade goods had reached most of the indigenous peoples, these were the first Frenchmen to connect in the area named for the [[Illinois Confederation|Illinois]], including the [[Kaskaskia]]. They kept detailed records of what they saw and the people they met, sketching what they could, and mapped the Mississippi River in 1673.<ref name=Stelle2005>{{cite web |last1=Stelle |first1=Lenville J. |last2=Anthropology Students |first2=Parkland College |title=Inoca Ethnohistory Project: Eye Witness Descriptions of the Contact Generation, 1673–1700 |publisher=Center For Social Research, Parkland College |location=Champaign, Illinois |year=2005 |url=http://virtual.parkland.edu/lstelle1/len/center_for_social_research/inoca_ethnohistory_project/inoca_ethnohistory.htm |access-date=April 14, 2010 |display-authors=1}}</ref> Their travels were described as first contacts with the indigenous peoples, though evidence of contact with Spanish from the south was clear.<ref name=Stelle2005 />

Subsequent to the arrival of French children in Quebec in 1634, measles was also brought along with them, which quickly spread among the indigenous peoples. Jesuit priest [[Jean de Brébeuf]] described the symptoms as being severe. Brebeuf stated that the fearlessness of the indigenous peoples towards death upon this disease made them perfect candidates for conversion to Christianity.{{sfnp|Seeman|2011|page=50}} The indigenous peoples believed that if they did not convert to Christianity, they would be exposed to the evil magic of the priests that caused the illness.<ref name="Seeman 2011 95"/>

Jesuit missionaries were troubled by the absence of patriarchy in indigenous communities. Indigenous women were highly regarded within their societies and participated in political and military decisions.<ref>{{cite book |first=Andrea |last=Smith |title=Native Americans and the Christian right: the gendered politics of unlikely alliances |location=New York |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2008 |page=116 |isbn=978-0-8223-4163-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anQgR7eAEWUC&pg=PA116}}</ref> Jesuits attempted to eliminate the matriarchy and shift the powers of men and women to accommodate those of European societies. "In France, women are to be obedient to their masters, their husbands."<ref name="Catherine Randall 2011">{{cite book |first=Catherine |last=Randall |title=Black Robes and Buckskin: A Selection from the Jesuit Relations |location=Toronto |publisher=Fordham University Press |year=2011 |page=98 |isbn=978-0-8232-3262-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3VWu0svw7kC&pg=PA98}}</ref> Jesuits would attempt to justify this to the indigenous women in hopes to enlighten them on proper European behavior. In response, Indigenous women grew worrisome of the presence of these missionaries fearing they would lose power and freedom within their communities.<ref name="Catherine Randall 2011"/> By 1649, both the Jesuit mission and the Huron society were almost destroyed by [[French and Iroquois Wars|Iroquois invasions]] (see [[Canadian Martyrs]]). In 1653, a peace invitation was extended by the [[Iroquois|Onondaga Nation]], one of the five nations of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]], to New France, and an expedition of Jesuits, led by [[Simon Le Moyne]], established [[Sainte Marie among the Iroquois|Sainte Marie de Ganentaa]] in 1656. The Jesuits were forced to abandon the mission by 1658, as hostilities with the Iroquois resumed.<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Atlas of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&pg=PA84|year=1987|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-2495-4|pages=84–}}</ref>

The second article of the charter of the ''Compagnie des Cent-Associés'' stated that New France could only be [[Catholic Church|Catholic]].<ref name="Zuidema2011">{{cite book |editor-first=Jason |editor-last=Zuidema| title=French-Speaking Protestants in Canada: Historical Essays |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRAohur4rvMC&pg=PA17 |chapter=The French Monarchy and Protestant Immigration to Canada Before 1760; The Social, Political and Religious Contexts |last=Larin |first=Robert |date=2011 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-21176-6 |page=17 }}</ref> This resulted in [[Huguenots]] facing legal restrictions to enter the colony when [[Cardinal Richelieu]] transferred the control of the colony to ''Compagnie des Cent-Associés'' in 1627. Protestantism was then outlawed in [[Kingdom of France|France]] and all its overseas possessions by the [[Edict of Fontainebleau]] in 1685.<ref name="Zuidema2011"/> In spite of that, approximately 15,000 [[Protestants]] settled in New France by using socioeconomic pretexts while at the same time concealing their religious background.<ref name="Powell2009p">{{cite book|author=John Powell|title=Encyclopedia of North American Immigration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNCX6UsdZYkC&pg=PA101|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1012-7|pages=101–}}</ref>

The Huguenots (a name used to designate French-Speaking Protestants) were a mercantile group, originating from the coastal cities of North-Western France, and had a significant impact on the early development of New France, especially in the regions of Quebec and Acadia,<ref>{{cite web |title=The first Canadian colony : Acadia |url=https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/the-first-canadian-colony-acadia/ |website=Musée virtuel du protestantisme |access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref> where many people still hold Huguenot surnames to this day.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jaenen |first1=Cornelius J. |title=Huguenots |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/huguenots |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=9 Nov 2022}}</ref> Huguenots were famous for their large and interconnected trading and communication network that spanned throughout France, and most of her colonies.<ref name="Thompson Rivers University">{{cite web |last1=Fish |first1=Malcolm |title=Huguenots and Nouvelle France: Tracing the Impact of the French Protestant Minority on Colonial Development in Canada |url=https://publishing.bceln.ca/index.php/phpdialogues/article/view/553/498 |website=PHP Dialogues |publisher=Thompson Rivers University |access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref> This network was also known for trading with the Dutch Republic, and the Kingdom of England; two of France's most important rivals, that also happened to be Protestant nations.

