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Essay On French Colonies

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The French settled within North America during the 17th century. This started when Samuel de Champlain founded the settlement of Quebec in 1608. The settlement was owned and controlled by the Company of New France while it’s population slowly grew. The colonists of New France, traded with the Native Americans at trading posts set up along the St. Lawrence river. The Native Americans traded various fur pelts in exchange for European goods such as metal tools and weaponry. The camaraderie formed from trading resulted in two Native tribes (the Montagnais and Hurons) to become military allies with the colonists. In 1663, New France came under the control of King Louis XIV after he shutdown the Company of New France. Soon afterward, in 1681, Robert Sieur de La Salle claimed Louisiana for France. Following the initial success of the French, the Dutch formed the West India company in …show more content…

Their success grew out of 1607, with the original settlement of Jamestown. Early on during the first winter, more than half of Jamestown's population died due to starvation and disease. The only reason the colony was able to survive afterward was because of John Smith taking control in 1608. John Smith forced military discipline onto the colonists by telling them that if they would not work, they would starve. Even though John Smith would be forced to leave in 1609, Jamestown would survive to grow into The Virginia Colonies. Various events contributed to the colonies success; such as the creation of House of Burgesses in 1619, and the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas in 1624. However, the most crucial part of the colonies’ success was tobacco. In 1617, the first shipments of tobacco arrived in England and quickly became the economic backbone the southern colonies needed. It was so popular that by 1669, shipments of tobacco reached 15 million pounds a

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