History of New France

Jacques Cartier:

Jacques Cartier was sent by François I to search for a passage to China and for gold. In 1535 he found the Saint Lawrence River and followed it inland, stopping at an Indian village "Stadacona" (now Québec). Further upriver he found "Hochelaga", which he named "Mont Royal" in honor of his king. It is the now the modern city of Montréal.

Cartier and his men returned to Stadacona where they spent a terrible winter. They had no fresh food and lived mostly on salt pork. Many fell ill with scurvy and twenty-five died before help came in the form of an old remedy brought to them by the natives - spruce bark tea.

Before he returned to France, Cartier named the new land "Canada". He pointed to the settlement of Stadacona and asked the Iroquois where he was. They responded with the word for their village of huts - "kanata".

Further French exploration of the region did not occur for another 80 years. Fishermen, however, continued to visit. They returned to France with furs and fish, establishing the new world as a place which could have economic value.

For Information on Jacques Cartier:

Richard E. Bohlander (editor), World Explorers and Discoverers. MacMillan Publishing Company, New York, 1992.

John L. Field and Lloyd A. Dennis, Land of Promise: The Story of Early Canada. Abelard-Schuman, New York, 1962.

Francis Parkman, France and England in North America. Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., New York, 1983

http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/discovery/index.html

http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/amhs/history/earlyexp.html
(caution! - student written site)

http://www.nmarcom.com/heritage/minutes/min3_f.htm

Samuel de Champlain:

Champlain made numerous trips to the New World and had tried to set up a colony in what is now Nova Scotia. In 1608 he chose the current site of Québec City for a settlement, and built a fort in the area that is now the "Basse Ville". Although it grew slowly, this colony was to become the capital of "La Nouvelle France".

Champlain continued his explorations, travelling south to find Lake Champlain, and west along the Ottawa River and eventually to Lakes Huron and Ontario. He made efforts to help the little colony to grow, seeking to learn the customs of the natives and ways to keep at peace with them.

He traveled to France to ask for missionaries to come to "convert the savages". However, the growth of the new colony could not compare with the growth of the English colonies further south. In 1620, the population of Québec was 60; by 1635, when Champlain, "the Father of New France" died, it still could only boast 150 settlers.

For Information on Samuel de Champlain:

Samuel Eliot Morison, Samuel de Champlain, Father of New France, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1972.

http://www.blupete.com/Hist/BiogNS/1600-00/Champlain.htm

http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/amhs/history/champ.html
(caution! Student-written site)

See also print sources listed above for Jacques Cartier

A Growing Colony:

Louis XIV took an active interest in France's colony in the new world. He realized that the population was not growing because New France was governed by a fur-trading company, more interested in making money than in the growth of the young town. He brought New France under his personal control and set up three positions for government of the colony:

1. The Governor:

a. Is the king's personal representative
b. Directs troops in case of war
c. Has the power to make treaties with the natives

2. The Intendant:

a. Sees that laws are observed
b. Collects taxes and oversees spending of public money
c. Secures settlers and grants land
d. Controls prices charged by merchants

3. The Bishop:

a. Concerns himself with affairs of the church
b. Controls education, hospitals, charity and missions to the indigenous population

The most famous historical figures occupying these positions were Governor le Comte de Frontenac, Intendant Jean Talon and Bishop Laval. They are presented here in chronological order as they arrived in New France.

Bishop Laval:

François de Montmorency-Laval arrived in Québec in 1659, the first Roman Catholic bishop in Canada. Because he did not have enough priests to carry out the enormous job of converting the "savages" as well as tending to the religious needs of the colony, Laval founded a seminary in Québec in 1663. This seminary later became Laval University. He also organized an educational system which included a trade school and primary schools. He was in conflict with authorities over his opposition to the practice of supplying alcohol to the natives. He resigned as bishop in 1688, but stayed in Québec until his death in 1708. He was beatified in 1960.

There is a statue of Laval in front of the Old Post Office, on the corner of rue du Fort and Côte de la Montagne. It was unveiled in 1908, the 200th anniversary of the bishop's death. The Musée du Séminaire, whose reception center is next to the Basilique-cathédrale, provides tours which show the funeral chapel where Bishop Laval is buried.