Initially, King Henri IV recognised Protestants as a significant minority within France, and allowed them a certain degree of freedom within their religion. After several years of various skirmishes within Metropolitan France, the Huguenots were deemed to not be "faithful servants of the king", and their mercantile powers stripped, their trading network disbanded, and widespread governmental persecutory policies were enacted both within mainland France and Nouvelle France. In 1661, Louis XVI was able to enact self-rule as his regency ended, and he instituted a variety of anti-Protestant conventions throughout the greater French Empire. Under these new rules, Protestant children were forcibly converted to Catholicism, implemented direct governmental jurisdiction over what were formerly Huguenot-controlled trade routes, and labelled the Protestant communities throughout Nouvelle France (specifically Quebec and Acadia) as significant threats to the colonies, as they might sympathise with English Protestants competing in the same areas and trades. Eventually, Protestants were banned from settling in Nouvelle France, and the existing ones were only allowed to "summer" in the colonies, not "winter" there.<ref name="Thompson Rivers University"/>

==Judiciary of New France==
===Early history in New France (pre-1663)===
[[File:Constitution-of-new-france-1759.png|thumb|A chart showing the political organization of New France, {{Circa|1759}}]]
In the early stage of French settlement, legal matters fell within the [[Governor of New France]]'s purview.<ref name="Lareau 244">{{Cite book |title=Histoire du droit Canadien depuis les origines de la colonie jusqu'à nos jours, Vol. I : Domination Française |last=Lareau |first=Edmond |publisher=A. Périard |year=1881 |location=Montréal, Quebec |page=244 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvE_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA244 }}</ref> Under this arrangement, legal disputes were settled in an incoherent fashion due to the Governor's arbitrariness in issuing verdicts.

Since 1640, a Seneschal (''sénéchal''), a Judge (''juge d'épée'', which literally means 'sword-bearing judge'), and a jurisdiction in [[Trois-Rivières]] were created.<ref name="Lareau 244"/> However, the Seneschal was under the oversight by the Governor, hence the Governor still had rather extensive control over legal matters in New France.<ref name="Lareau 244"/> In 1651, the [[Company of New France]] made the Great Seneschal (''Grand Sénéchal'') the chief justice.<ref name="Lareau 244"/> However, the [[Island of Montreal]] had its special Governor at that time, who also administered justice on the Island, and had not handed over justice to the Grand Seneschal until 1652.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=246}}

In practice, though, the Great Seneschal was awarded as an honorary title to the son of [[Jean de Lauson]], then Governor of New France; judicial functions were in fact carried out by the Seneschal's deputies.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=245}} These deputies included such officials as the civil and criminal lieutenant general (''lieutenant général civil et criminel''), the special lieutenant (''lieutenant particulier'', acting as assistant royal judge), and the lieutenant fiscal (''lieutenant fiscal'', acting as tax magistrate).{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=245}}

The Civil and Criminal Lieutenant General sat as judge in trials at first instance, whereas appeals would be adjudicated by the Governor, who held the sovereign right to settle final appeals on behalf of the French king. The Great Seneschal also had a magistrate in [[Trois-Rivières]], as well as a [[bailiff]] formed by the [[Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice]] on the [[Island of Montreal]].{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|p=}}
[[File:Frontenac with the Indians.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Louis de Buade de Frontenac|Governor Frontenac]] performing a tribal dance with indigenous allies]]

Apart from judicial responsibilities, the Great Seneschal was also in charge of convening local nobility in New France, as well as issuing declarations of war if necessary.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=246}} However, such alternative role of the Great Seneschal was much weakened soon after by having the rights to declare war and to administer finances stripped off from the office because the French crown feared that colonial officers held too much authority.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=246}}

===Legal reforms (1663)===

====Royal judges and the Sovereign Council====
On 13 October 1663, the royal court replaced the Seneschal Office (''sénéchaussée''). Canada was divided into three districts: the district of Quebec City, the district of [[Trois-Rivières]], and the district of [[Montreal]].{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=247}} Each district had its own separate jurisdiction with a judge appointed by the Crown, known as the civil and criminal lieutenants general.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=247}} They were responsible for all legal matters, civil and criminal, in each of the districts.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=247}}

In addition to the royal judges, there were other judicial officers in each district. The clerk of court (registrar) was responsible for transcribing all court proceedings as well as other documents relevant to each of the cases.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|p=}} The king's attorney (''procureur du roi'') was responsible for inquiring into the facts and preparing the case against the accused.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=249}} In the districts of Quebec City and Montreal, the royal judges had special lieutenants to substitute them whenever they were absent or sick.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=249}} Feudal courts heard minor cases.<ref>{{cite book |first=W.J. |last=Eccles |title=The French in North America (1500–1783) |location=East Lansing, Michigan |publisher=Michigan State University Press |date=1998 |page=80 |isbn=978-1-5504-1076-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.champlain2004.org/html/08/08_e.html |title=Exhibitions/Administration/The Administration of Justice |publisher=Champlain2004.org |access-date=30 June 2010 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611233729/http://www.champlain2004.org/html/08/08_e.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The reform also brought the [[Sovereign Council of New France]] (''Conseil souverain'') into existence, which was later renamed the Superior Council (''Conseil supérieur''). The Sovereign Council effectively acted as the functional equivalent of a Council of State (''Conseil d'État'') for New France, having the authority to hand down verdicts on final appeal.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=248}} Initially, the Council convened once every week, and the quorum of the Sovereign Council was seven for criminal matters, or five for civil cases.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=248}} The council's practices evolved over time. At the Sovereign Council there was a king's attorney-general (''procureur général du roi'') in charge of the similar tasks as the district king's attorneys.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=251}} He was also responsible for supervising the king's attorneys' daily operations as well as execution of royal edicts and regulations passed by the council in their respective districts.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=252}}

====The Custom of Paris====
{{Main|Custom of Paris in New France}}
In 1664, the [[Custom of Paris in New France|Custom of Paris]] (''coutume de Paris'') was formally set as the main source of law for civil law in France's overseas empire. All royal judges and king's attorneys in New France had to be thoroughly familiar with this compilation of rules.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=248}} The Custom governed various civil aspects of the daily life in New France, including property, marriage, inheritance, and so on.

=====Montreal Island: transition from feudal justice to royal justice=====
The [[Island of Montreal]] was a special case because its judiciary had been previously held by the Society of St-Sulpice. In 1663, Governor-General of New France [[Augustin de Saffray de Mésy]] originally considered appointing [[Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve]] the Governor of the Island of Montreal and consolidating a royal jurisdiction on the island, but the plan garnered the [[Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice|St-Sulpicians]]' disapproval, who held the Island as its own [[fief]]dom and effectively acted as the island's governor.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=253}} In other words, the [[Sovereign Council of New France|Sovereign Council]] had not been able to seize effective control over the legal matters of the Island; instead, the [[Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice|St-Sulpicians]] administered justice on the island.

