New France was a vast viceroyalty colonized by France in North America from 1534 to 1763. It consisted of five colonies: Canada, Hudson Bay, Acadia, Terre-Neuve, and Louisiana. The territory stretched from Newfoundland to the Canadian Prairies and from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, encompassing the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence and Mississippi rivers. Jacques Cartier began exploration in 1534, and Samuel de Champlain established Quebec in 1608. The French allied with the Algonquin and Montagnais peoples and engaged in a long conflict with the Iroquois. New France's economy was initially centered on Atlantic fisheries but shifted to the fur trade. The population grew slowly, mainly through natural births.
The French and Indian War, a part of the Seven Years' War, resulted in France ceding most of New France to Great Britain and Spain in the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Prior to this, disputes over land claims in the Ohio River Valley led to military expeditions such as Céloron's in 1749 and George Washington's in 1753. The British gained control of Canada and Acadia, while Spain received Louisiana. The British victory at the Plains of Abraham in 1759 was pivotal. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht had previously resulted in France relinquishing claims to mainland Acadia, Hudson Bay, and Newfoundland.
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 officially ended the war and significantly altered the political landscape of North America. The British gained control of French Canada and Acadia, inheriting a population of approximately 80,000 French-speaking Roman Catholics. The treaty also addressed religious freedom in Canada and allowed for the emigration of French inhabitants. Many Acadians were deported, and the French-Canadians felt betrayed by the French concession. The British issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which reserved lands west of the Appalachians for the Indigenous population. The legacy of New France remains, particularly in Quebec, which is predominantly French-speaking.
Episode 6