France

American Colonial Empires: France

David Robarge

HIST 140

American Colonies Chapter 5: Canada and Iroquois

Jesuits

The French wanted to convert the Indians in New France to Christianity to make them more dependable as trading partners

The fur trade and the missionary system often had conflicting points of interest, but both systems had to be pacified to keep peace between the French and natives

Many Indians resented the missionaries and desired trade instead

The first mission to convert the natives in Canada was in 1615, but after 10 years only 50 natives were converted

Later, priests arrived in Indian villages to build churches, but the Indians were more impressed by the supernatural power of the priests than the Christian message

In order to retain trade with the French, the Indians continued to put up with the Jesuits


Iroquois Warfare

During the 1640s and 1650s, large scale fighting between Iroquois tribes escalated

Guns allowed Indians to increase their attack power, while the diseases the French brought increased the amount of deaths

The Hurons and Iroquois were competing tribes, and the French trade increased competition and their aggression towards each other

The Iroquois sought captives to replace the people they lost in the wars and diseases


Mourning Wars

The Five Nations Iroquois were a powerful tribe, outmatching most other Canadian tribes

The Iroquois could raid from long distance and in great force

The Iroquois had a tradition of capturing people to be a part of their tribe, to replace the dead which were seen as a negative impact on the strength of the tribe

Wars conducted to capture prisoners from Iroquois enemies were called “mourning wars”

Women and children were most sought after for captives, and men were usually tortured to death, and then eaten by the entire village in order to absorb his power


The Fur Trade Europeans offered the Indians

manufactured goods, such as beads, kettles and knives in exchange for valuable furs

Europeans desired the furs in Europe because of overhunting there, making furs scarce – furs were also valuable because the Indians provided the labor of hunting the animals

Indians desired metal and beads from Europeans because they believed shiny objects to be possessed with more spiritual power than other objects

Alcohol was also a valuable trading chip, as the Indians would use it as an easier method of obtaining a spiritual trance

American Colonies Chapter 16: French AmericaLoss of a Colony

In 1629, 3 British privateers sacked the French colony of Quebec, due to its small population of only 85 colonists

The French had kept inhabitants of the colony to a minimum to maximize profits and reduce competition of the fur trade

To inhibit any further losses, the French royalty hired “seigneurs” who were tasked at finding new colonists to protect the French Canadian settlement

However, the British still had far more people in their colonies and the French royalty took control of New France in 1663

The problem of few immigrants to New France was that French peasantry feared the unknown

American Colonies Chapter 16: French America

New Lives in Canada

Canadian immigrants often led better lives than peasants in France, owning much larger plots of lands, paying no taxes and living in relative freedom while owning their own houses and eating better food

The immigrants adapted to the cold climates and held festivities and used horse drawn sleighs

Due to the climate, Canada did not facilitate big business and encouraged smart use of resources


Development of Louisiana During the 1670s and 1680s the

French explored the Mississippi river

The French wanted to extend trading posts from Canada to Louisiana to control America West of the Mississippi

During this period, missionary activity was put in the backburner and trade relations were formed with natives

To inspire development of the Mississippi colony, France made the Company of the Indies ruler of the colony to instigate growth of tobacco and indigo


Difficulties in Louisiana France sought volunteers to colonize

Louisiana, and many outcasts such as thieves and prostitutes were sent because of the unwillingness of the French peasantry

The environment made Louisiana a difficult place to settle; the vegetation was dense, swampy, promoted disease and had harsh temperature shifts

By 1731, one third of the immigrants sent to Louisiana were still alive

It was difficult for Louisiana to make profitable exports, because shipping was dangerous and expensive, and Louisianan tobacco and indigo was inferior to that of France

In addition, the government was corrupt, misusing funds and smuggled to Spanish colonies

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