It was not until 16 September 1666, that the St-Sulpicians finally handed over the justice of the Island of Montreal to the Intendant of New France.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=254}} In 1693, the French king commanded the replacement of the ecclesiastical courts in Montreal with a royal court composed of one royal judge, with appeals going to the [[Sovereign Council of New France|Sovereign Council]]. The introduction of a royal court on the Montreal Island also resulted in the abolition of the feudal court in the fief of [[Trois-Rivières]] (then held by the [[Jesuits]]).{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=261}}

=====Quebec: founding of the Provostry of Quebec=====
In the Quebec City district, the lower court (''tribunal antérieur'') was established in 1664 and had jurisdiction to try cases at first instance, but then it was abolished in 1674.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=264}} The Sovereign Council appointed trial judges (''juges inférieurs'') to adjudicate cases at first instance until the [[Provost (civil)|Provost]]ry of Quebec (''prévôté de Québec'') was created in May 1677.

The Provostry of Quebec was located in the Hall of Justice (''palais de justice'') in Quebec City and had only one royal judge, also known as the civil and criminal lieutenant general of Quebec City, who heard both civil and criminal cases, as well as district police.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=264}} Additionally, a court clerk and a king's attorney were appointed to the court; if either of these two officers could not attend the trials due to illness or other untenable circumstances, the Intendant would appoint a temporary substitute.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=264}}

===Criminal justice===
{{Main|Criminal justice in New France}}
In the early stages of French colonization, the execution of criminal justice in New France was rather arbitrary. The [[Governor of New France]] served as the judge to the colonists as well as soldiers. He would announce his verdict at the presence of the chiefs of the Company of One Hundred Associates and that would be final.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=286}}

After the Sovereign Council was established in Quebec in 1663, the Council carried out criminal justice according to the general ordinances of France.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=286}} In 1670, the [[Criminal Ordinance of 1670|Criminal Ordinance]] was enacted in New France by order of the French king as a codification of the previous criminal laws passed by the [[Sovereign Council of New France|Sovereign Council]].{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=282}}

===Special courts===
====Ecclesiastical court====
{{Redirect|Officialité (New France)|the ecclesiastical court|Ecclesiastical court}}
The ecclesiastical court (''tribunal ecclésiastique'', or ''Officialité'') was a special court for hearing first instance trials on both religious and secular affairs involving members of the Church.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/francais/ministere/histoire/structures.htm#Anchor-LE-45838|title=Les structure judiciaire dans la justice sous le Régime français|website=Justice Québec|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232947/http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/Francais/ministere/histoire/structures.htm#Anchor-LE-45838|archive-date=3 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It first appeared in around 1660 but was not officially recognized by state authorities for it was not administered by a bishop, until 1684.<ref name=":1" /> Appeals from this court lay with the Sovereign Council.<ref name=":1" />

====Admiralty court====
The court of admiralty was created on 12 January 1717 and was the last judicial body set up in Canada during the French colonial period.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=268}} The court had a judge (also known as the lieutenant-general of the court) appointed by the French admiralty, a king's attorney, a clerk of court, and one or two bailiffs (''huissiers'').{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=269}} The admiralty court was located in Quebec City and had jurisdiction over all of New France except [[Louisiana]] and [[Fortress of Louisbourg|Louisbourg]].<ref name=":1" /> The court heard first instance trials on maritime affairs, including commerce and seamen's conduct.<ref name=":1" /> During wartime, it also commanded maritime police.<ref name=":1" /> Before 1717, the Quebec Provostry performed the duties of the admiralty court.<ref name=":1" />

===Acadia===

Unlike Canada, [[Acadia]]'s judicial system was somewhat under-developed during the New France period. Prior to 1670, [[Acadia]] was in a state of being contested between various European colonists. None of the Euroean countries—France, England, the Netherlands—were able to put in place a stable jurisdiction there.

In 1670, France regained control of Acadia and appointed Mathieu de Goutin as the Civil and Criminal Lieutenant (''lieutenant civil et criminel'') of Acadia.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Lieutenant Civil et Criminel: Mathieu de Goutin en Acadie Française (1688–1710) |last=Vanderlinden |first=Jacques |publisher=Chaire d'études acadiennes, Université de Moncton |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-9192-4116-9 |location=Moncton, New Brunswick |page=28 }}</ref> Simultaneously, the [[Governor of Acadia]] was set up and his job was primarily the defense of [[Acadia]] from English attacks.{{sfnp|Vanderlinden|2004|page=55}} The Civil and Criminal Lieutenant was essentially supervised by the Governor, who held superior judicial authority over the Lieutenant, but for most of the time would let the Lieutenant mediate and decide legal affairs.{{sfnp|Vanderlinden|2004|page=201}}

Due to the situation in [[Acadia]] as a small settlement of around 399 settlers in 1670–71, vulnerable to foreign invasion, courts were minimal, consisting of only a Civil and Criminal Lieutenant and a king's attorney.{{sfnp|Vanderlinden|2004|page=55}} There was not an official court in [[Acadia]], although the king's attorney of Acadia performed very similar duties as his counterpart in New France.{{sfnp|Vanderlinden|2004|page=69}} Yet since [[Acadia]] never actually had a court, there was no clerk of court; instead, trials were recorded by a local [[Civil law notary|notary]].{{sfnp|Vanderlinden|2004|page=69}} It is difficult to trace the judicial history of French Acadia as the relevant archives were destroyed in a fire in 1708.{{sfnp|Vanderlinden|2004|page=69}}

==Military conflicts==
{{Main|French and Indian Wars|Father Rale's War|Father Le Loutre's War}}
{{Further|Military of New France}}

The presence of settlers, of businesses from several European countries harvesting furs, along with the interests of the indigenous people in this new competition for North American resources set the scene for significant military conflicts among all parties in New France beginning in 1642, and ending with the Seven Years' War, 1756–1763.

