FRENCH COLONIZATION IN AMERICA

France occupied present-day French Guiana in South America (still under its control), Louisiana in the
Gulf of Mexico, some islands of the Caribbean, and the Canadian region of Quebec.

The French colonization of America began in the 16th century and continued until the 18th century.
the first viable colony of France in America was the colony - City of Quebec, founded by
Samuel de Champlain in 1608.

France built its first colonial empire in North America, called New France,
which extended from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the Rocky Mountains to the west and to the
Gulf of Mexico to the south. The French also colonized the Antilles: Saint-Domingue,
Saint Lucia and Dominica, as well as Guadeloupe and Martinique.

In South America, the French tried to establish three colonies, of which only one
survived until our days: French Guiana.

During this period of colonization, the French founded several cities, such as
Montreal, Quebec in Canada; Baton Rouge, Detroit, Mobile, New Orleans. St. Louis, in the
United States, Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien in Haiti.

The French were able to regain some of their old possessions for a short time,
during the Napoleonic Era, with the Treaty of San Ildefonso. France did not have the navy to
supply to its North American domains. The blockade by the French Empire was a key part
of the British strategy against Napoleon and why France did not want its possessions
they fell into the hands of the British.

Napoleon sold this colonial Louisiana to the United States, an operation referred to as the
Louisiana Purchase. This event took place on May 3, 1803, and the compensation was 15
millions of dollars, a considerable sum for the young American state. Between 1555 and 1567
the French Huguenots under the leadership of Vice Admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon
they attempted to establish the colony of France Antarctique (near Rio de Janeiro in what is today)
Brazil), but they were rejected by the Portuguese.

Between 1612 and 1615, a second attempt was made to establish the colony of France.
Equinoccial (in present-day São Luís, Brazil) which also ended with the expulsion of the French.
by Portuguese troops. French Guiana was first colonized by the French
in 1604, although the first settlements were abandoned due to hostility from the
indigenous people and tropical diseases.

The settlement of Cayenne was established in 1643 but was abandoned. In the 1660s
it was re-founded and except for brief occupations by the English and Dutch during the 17th century
and by the Portuguese in the 19th century, Guiana has remained under French control since
So, between 1851 and 1951 it was the site of the famous penal colony of Devil's Island. Since
1946, French Guiana is considered an overseas department of France.

The French colonial empire in America is distributed, at the beginning of the 18th century, among the
Caribbean and the North Subcontinent. From a strategic point of view, the enclaves located in
North America, a line of strongholds and cities stretching from Canada to Louisiana, had a
undeniable value, as they prevented the English colonies from comfortably penetrating inland
from the continental mass. Economically, however, the islands were much more profitable.
Caribbean with its sugar and tobacco plantations, especially whose trade compensated with
you grow the investments made by the metropolis to maintain such domains. For both
reasons, France was interested in maintaining its American possessions. If from the lands of San
Lorenzo only received shipments of hides, with a value that did not cover his expenses.
administration. and defense, in exchange, the British expansion in the Northwest was hindered;
it was only necessary to strengthen the foundations of the Mississippi to make this obstruction more effective.

New France in the early 18th century

Apparently, in the early 18th century, the French seemed to be solidly established in the
Canadian region, but it was rather a fictional reality than an authentic one. The small
populations lacked an effective connection with each other to address common issues;
the extension of crops outside the area near the cities spoke of colonization
in development (perceptible since the last quarter of the 17th century), but also of a dangerous
dispersion within a vast territory; mutual support among the different parts was difficult
of the colonial empire (Acadia, Newfoundland, Quebec, and Louisiana) and the communications with France
they left a lot to be desired, just like the metropolis's concern for defense and the
the well-being of their overseas subjects, who could only express their concerns through
from a governor appointed by the Crown. It could not be avoided, from time to time, the clash
Colonial Church-Government, which had its greatest example in the confrontation with Bishop Laval
with Frontenac. Different conceptions and interests regarding the role of the clergy in the
colonial society, in dealing with the indigenous people, in commercial activity or in the policy of expansion
Borders caused internal disputes that did not benefit the stability of the country.
Even when there was a conjunction of objectives, in the case of Bishop Saint-Vallier and the Intendant
Champigny, in order to favor agricultural settlements to the detriment of trade
skins and the nomadism of the coureurs des bois, it was not possible to prevent the discrepancies of.
who felt constrained in their freedom by the adoption of such measures. The problem of
the indigenous attacks had been temporarily resolved through alliances or
through military coercion. Since 1701, a certain tranquility reigned and partly disappeared
fear of incursions by the natives, thanks to a peace treaty, the work of Callieres
(governor from 1699 to 1703 in replacement of the deceased Frontenac), which guaranteed the non
belligerence of the Iroquois and their neutrality in the French-British conflicts. This situation
peaceful allowed the establishment of trading posts in the region covering the
Great Lakes and the upper course of the Mississippi. Thus, Kaskaskia and Cahokia emerge (in present-day
State of Illinois), and Vincennes (in Indiana) in 1705. Shortly before, it had been reinforced with the sending
of a contingent of troops, the site of Michilimackinac (today, Mackinaw City), the
primitive mission of San Ignacio founded by Father Marquette in a key location (on the edge
south of the communication channel

between Lakes Michigan and Huron) of the waterway that facilitated the union between New France
and Louisiana, in addition to opening the way to regions of special interest for the fur trade.
The first commander of the garrison located in Michilimackinac was Antoine Laumet de la
Mothe, lord of Cadillac, who had been in Canada since 1683, and had participated in
prominent form in the struggles against the Iroquois. After living for some time in
Maine held the command of the patrol located in Mackinac from 1694 to 1697 (until 1715 it was not)
he built a fort in this place), years that served him to explore the region and verify its
strategic location. This experience led him to request permission from Louis XIV to establish
a center for fur trading and territorial control; thus, in 1701, Fort Pontchartrain was born
from Detroit (the current Detroit) at the vital junction of Lakes Huron, Saint Clair, and Erie, and in
an excellent position to connect with Michigan and the Mississippi River (some time ago, from
New York had urged the English government, unsuccessfully, to build a fort in the area claiming
its crucial importance). Cadillac governed the fort until 1710, the year he went to Louisiana,
to give a good boost to the consolidation of the chain of forts that will link San Lorenzo
with the Gulf of Mexico. It is important to value it appropriately, omitting any reference to
difficult character, the political vision of certain figures (Frontenac, Callieres, Cadillac,
among them) who understood the need to secure the borders of New France if it wanted
to maintain the colony. As it happened in Louisiana, the French king did not want to get involved in
excess in Canadian lands, contenting itself with the dominion over the strip that extended from
Quebec to Montreal and leaving, in any case, the advance of the border to the initiative of the
missionaries in a clear support of pastoral work to the detriment of the fur business. Through
Persuasion managed to overcome, on some occasions, real disinterest and establish several positions.
fundamentals for the defense of Canada, maintain the fur trade and establish contact
with indigenous tribes. The triple objective worked effectively, at least it managed not to increase
the prevailing unease among the merchants of corambres satisfied the thirst for adventure on the part of
of the population and allowed to strengthen the friendship with Indian nations of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan
Illinois, essential to maintain the balance of power with the English in the struggle that is
I sensed it was near.