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English Arrive
The explorations of the Spanish and French inspired the English. In 1606, a company of London investors received from King James a charter to found a colony in North America. -
Jamestown
In late 1606, the company’s three ships, and more than 100 settlers, pushed out of an English harbor. About four months later, in 1607, they reached the coast of Virginia. The colonists claimed the land as theirs. They named the settlement Jamestown in honor of their king. -
New France
In 1608, another French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, sailed up the St. Lawrence with about 32 colonists. They founded Quebec, which became the base of France’s colonial empire in North America, known as New France. -
New England
In 1620, a group known as Pilgrims founded a second English colony, Plymouth, in Massachusetts. Persecuted for their religious beliefs in England, these colonists sought religious freedom. -
English vs Dutch
In 1664, the English king, Charles II, granted his brother, the Duke of York, permission to drive out the Dutch. When the duke’s fleet arrived at New Netherland, the Dutch surrendered without firing a shot. -
Great Lakes
Then the French penetrated the North American continent. In 1673, French Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette and trader Louis Joliet explored the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi River. -
New France covers Canada and US
By the early 1700s, New France covered much of what is now the midwestern United States and eastern Canada. -
English Battles France
In 1754 a dispute over land claims in the Ohio Valley led to a war between the British and French on the North American continent. The conflict became known as the French and Indian War. -
Relationship
French and Dutch settlers developed a mostly cooperative relationship with the Native Americans. This was due mainly to the mutual benefits of the fur trade. Native Americans did most of the trapping and then traded the furs to the French for such items as guns, hatchets, mirrors, and beads. -
Trade Empire
France’s North American empire was immense. But it was sparsely populated. By 1760, the European population of New France had grown to only about 65,000.