===Iroquois attacks against Montreal===
[[File:Battle of Long Sault 1660.jpg|thumb|Engraving depicting Adam Dollard with a keg of gunpowder above his head, during the [[Battle of Long Sault]] ]]

[[Ville-Marie, Quebec|Ville-Marie]] was a noteworthy site for it was the center of defence against the [[Iroquois]], the point of departure for all western and northern journeys, and the meeting point to which the trading Indians brought their annual furs. This placed Ville-Marie, later known as [[Montreal]], at the forefront against the [[Iroquois]], which resulted in its trade being easily and frequently interrupted. The Iroquois were in alliance with the Dutch and English,<ref name="Inc.2010">{{cite book |title=Native Peoples of the Americas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1dqbAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |year=2010 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |isbn=978-1-61535-365-1 |page=99}}</ref> which allowed them to interrupt the French fur trade and send the furs down the [[Hudson River]] to the Dutch and English traders.<ref name="Rich, E. E. 1966">{{cite book |last=Rich |first=E. E. |date=1966 |title=Montreal And The Fur Trade |url=https://archive.org/details/montrealfurtrade0000unse |url-access=registration |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill University Press}}</ref>

This also put the Iroquois at warfare against the [[Hurons]], the [[Algonquians]], and any other tribes that were in alliance with the French. If the Iroquois could destroy New France and its Indian allies, they would be able to trade freely and profitably with the Dutch and English on the Hudson River.<ref name="AyersGould">{{cite book |first1=Edward L. |last1=Ayers |first2=Lewis L. |last2=Gould |first3=David M. |last3=Oshinsky |first4=Jean R. |last4=Soderlund |title=American Passages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVcIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-111-80846-4 |page=78}}</ref> The Iroquois formally attacked the settlement at today's [[History of Quebec City|Quebec City]] in its foundation year of 1642, and in almost every subsequent year thereafter.<ref name="Otterbein2004">{{cite book |first=Keith F. |last=Otterbein |title=How War Began |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hxjbvn6uARcC&pg=PA211 |year=2004 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-60344-637-2 |page=211}}</ref> A militant theocracy maintained Montreal. In 1653 and 1654, reinforcements arrived at Montreal, which allowed the Iroquois to be halted.<ref name="Adams2013">{{cite book |first=Charles E. |last=Adams |title=Assault on a Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fesAhWZo0fUC&pg=PA52 |date=2013 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=978-1-4836-1293-5 |page=52}}{{self-published source|date=December 2017}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}} In that year the Iroquois made peace with the French.<ref name="Rich, E. E. 1966"/>

[[Adam Dollard des Ormeaux]], a colonist and soldier of New France, was a notable figure regarding the Iroquois attacks against Montreal. The Iroquois soon resumed their assaults against Montreal, and the few settlers of Montreal fell almost completely to hostile Iroquois forces. The [[Iroquois]] did not use typical raiding tactics of moving swiftly and silently. Instead, they captured individuals and brought them back to their own territory. Women and children were made a part of the village, and men encountered slow torturous deaths. In the 1660s, warfare changed, and France began to counterattack. Professional French soldiers had arrived in the New World for the first time, and [[Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy|Alexandre de Prouville]] led them to invade Iroquois territory.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Our Proud History {{!}} Algonquins of Ontario |url=https://www.tanakiwin.com/algonquins-of-ontario/our-proud-history/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=www.tanakiwin.com}}</ref> In the spring of 1660, Adam Dollard des Ormeaux led a small militia consisting of 16 men from Montreal against a much larger Iroquois force at the [[Battle of Long Sault]] on the [[Ottawa River]].<ref name="Gough2010n">{{cite book |first=Barry M. |last=Gough |title=Historical Dictionary of Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4xK6CasigkC&pg=PR27 |year=2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7504-3 |page=27}}</ref> They succeeded in turning back the Iroquois invasion and are responsible for saving Montreal from destruction.<ref name="Del?geBrierley2011">{{cite book |first=Denys |last=Delâge |others=translated by [[Jane Brierley]] |title=Bitter Feast: Amerindians and Europeans in Northeastern North America, 1600–64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2v8DLEbNkPIC&pg=PA277 |year=1995 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn=978-0-7748-4282-2 |page=277}}</ref> They were able to take [[Chief Canaqueese]] as a prisoner, and in September 1660, the French returned and burned [[Iroquois]] homes and crops. Later that Winter, many Iroquois died due to starvation, and the Iroquois finally agreed to peace which lasted roughly twenty years.<ref name=":2" /> The encounter between Ormeaux and the Iroquois is of significance because it dissuaded the Iroquois from further attacks against Montreal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Keith |year=1980 |title=Fur Trade In Canada: Focus On Canadian History Series |url=https://archive.org/details/furtradeincanada0000wils |url-access=registration |location=Toronto |publisher=Grolier Limited}}</ref>

===King William's War===
{{Main|King William's War}}
[[File:QueenAnnesWarBefore.svg|thumb|Map of [[North America]] in 1702 showing forts, towns and (in solid colors) areas occupied by European settlements]]

In 1688, [[King William's War]] began and the English and Iroquois launched a major assault on New France, after many years of small skirmishes throughout the English and French territories. New France and the [[Wabanaki Confederacy]] were able to thwart New England expansion into Acadia, whose border New France defined as the [[Kennebec River]] in southern Maine.<ref name=Williamson>{{cite book |first=William Durkee |last=Williamson |title=The history of the state of Maine |volume=II |publisher=Glazier, Masters & Co |date=1832 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=670rAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA27}}</ref><ref name=Griffiths>{{cite book |last=Griffiths |first=N.E.S. |title=From Migrant to Acadian |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |date=2005 |page=61 |isbn=978-0-7735-2699-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cG4wSmIlziYC&pg=PA61}}</ref><ref name=Campbell>{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=William Edward |title=The Road to Canada: The Grand Communications Route from Saint John to Quebec |publisher=Goose Lane Editions and The New Brunswick Heritage Military Project |date=2005 |page=21 |isbn=978-0-8649-2426-1}}</ref> [[King William's War]] ended in 1697, but a second war ([[Queen Anne's War]]) broke out in 1702. Quebec survived the English invasions of both these wars, and during the wars France seized many of the English [[Hudson's Bay Company]] fur trading centres on [[Hudson Bay]] including [[York Factory]], which the French renamed ''Fort Bourbon''.

