New France

Examples of New France in the following topics:

• French Explorers

  • Cartier founded New France by planting a cross on the shore of the Gaspé Peninsula.
  • Prior to the establishment of the 1663 Sovereign Council, the territories of New France were developed as mercantile colonies.
  • However, there was relatively little interest in colonialism in France, which concentrated on dominance within Europe, and for most of its history, New France was far behind the British North American colonies in both population and economic development.
  • New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence Riverby Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763.
  • It was the first province of New France.

• The Treaty of Paris (1763)

  • France and Spain restored all their conquests to Britain and Portugal.
  • New Orleans on the east side remained in French hands (albeit temporarily).
  • "A new map of North America" produced following the Treaty of Paris (1763), cartogrpahers: Robert Sayer, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d', Robert de Vaugondy.
  • The Anglo-French hostilities ended in 1763 by signing the Treaty of Paris, which involved a complex series of land exchanges, the most important being France's cession to Spain of Louisiana, and to Great Britain the rest of New France except for the islands of St.
  • Faced with the choice of retrieving either New France or its Caribbean island colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique, France chose the latter to retain these lucrative sources of sugar, writing off New France as an unproductive, costly territory.

• The American Revolution

  • The war pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries as well as by American Indians.
  • As a result of the war, France had ceded most of the territories of New France, except the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, to Great Britain and Spain at the Treaty of Paris of 1763.
  • The invasion army under John Burgoyne waited in vain for reinforcements from New York and became trapped in northern New York state.
  • British commander Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia to reinforce New York City because of the alliance with France and the deteriorating military situation.
  • Although France lost St.

• Territorial Losses

  • The news that the king had restored the Southern Netherlands to Austria was met with disbelief and bitterness.
  • By 1755, a new European conflict was brewing.
  • The new dangerous power looming on the horizon was Prussia.
  • The new Franco-Austrian alliance would last intermittently for the next thirty-five years.
  • New Orleans on the east side remained in French hands (albeit temporarily).

• The Diplomatic Revolution

  • Maria Theresa of Austria had signed the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 in order to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances.
  • Prussia, the leading anti-Austrian state in Germany, had been supported by France.
  • Only with renewed aggression between France and Britain was Louis convinced to align with Austria.
  • Furthermore, Austria no longer surrounded France so France no longer saw Austria as an immediate threat.
  • One year after the signing of the First Treaty of Versailles, France and Austria signed a new offensive alliance, the Second Treaty of Versailles (1757).

• Louis XIV and the Huguenots

  • The Edict of Nantes was issued in 1598 by Henry IV of France.
  • The Edict gained a new significance when Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, broke the post-Nantes tradition of relative religious tolerance in France and in his efforts to fully centralize the royal power, began to persecute the Protestants.
  • Without royal approval, bishops could not leave France and appeals could not be made to the Pope.
  • Most Catholics in France, however, applauded the move.
  • Analyze Louis XIV's persecution of the Huguenots and the consequences that had for France.

• Louis XIV's Wars

  • Louis XIV's expansionist ambitions resulted in numerous wars that positioned nearly all European powers against France and bankrupted the French state but turned France into the most powerful state in Europe.
  • In addition to sweeping domestic reforms, which completed the process of turning France into the absolute monarchy under the sole authority of the king, Louis XIV aspired to make France the leading European power.
  • The resulting Truce of Ratisbon guaranteed France's new borders for twenty years, but Louis' subsequent actions – notably his revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 – led to the deterioration of his military and political dominance.
  • However, with the ailing and childless Charles II of Spain approaching his end, a new conflict over the inheritance of the Spanish Empire would soon embroil Louis XIV and the Grand Alliance in a final war – the War of the Spanish Succession.
  • Territorial expansion of France under Louis XIV (1643–1715) is depicted in orange.

• Swedish-French Intervention

  • France, although Roman Catholic, was a rival of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.
  • France aligned her strategy with the allied Swedes in Wismar (1636) and Hamburg (1638).
  • Bernhard's victory in the Battle of Compiègne pushed the Habsburg armies back towards the borders of France.
  • After the Peace of Prague, the Swedes reorganised the Royal Army under Johan Banér and created a new one, the Army of the Weser under the command of Alexander Leslie.
  • Identify the reasons why France was invested in the events of the Thirty Years' War

• Competition with France

• Dunkirk and Vichy France