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Period: Aug 30, 1500 to
Population
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Sep 1, 1500
Natives and European Influence
The natives taught the Europeans how to survive the winter, how to make warm clothing, and how to travel. (waterways, canoes, snowshoes). The Europeans taught the natives about iron, tools, rifles, new foods such as salt, and bread. -
Sep 1, 1500
Land Bridge
The land bridge existed during the ice age. The early humans from Asia most likely followed animals onto the bridge, since they were nomadic hunters, and eventually arrived on the new continent (North America). Once the ice melted realized their was no way to get back and the humans evolved. -
Sep 1, 1500
Relations with the Natives
Unfortunately the native population decreased because of the many diseases that the Europeans brought with them to the new contient. Their immune systems simply weren't able to fight off the illnesses. Also, some of the natives died in wars either against other native groups or against the Europeans. The French were allied with the Algonquiens and the English with the Iroquois. Being allied caused "crossbreeding" between the different groups. -
Sep 1, 1534
Jacques Cartier
1534 - Explored and mapped the St-Laurence and found lots of fur, timber and fish
1535 - He sailed up the St-Laurence and arrived at what is now Quebec. He met natives that taught him how to survive the winter and scurvy.
1541 - Cartier attempted to set up a colony which ended up being not successful. While this was happening the missionaries attempted to convert the aboriginals. After these events France lost interest in the recently discovered continent for 60 years. -
Samuel de Champlain
The King of France sent Samuel de Chaplain to establish a colony in Nova Scotia which was called Port Royale. The port eventually failed because of its position. It was hard for the natives to get there for trading. In 1608, Champlain returned establish a trading post in Stadacona (Quebec) which would later be called New France because of its success. -
New France's First Permanent Settlements
There were three main permanent settlements in NF.The first was Quebec, founded by de Champlain, to make fur trade with the Amerindians easier, meaning it was along the Add to dictionary valley, an easy to access area. The second was Trois-Rivières, founded by de Laviolette, it made it easier to communicate and prevented the iroquois from intercepting trades. The third was Ville-marie, founded by de Maisonneuve to evangelize natives but turned into a trading post because of its positioning. -
Seigneurial Regime
The king of France would grant pieces of land to rich french men which they would develop and eventually sell the land to peasants who would pay rent. In return, the peasants would have to cultivate the land for the seigneurs. -
Jean Talon Part I
The King of France sent Intendant Jean Talon to new france to increase the population. Below are some of the "strategies" he used.
- Retired soldiers were offered free land in N.F. after their service in the military was over.
- Minor criminals were offered land in New France.
- Les Filles du roi were put on a ship and sent to N.F. Their purpose was to encourage young men marry them and eventually have children. -
Jean Talon Part II
More Incentives Jean Talon gave the people of NF to have children:
- Money was given to couples who married young.
- Fines were given to people who weren't married and they were the age of 21.
- Couples were given more money for the amount of children they had.
Jean Talon was extremely successful in growing the population, looking at statistics he increased the population by over 2000%. -
British Regime
After the British gained control of New France, the immigration began. The first to come were the rich business men looking to turn a profit. Unfortunately for the british, the population was still 99% french. To increase the English population, Great Britain started to take action to encourage immigration. They granted free land to shipping and railroad companies and created propaganda to make it seem like Canada was a much easier place to live. -
The Loyalists
Because of the newly found independence of America, many brits left it, and remained loyal to the motherland. The loyalists migrated to NF, which the british had recently taken over. 36,000 Loyalists came to Canada and settled in the Maritimes, while 6,000 loyalists came to Quebec and settled in the west of Montreal. The loyalists also increased the English population in Quebec from 1% to 10% -
The Irish
Due to the Irish Potato Famine, many Irish migrated to New France. Unfortunately, the conditions during the travel were extremely difficult and disease spread rapidly, causing a Cholera epidemic. The Irish were forced to stay in quarantine at Grosse-île until they either got healthy or died. Many of the french did not care for the Irish as they would do the labour at cheaper prices then the french, taking jobs away from them. -
Urbanization
Urbanization had a major effect on the occupation of the territory. First was the Rural exodus. People working on the farms were having their jobs replaced by the low costing machines. Therefore, they were forced to find jobs in the city. This caused the reversal of urban and rural populations. Second was Urban sprawl, this was the spread of urban developments like shopping centers on the undeveloped land near a city -
Indian Reserves
The native territory was exploited by the government (not by choice) for natural ressources like water and to create mine shafts. Unfortunately, the Indians were not favored under the Indian act, so the Europeans agreed to give them "reserves" reserved exclusively for them. They are the only ones that can live on that land and the Indians don't pay taxes even today.