===Queen Anne's War===
{{Main|Queen Anne's War}}

While Acadia defeated an English invasion attempt during [[King William's War]], the colony was occupied by the British during Queen Anne's War. The final [[Siege of Port Royal (1710)|Conquest of Acadia]] happened in 1710. In 1713, peace came to New France with the [[Treaty of Utrecht (1713)|Treaty of Utrecht]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://worldcat.org/en/title/81453222 |title=Blooding at Great Meadows: young George Washington and the battle that Shaped the Man |first=Alan |last=Axelrod |publisher=Running Press |page=62 |year=2007 |isbn=9780762432271}}</ref> Although the treaty turned Hudson Bay, [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and part of [[Acadia]] (peninsular [[Nova Scotia]]) over to Great Britain, France remained in control of [[Île Royale (New France)|Île Royale]] ([[Cape Breton Island]]) (which also administered Île Saint-Jean ([[Prince Edward Island]])). The northern part of [[Acadia]], what is today [[New Brunswick]] and [[Maine]], remained contested territory. Construction of [[Fortress Louisbourg]] on Île Royale, a French military stronghold intended to protect the approaches to the St. Lawrence River settlements, began in 1719.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Louisbourg |url=http://www.fortressoflouisbourg.ca/Overview/mid/12 |publisher=The Fortress Louisbourg Association |year=2008 |access-date=9 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723021109/http://www.fortressoflouisbourg.ca/Overview/mid/12 |archive-date=23 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Father Rale's War===
{{Main|Father Rale's War}}
[[File:Death of Father Sebastian Rale of the Society of Jesus.jpg|thumb|An 1850s depiction of the death of the French [[Jesuit]] priest [[Sébastien Rale]] during [[Father Rale's War]] ]]

In Acadia, however, war continued. [[Father Rale's War]] (1722–1725) was a series of battles between New England and the [[Wabanaki Confederacy]], who were allied with New France. New France and the Wabanaki Confederacy defended against the expansion of New England settlements into Acadia, whose border New France defined as the [[Kennebec River]] in southern Maine.<ref name=Williamson/><ref name=Griffiths/><ref name=Campbell/> After the New England [[Siege of Port Royal (1710)|Conquest of Acadia]] in 1710, mainland Nova Scotia was under the control of New England, but both present-day [[New Brunswick]] and virtually all of present-day Maine remained contested territory between New England and New France. To secure New France's claim to the region, it established [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] missions among the three largest indigenous villages in the region: one on the Kennebec River ([[Norridgewock]]); one further north on the [[Penobscot River]] ([[Penobscot Indian Island Reservation|Penobscot]]) and one on the [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John River]] ([[Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic|Medoctec]]).<ref>{{CRHP|14831|Meductic Indian Village / Fort Meductic National Historic Site of Canada |20 December 2011}}</ref><ref name=Grenier>{{cite book |first=John |last=Grenier |title=The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |date=2008 |pages=51, 54 |isbn=978-0-8061-3876-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVG5h6G5fWMC&pg=PA51}}</ref>

The war began on two fronts: when New England pushed its way through Maine and when New England established itself at [[Canso, Nova Scotia]]. As a result of the war, Maine fell to the New Englanders with the defeat of Father [[Sébastien Rale]] at Norridgewock and the subsequent retreat of the indigenous peoples from the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers to [[Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec|St. Francis]] and [[Bécancour, Quebec|Becancour, Quebec]].{{efn|While New Englanders safely settled the land, not until the treaty of 1752 did Massachusetts officially lay claim to the entire Penobscot watershed, and in 1759, the Pownall Expedition, led by Governor [[Thomas Pownall]], established [[Fort Pownall]] on [[Cape Jellison]] in what is now [[Stockton Springs, Maine|Stockton Springs]].}}

===King George's War===
{{Main|King George's War}}

Peace lasted in Canada until 1744, when news of the outbreak of the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] ([[King George's War]] in North America) reached Fort Louisbourg. The French forces went on the attack first in a failed attempt to capture [[Annapolis Royal]], the capital of British Nova Scotia. In 1745, [[William Shirley]], governor of [[Massachusetts]], led a counterattack on Louisbourg. Both France and New France were unable to relieve the siege, and Louisbourg fell to the British. With the famed [[Duc d'Anville Expedition]], France attempted to retake Acadia and the fortress in 1746 but failed. The fortress was returned to France under the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]], but the peace treaty, which restored all colonial borders to their pre-war status, did little to end the lingering enmity between France, Britain, and their respective colonies, nor did it resolve any territorial disputes.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

===Father Le Loutre's War===
{{Main|Father Le Loutre's War}}

Within Acadia and Nova Scotia, [[Father Le Loutre's War]] (1749–1755) began with the British founding of [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax]]. During Father Le Loutre's War, New France established three forts along the border of present-day New Brunswick to protect it from a New England attack from Nova Scotia. The war continued until British [[Battle of Fort Beauséjour|victory at Fort Beausejour]], which dislodged Father Le Loutre from the region, thereby ending his alliance with the Maliseet, [[Acadians]] and [[Mi'kmaq]].<ref name=Grenier/>

===French and Indian War===
{{Main|French and Indian War|Expulsion of the Acadians}}
[[File:Nouvelle-France map-en.svg|thumb|Map of territorial claims in [[North America]] by 1750, before the [[French and Indian War]], which was part of the greater worldwide conflict known as the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756 to 1763). Possessions of Britain (pink), France (blue), and Spain. (White boarder lines mark later Canadian Provinces and US States for reference)]]

[[Fort Duquesne]], located at the confluence of the [[Allegheny River|Allegheny]] and [[Monongahela River]]s at the site of present-day [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], guarded the most important strategic location in the west at the time of the Seven Years' War. It was built to ensure that the [[Ohio River]] valley remained under French control. A small colonial force from Virginia began a fort here, but a French force under [[Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur]] drove them off in April 1754. New France claimed this as part of their colony, and the French were anxious to keep the British from encroaching on it. The French built Fort Duquesne here to serve as a military stronghold and as a base for developing trade and strengthening military alliances with the indigenous peoples of the area.

In 1755, General [[Edward Braddock]] led [[Braddock Expedition|an expedition]] against Fort Duquesne, and although they were numerically superior to the French militia and their Indian allies, Braddock's army was routed and Braddock was killed.<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/9580/ |title=The Battle of the Monongahela |website=[[World Digital Library]] |date=1755 |access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref> Later that same year at the Battle of Lake George, the British General William Johnson with a force of 1700 American and Iroquois troops defeated a French force of 2800 French and Canadians and 700 [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] led by Baron Dieskau (Military commander of New France).