Jean Talon:

Talon arrived as Intendant in 1666. He took stock of the colony by doing a census and counted 3,215 people in New France. His policies encouraged local trade and industry: fisheries, a brewery, a tannery and weaving. Talon worked hard to increase the population. He arranged that French soldiers, completing their tour of duty in the new world, would receive land in the colony. Officers were given large grants of land and became "seigneurs". Enlisted men became the "habitants" and worked the land of the seigneurs.

Talon realized the colony needed women. He arranged for peasant girls, many of them orphans, to be sent from France. These "filles du roi" were given a dowry by the king. In order to encourage large families, an annual allowance was paid to families who had ten children. There was an even larger bonus for families of twelve children, but nothing at all for those with fewer than ten. Talon left New France in 1672, but his efforts showed results: the 1673 census showed 6,705 people in New France. The custom of marrying young and raising a large family continued, and by 1700 the population had grown to 16,000.

Louis de Buade, le comte de Frontenac:

Count Frontenac became governor in 1672. He took measures to subdue the Iroquois who were plaguing the settlers. Arrogant and domineering, he enjoyed balls and other "frivolities" in the capital and angered Bishop Laval when he opposed Laval's request that no brandy be sold or traded to the native people. In 1690 a fleet of thirty British ships appeared in the river below Cap Diamant.

An emissary came ashore and announced that they had already captured Port Royal and that his captain, Sir William Phipps, demanded the surrender of Québec. Frontenac's bold response has become famous: "Je vous répondrai par la bouche de mes canons!" (I will answer you by the mouths of my cannons.) A week later, out of ammunition, Phipps weighed anchor and sailed for Boston. Frontenac died in 1698 and was buried at Québec.

For information on Laval, Talon, Frontenac, and the young colony:

John L. Field and Lloyd A. Dennis, Land of Promise: the Story of Early Canada. Abelard-Schuman, New York, 1962.

Anne Merriman Peck, The Pageant of Canadian History. Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 1944.

http://www.mvnf.muse.digital.ca/somm-en.htm

http://www.nmarcom.com/heritage/minutes/min5-f.htm

The Conquest:

In 1756, with Britain and France at war, England sent General James Wolfe to capture Québec and end the French empire in America. France sent Louis Joseph, le Marquis de Montcalm to defend it. Wolfe arrived in June, 1759, with 9,000 soldiers and 50 ships mounted with 2,000 cannons. They took up positions at the Ile d'Orléans, east of Québec City and at Lévis, directly across the river. All summer they bombarded the city.

Then in September, one of Wolfe's men noticed some women washing clothes in the river and later saw the clothes drying at the top of the cliff. He deduced that there was a path up the steep bank, beginning at what is now known as "Wolfe's Cove".

The British slipped along the river at night, and crept up the path. They surprised the French on the Plains of Abraham. The battle did not last long. Wolfe died during the fighting and Montcalm died later of wounds. France's empire in the new world was lost.

An obelisque which honors both generals stands in the Jardin des Gouverneurs, next to the Château Frontenac. It is said to be the only monument in the world dedicated to both the victor and the vanquished. The translation of the Latin inscription is: "Their courage gave them a common fame, posterity a common monument."

In February, 1763, the Peace of Paris was signed and Nouvelle France was renamed "the province of Québec". The British allowed the French Canadians to keep their laws, their religion and their language.

General Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold:

The necessity of defending the city did not end with the British victory in 1759. Québec continued to be a battleground. The American colonists, fighting for freedom from England, thought perhaps the Québecois would like to join their cause and fight off their British rulers. The French Canadians, however, did not find British rule unjust, and they were suspicious of the motives of the revolutionaries.

In the winter of 1774, General Richard Montgomery captured Montréal without a fight. Soon Benedict Arnold came north through Maine, hoping to capture Québec.

Arnold had too few men to be successful, but he was joined by Montgomery in 1775-76 to lay siege to the city. The Americans launched an attack during a snowstorm on New Year's Eve. By dawn, part of the American force had been captured and the rest had retreated. Arnold was wounded and Montgomery had been killed. The marker at #72 rue St-Louis recalls these events.

Benedict Arnold: http://www.wcha.org/wcj/wc_v19_n1/arnold.html