Seven year war imported

• Jacques Cartier was a French navigator in the mid 1500s
• Jacques Cartier entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and took possession of the land which he called New France
• Samuel de Champlain founded the first French colony on the Bay of Fundy


  1604
• The first French colony founded by Samuel de Champlain failed
• Samuel de Champlain began a new colony at Québec


  1608
• Strategic site


  Québec was located at the narrow part of the St. Lawrence River
• Over this period, the French had a monopoly over fur trading with the Natives
• Jean Talon was the Intendant for the colony


  1665-72
• Jean Talon encouraged settlement

  Pressed French exploration as far west as the Great Lakes
• By 1699, French exploration in North America claimed land which came to be known as Louisiana
• Young men known as Coureurs de bois were needed for the French expansion
• The French government encouraged young women to be sent over to marry men in the colony
• Les Filles du Roi

  The King's Daughters, young women sent to New France to marry
• The church was an important part of life in New France
• All seigneuries had a church
• Habitants


  Landholders who rented land from seigneurs
• Habitants paid rent with crops they grew
• The land on which these people lived was called seigneury
• The farms were divided into long narrow strips
• This system ensured that everyone got a good lot and a wood lot
• Early settlers along the St. Lawrence River became known as Canadiens
• The British started colonies in North America as early as 1604, at Jamestown
• The British established trade ties with the Natives for fur
• Throughout the early 1700s, competition for trade and wars in Europe led to clashes between the French and British in North America
• Britain seized Acadia


  1710
• The British wanted the French Acadians to swear an oath of allegiance to the King
• The refusal to swear allegiance resulted in the deportations in 1755
• Tensions in the fur trade grew and skirmishes between the French and British occurred in the Ohio River Valley
• Life in New France was firmly anchored in the seigneurial system
• Habitants had time to enjoy leisure activities
• New France experienced extreme seasons with hot summers and cold winters
• Seasons in New France

  1. In Spring, habitants plant crops and begin fishing

  2. In Summer, habitants weed, clear wasteland, and trade

  3. In Fall, habitants harvest crops, catch fish, and preserve foods

  4. In Winter, habitants repair buildings, tools, and go trapping
• Habitant families were usually quite large, with many children
• The church was a major authority figure in the community
• The church, the Petite chapelle de Tadoussac, was built


  1747
• The Intendant of New France was responsible for the colony's administration
• The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years War


  1763
• Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, New France became part of the British Empire
• The Proclamation of 1763 established a government in Quebec
• Governor James Murray was the first appointed governor of Quebec