The fight for control over Ohio Country led to the [[French and Indian War]], which began as the North American phase of the [[Seven Years' War]] (which did not technically begin in Europe until 1756). The war began with the defeat of a Virginia militia contingent led by Colonel [[George Washington]] by the French [[troupes de la marine]] in the [[Ohio Country|Ohio valley]]. As a result of that defeat, the British decided to prepare the conquest of Quebec City, the capital of New France. The British defeated France in Acadia in the [[Battle of Fort Beausejour]] (1755) and then [[Île Royale (New France)|Île Royale]] ([[Cape Breton Island]]) (which also administered Île Saint-Jean ([[Prince Edward Island]]) with the [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)]].

Throughout the war, the British deported the Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies and Europe, which the Acadian militias resisted with assistance from Mi'kmaq and Malisteet forces. The [[Expulsion of the Acadians|Great Upheaval]] continued from 1755 to 1764. In 1756, a large force of French, Canadians, and their Native American allies led by the Marquis de Montcalm launched an attack against the key British post at Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario from Fort Frontenac and forced the garrison to surrender. The following year Montcalm with a huge force of 7,200 French and Canadian troops and 2,400 Native Americans laid siege to Fort William Henry on the southern shores of Lake George, and after three weeks of fighting the British commander Monroe surrendered. Montcalm gave him honorable terms to return to England and not to fight for 18 months. And yet, when the British force with civilians was three miles from the fort, the Native American allies massacred about 1,100 of the 1,500 strong force.

In 1758, the French suffered a defeat when the British captured the fortress city of Louisborg in July, while gaining a victory at  [[Fort Carillon]] in July.  The [[Battle of Carillon]] was fought at the fortress of the same name, which is located on a strip of land between Lake Champlain and Lake George, and which was defended by 3,400 French regular troops and marines, with minimal support from militia and indigenous peoples.  The battle was the largest seen in North America up to that time, as General James Abercrombie assembled a force of 16,200 British, American, and Iroquois troops.  A spirited French defense led the British to withdraw after a fierce battle on the 8th of July, 1758.  During the battle, the British suffered 2,200 casualties and lost several artillery pieces, while the French received roughly 104 killed and 273 wounded.

While the British [[Siege of Port Royal (1710)|Conquest of Acadia]] happened in 1710, the French continued to remain a significant force in the region with [[Fort Beausejour]] and [[Fortress Louisbourg]]. The dominant population in the region remained Acadian, that is to say, not British. In 1755, the British were successful in the [[Battle of Beausejour]] and immediately after began the [[expulsion of the Acadians]].

In the meantime the French continued to explore westwards and expand their trade alliances with indigenous peoples. [[Fort de la Corne]] was built in 1753, by [[Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne]] just east of the [[Saskatchewan River Forks]] in what is today the Canadian province of [[Saskatchewan]]. This was the furthest westward outpost of the French Empire in North America to be established before its fall.

==Treaties of cession==
{{further|Conquest of New France (1758-1760)}}
In 1758, British forces again [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)|captured Louisbourg]], allowing them to blockade the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. This proved decisive in the war. In 1759, the British besieged Quebec by sea, and an army under General [[James Wolfe]] defeated the French under General [[Louis-Joseph de Montcalm]] at the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]] in September. The garrison in Quebec surrendered on 18 September, and by the next year New France had been conquered by the British after [[Montreal Campaign|the attack on Montreal]], which had refused to acknowledge the fall of Canada. The last French governor-general of New France, [[Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal]], surrendered to British Major General [[Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst|Jeffery Amherst]] on 8 September 1760. France formally ceded Canada to the British in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]], signed 10 February 1763.<ref>{{cite book |first=Junius P. |last=Rodriguez |title=The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs7GAwwdzyQC&pg=PA272 |year=2002 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=272 |isbn=978-1-5760-7188-5}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
{{Main|Canada under British Imperial control|Louisiana (New Spain)|Colonial history of the United States}}

[[File:NorthAmerica1762-83.png|thumb|Map showing British territorial gains following the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] in pink, and Spanish territorial gains after the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]] in yellow]]

The expelled [[Acadians]] were initially dispersed across much of eastern North America (including the [[Thirteen Colonies]]) and some were sent to France. Many eventually settled in Quebec or Louisiana, while others returned to the regions of [[New Brunswick]] and [[Nova Scotia]]. [[Chéticamp, Nova Scotia]], and the [[Magdalen Islands#History|Magdalen Islands]] have significant communities. In Louisiana their descendants became known as the [[Cajuns]], a corruption of the French ''Acadiens''.

By the mid-1700s, the [[List of French forts in North America|French settlers were well established]] with a population around 70,000, mainly due to natural increase.<ref name=StatCan2009>{{cite web|title=Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm|publisher=Statistics Canada|year=2009|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Preston2009">{{cite book|author=David L. Preston|title=The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Frontiers of Iroquoia, 1667–1783|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-9N6-6UCnoC&pg=PA43|year=2009|publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-2549-7|page=43}}</ref> The European population had grown slowly under French rule.<ref name="Powell2009t"/><ref name="Dale2004b">{{cite book|author=Ronald J. Dale|title=The Fall of New France: How the French Lost a North American Empire 1754–1763|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZmpn3g3UFQC&pg=PR2|year=2004|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=978-1-55028-840-7|page=2}}</ref><ref name="FindlingThackeray2011">{{cite book|author1=John E. Findling|author2=Frank W. Thackeray|title=What Happened?: An Encyclopedia of Events that Changed America Forever|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2YSI904ZNsC&pg=PA38|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-621-8|page=38}}</ref> The British [[Thirteen Colonies]] to the south along the Atlantic coast grew in population from natural increase and more new settlers from Europe. By 1760, almost 1.6&nbsp;million people lived in the British colonies, a ratio of approximately twenty-three to one compared to New France.<ref name="BogueAnderton2010">{{cite book|author1-link=Donald Bogue|last1=Bogue|first1=Donald J.|last2=Anderton|first2=Douglas L.|last3=Barrett|first3=Richard E. |title=The Population of the United States: 3rd Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znQhGHnNrrgC&pg=PA6|year=2010|publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-0312-5 |page=6}}</ref> The population of the New England colonies alone in 1760 was nearly 450,000.

French culture and religion remained dominant in most of the former territory of New France until the arrival of British settlers led to the later creation of [[Upper Canada]] (today [[Ontario]]) and [[New Brunswick]]. The [[Louisiana Territory]], under [[Spain|Spanish]] control since the end of the Seven Years' War, remained off-limits to settlement from the thirteen American colonies.

