What was New France?
New France was the area colonized by France in
North America. It started in 1534, with Jaques
Cartier’s exploration of the St. Lawrence River,
and ended in 1763 when France had to split up
New France and give it to Spain and Britain.
On the line along the top of your page, create a timeline. Put 1534 at the left of
the page, and 1763 at the right. Explain what happened in each year
underneath the date.
At it’s peak,
New France
extended from
Newfoundland
to the Rocky
Mountains, and
from Hudson
Bay to the Gulf
of Mexico.
On the map on your
worksheet, colour in
New France.
The Beginnings
When Cartier first explored the St. Lawrence River, he saw the potential. It was very
difficult to build settlements however, and the first few attempts met with failure.
Though, with the rise in popularity of beaver pelts in Europe, France decided it
needed to colonize a permanent territory in the New World.
In 1608, Samuel de Champlain
founded the city of Quebec
with 28 men. It was incredibly
difficult to maintain, and many
settlers died from the harsh
weather and disease. In 1630
there were only 103 colonists,
but by 1640 the population had
reached 355.
Map of New France made by Samuel de Champlain in 1612.
Continuing Struggles
• From 1603 to 1663, New France was under
the control of private fur-trading companies.
• By 1663, it was clear this wasn’t working…
We need two actors for a skit…
How did Louis XIV make New France
work?
• He sent troops to New France to defend it against the
Iroquois – this led to a peace agreement with the
Aboriginal Nation
• He sent 850 brides-to-be to New France, called the filles du
roi (Girls of the King). Before them, there was 1 women to 6
men in New France! With their arrival, many children were
born, and the population was replenished.
• He also had men represent him in New France – one for
military concerns, called the GOUVERNEUR, and one for
everything else to do with the colony, called the
INTENDANT – they listened to the King and through the
SOVEREIGN COUNCIL (a group of powerful men in New
France) they passed on his rulings.
The Seigneurial System
(beginning in 1627 – add that to your timeline)
In New France, all land was owned by the King.
He had landlords that took care of sections of
the land. These men were called seigneurs. The
seigneurs divided the land even further, and
rented it out to habitants. Habitants cleared the
land, built houses, and farmed the land. The
habitants paid taxes called cens. They also had
to work for the seigneur three days each year.
Jean Talon
• Jean Talon was one of Louis XIV’s first
Intendants. He did many important things for
New France. He tried to create new industries
in New France, but many of them didn’t work.
• One interesting thing he did was
develop a census of New France in
1666. A census is a survey of the
people that live in a place.
The Census
• This was the first census ever done in North
America!
• Let’s look at all the jobs that were around in
New France at the time of Talon’s census…
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/kits-trousses/jt4eng.htm
Let’s take a look at the table you have on your
desk.
…and there were other famous people
in New France
In your groups, read about the three other
famous people in their biographies.
- Marguerite Bourgeoys
- Comte de Frontenac
- Samuel de Champlain
Take turns explaining the lives of these people to
the other people in your group.
The Beginning of the End
• Take a
look at
this map
and
think
about
why it
was
hard for
France
to
succeed.
New France was small
(70 000 colonists!)
compared to the 2
million British
colonists in 1748. In
1756, the first worldwide conflict began –
The Seven Years War.
In this war, France
was an enemy of
Britain.
The Battle of
the Plains of
Abraham (1763)
This was the decisive battle
between French and British forces.
General Wolfe defeated France’s
General Montcalm. Quebec fell to
Britain. Later in the year, Montreal
– and New France – fell as well.