Twelve years after the British defeated the French, the [[American Revolutionary War]] broke out in the Thirteen Colonies. Many French Canadians would take part in the war, including Major [[Clément Gosselin]] and Admiral [[Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil]]. After the British surrender at [[Battle of Yorktown (1781)|Yorktown]] in 1781, the [[Treaty of Versailles (1783)|Treaty of Versailles]] gave all former British claims in New France below the [[Great Lakes]] into the possession of the nascent [[United States]]. A Franco-Spanish alliance treaty returned Louisiana to France in 1801, but French leader [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] sold it to the United States in the [[Louisiana Purchase]] in 1803, ending French colonial efforts in North America.

The portions of the former New France that remained under British rule were administered as [[Upper Canada]] and [[Lower Canada]], 1791–1841, and then those regions were merged as the [[Province of Canada]] during 1841–1867, when the passage of the [[Constitution Act, 1867|British North America Act of 1867]] instituted [[home rule]] for most of British North America and established French-speaking Quebec (the former Lower Canada) as one of the original provinces of the [[Confederation of Canada|Dominion of Canada]]. The former French colony of Acadia was first designated the [[Colony of Nova Scotia]] but shortly thereafter the [[Colony of New Brunswick]], which then included Prince Edward Island, was split off from it.

In Canada, the legacy of New France can be seen in the enduring [[Canadian identity#French Canadians and Identity in English Canada|Francophone identity]] of its descendants, which has led to [[Bilingualism in Canada|institutional bilingualism]] in Canada as a whole.

The only remnant of the former colonial territory of New France that remains under French control to this day is the French [[overseas collectivity]] of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]] (French: Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), consisting of a group of small islands {{convert|25|km|mi nmi}} off the coast of [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], Canada.

==Historiography==
The Conquest (referring to the fall of New France to the British, and specifically the events of 1759–60) has always been a central and contested theme of Canadian memory. Some Anglophone historians portray the Conquest as a victory for "British military, political and economic superiority" and argue that it ultimately brought benefits to the French settlers.<ref name=Jaenen/> However, Cornelius Jaenen notes that French-Canadian historians remain strongly divided on the subject. One group sees it as a highly negative economic, political and ideological disaster that threatened a way of life with materialism and Protestantism. At the other pole are those historians who see the positive benefit of enabling the preservation of language, and religion and traditional customs under British rule.<ref name=Jaenen>{{cite book |last=Jaenen |first=Cornelius J. |title=Canada during the French regime |editor-last=Muise |editor-first=D.A. |work=A Reader's Guide to Canadian History: Volume 1: Beginnings to Confederation |year=1982 |page=[https://archive.org/details/readersguidetoca0000unse/page/40 40] |isbn=978-0-8020-6442-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/readersguidetoca0000unse/page/40 }}</ref> French-Canadian debates have escalated since the 1960s, as the conquest is seen as a pivotal moment in the history of Québec's nationalism. Francophone historian Jocelyn Létourneau suggested in 2009, that today, "1759 does not belong primarily to a past that we might wish to study and understand, but, rather, to a present and a future that we might wish to shape and control."<ref>{{cite book |first=Jocelyn |last=Létourneau |title=What is to be done with 1759? |editor-first1=Phillip |editor-last1=Buckner |editor-last2=Reid |editor-first2=John G. |work=Remembering 1759: The Conquest of Canada in Historical Memory |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2012 |page=279 |isbn=978-1-4426-9924-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yiOOuORbGpAC&pg=PA279}}</ref>

The enduring contestation of the legacy of the Conquest can be exemplified by an episode in 2009, when an attempt to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the battle of the Plains of Abraham was cancelled. The explanation for the cancellation was that it was over security concerns, but activist Sylvain Rocheleau stated, "[I think] they had to cancel the event because it was insulting a majority of Francophones. They had to cancel it because it was a bad idea.".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/organizers-cancel-mock-battle-of-the-plains-of-abraham-1.787562 |title=Organizers cancel mock Battle of the Plains of Abraham |date=17 February 2009 |work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] |access-date=13 March 2019 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|border=no|France|Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Modern history|North America}}
*[[French presence in the Ohio Valley]]
*[[List of French possessions and colonies]]
*[[List of North American cities founded in chronological order]]
*[[Seigneurial system of New France]]
*[[Slavery in New France]]
*[[Timeline of New France history]]
*[[Natchitoches, Louisiana]]
*[[Isle Brevelle]]
*[[Anne des Cadeaux]]
*[[Louis Juchereau de St. Denis]]
*[[Adai people]]
*[[Los Adaes]]
*[[French ship Inflexible (1755)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite DCB |title=New France |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/browse.php?type=career&term1=21&term2=121&term3=399}} scholarly biographies of all major figures in New France
* {{Cite book |last=Chartrand |first=René |year=2008 |title=The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600–1763 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pFyICwAAQBAJ |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9781472803184 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Chartrand |first=René |year=2008 |title=The forts of New France : the Great Lakes, the Plains and the Gulf Coast, 1600–1763 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RNhWYYZBlEEC&pg=PP1 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=9781846035043 }}
* {{cite book |last=Charbonneau |first=H. |title=The First French Canadians: Pioneers in the St. Lawrence Valley |publisher=University of Delaware Press |year=1993 |display-authors=etal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NdeMyUzMAKsC&pg=PP1 |isbn=9780874134544 }}
* {{cite book |last=Choquette |first=Leslie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bsRsw0HBW58C&pg=PP1 |title=Frenchmen into peasants : modernity and tradition in the peopling of French Canada |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-674-32315-5 }}
* {{cite book |last=Dale |first=Ronald J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZmpn3g3UFQC&pg=PP1 |title=The Fall of New France: How the French Lost a North American Empire, 1754–1763 |year=2004 |publisher=James Lorimer and Company, Ltd. |location=Toronto |isbn=9781550288407 }}
* {{cite book |last=Dechêne |first=Louise |title=Habitants and merchants in seventeenth-century Montreal |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BL9X4N4DPBAC&pg=PP1 |isbn=9780773509511 }}
* {{cite book |last=Eccles |first=W. J. |title=Canadian Society during the French Regime |publisher=Canadian Historical Association |year=1968 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tBWSnQEACAAJ&pg=PP1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Eccles |first=W. J. |title=The Canadian Frontier, 1534–1760 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadianfrontier0000eccl |url-access=registration |location=Toronto |publisher=Holt Rinehart Winston |year=1969 }}
* {{cite book |last=Greer |first=Allan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uKJAUqpAolQC&pg=PP1 |title=The people of New France |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8020-7816-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Harris |first=Richard Colebrook |title=The Seigneurial System in Early Canada |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qv78gf5GxwC&pg=PP1 |isbn=9780773504349 }}
* {{Cite book
| publisher = University of North Carolina Press
| isbn = 978-1469640990
| last = Martino
| first = Gina M.
| title = Women at War in the Borderlands of the Early American Northeast
| location = Chapel Hill
| year = 2018
}}
* {{cite journal |last=Maura |first=Juan Francisco |title=La invención de la carta de Giovanni da Verrazano y de la 'Nouvelle France' (Canadá) |trans-title=The invention of the map by Giovanni da Verrazano of New France (Canada) |language=es |journal=Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos |date=June 4, 2020 |url=https://cuadernoshispanoamericanos.com/cuando-prometeo-se-encontro-con-pigmalion/ }}
* {{cite journal |last=Munro |first=William Bennett |title=The Office of Intendant in New France |journal=American Historical Review |volume=12 |number=1 |year=1906 |pages=15–38 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.2307/1832882 |jstor=1832882}}
* {{cite book |last=Moogk |first=Peter N. |url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=21079078 |title=La Nouvelle-France: the making of French Canada : a cultural history |location=East Lansing |publisher=Michigan State University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-87013-528-6 |access-date=6 September 2017 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805033849/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=21079078 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Stiles |editor-first=T. J. |editor-link=T. J. Stiles |date=1998 |chapter=Chapter 21: The Fall of New France |title=The Colonizers |series=In their own words |edition=1st |location=New York |publisher=[[TarcherPerigee|Perigee Books]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/colonizers0000unse/page/394 394–418] |isbn=978-0-399-52390-8 |lccn=97041889 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/colonizers0000unse/page/394 }}
* {{cite book |last=Trigger |first=Bruce |year=1976 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T3NQ1lsaHs0C&pg=PP1 |title=The Children of Aataentsic. A history of the Huron People to 1660 |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill-Queens University Press |isbn=9780773506275 }}

===Older classics===
* {{cite book |last=Kingsford |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZA-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PP1 |title=The History of Canada: Canada under French rule |volume=4 |publisher=Roswell & Hutchinson |year=1890 }}
* {{cite book |last=Parkman |first=Francis |title=Francis Parkman : France and England in North America, Pioneers of France in the New World, The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth Century, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, The Old Regime in Canada |volume=2 |work=Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV, A Half-Century of Conflict, Montcalm and Wolfe |publisher=Library of America |year=1983}}
* {{cite book |editor1=Wrong, George M. |editor2=Langton, H.H. |year=1914 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N1sa7BGgDHQC&pg=PP1 |title=The Chronicles of Canada: Volume II – The Rise of New France |publisher=Fireship Press |edition=2009 reissue |isbn=978-1-934757-45-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wrong |first=George M. |year=1918 |title=The Conquest of New France: A Chronicle of the Colonial Wars |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hg3icC-WNdkC&pg=PP1 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-1-58057-276-7 |access-date=4 March 2011 }}
{{refend}}

===Primary sources===
* {{ cite book |editor1=Lawn, Katherine |editor2=Salvucci, Claudio |title=Women in New France: Extracts from the Jesuit Relations |location=Bristol, Penn. |publisher=Evolution Publishing |year=2005 }}

===Historiography===
* {{cite journal |last1=Desbarats |first1=Catherine |first2=Allan |last2=Greer |title=North America From the Top Down: Visions from New France |journal=Journal of Early American History |volume=5 |number=2 |year=2015 |pages=109–136 |doi=10.1163/18770703-00502008 |url=https://www.academia.edu/42980985}}
* {{cite journal |last=Gagnon |first=Serge |title=The Historiography of New France, 1960–1974: Jean Hamelin to Louise Dechêne |journal=Journal of Canadian Studies |publisher=University of Toronto Press |volume=13 |number=1 |year=1978 |page=80+ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5NzEsTh6k4C&pg=PA53 |doi=10.3138/jcs.13.1.80|isbn=9780887720260 |s2cid=152109936 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Greer |first=Allan |title=National, Transnational, and hypernational historiographies: New France meets early American history |journal=Canadian Historical Review |volume=91 |number=4 |year=2010 |pages=695–724 |doi=10.3138/chr.91.4.695 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Peterson |first=Mark |title=How (and Why) to Read Francis Parkman |journal=Common-Place: The Journal of Early American Life |date=October 2002 |volume=3 |number=1 |url=http://commonplace.online/article/read-francis-parkman/ }}

===In French===
* {{cite book |last1=Havard |first1=Gilles |last2=Vidal |first2=Cécile |title=Histoire de l'Amérique française |location=Paris |publisher=Flammarion |year=2003 |isbn=978-2-08-210045-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/histoiredelameri0000hava }}
* {{cite book |last1=Lahaise |first1=Robert |last2=Vallerand |first2=Noël |title=La Nouvelle-France 1524–1760 |location=Outremont, Québec |publisher=Lanctôt |year=1999 |isbn=978-2-89485-060-2 }}

==External links==
{{Library resources box}}
{{Sister project links|collapsible=collapsed|New France}}
* [http://www.novafrancia.org Electronic New France] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912022802/http://novafrancia.org/ |date=12 September 2017 }} Internet gateway to everything New France (archives, heritage sites, etc.)
* [http://www.civilization.ca/vmnf/vmnfe.asp The Virtual Museum of New France], Canadian Museum of Civilization
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060111053009/http://gallica.bnf.fr/FranceAmerique/page.asp?%2Fen%2FT1-1-Intro.htm%3F France In America] Bibliothèque nationale de France / Library of Congress site (click on Themes){{snd}}text and maps
* [http://pages.infinit.net/histoire/ydatnfqc.html Chronologie de l'histoire du Québec (French)]'' (List of Governors, Intendants, and Bishops)'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514010336/http://pages.infinit.net/histoire/ydatnfqc.html |date=14 May 2011 }}

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