France’s interest in exploring the Western Atlantic began as with the other colonizing countries – the search for a sea route to the Far East. That endeavor was abandoned early on and the focus turned to seizing land and extracting commodities for profit. During the 16th and 17th centuries France established colonies in the north – New France, and in the south – Caribbean France. The two colonies were similar in their relations with Indigenous Peoples, but because the Caribbean colony included African slaves, the culture there was considerably different. See French Colonization Practices – Caribbean France for more information about that colony.
It was in late 1523 that King Francis I of France instructed Giovanni da Verrazzano to undertake a voyage to find the Far East passage. Francis was upset that Pope Alexander VI had divided the world in two for Spain and Portugal, completely ignoring France. It is purported that he declared:
“The sun shines for me as it does for others. I would very much like to see the clause of Adam’s will by which I should be denied my share of the world.”
Disregarding, or perhaps defying the Papal edict, Francis sent Verrazzano to the Western Atlantic in search for the passage along the eastern shore of the Northern continent. While investigating several harbors and rivers Verrazzano reported he met some Indigenous Peoples, but did not have long encounters with them and thought they were not particularly friendly. And he did not find the elusive sea passage to Asia. Overall, Francis considered the trip a failure.
Then in early 1534, Francis, who seemingly had given up on the idea of a Far East passage, commissioned Jacques Cartier to:
“… discover certain islands and lands where it is said that a great quantity of gold and other precious things are to be found.”
On his first Western Atlantic voyage, Cartier circumnavigated Newfoundland and explored the Bay of the St. Lawrence River, but did not enter the river itself. At some point, he planted a cross and claimed the land for the King of France. He had several peaceful encounters with Indigenous Peoples, including a group later identified as the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. Cartier gained the friendship and trust of the Iroquois, to the point that with assurances he would return them, he took two young sons of the Iroquois chief back to France. He reported to King Francis that he was certain he had found the eastern shore of an Asian land.
The following year, Cartier returned to the same area (with the Chief’s two sons) and sailed into the St. Lawrence River. He went upstream as far as where Montreal is currently located, but was unable to proceed any further due to river rapids. He was convinced that he had discovered the Far East passage and it was only those rapids that prevented him from sailing directly to China. He stayed in the area for the winter and learned from the Iroquois of a country further north, called the “Kingdom of Saguenay”, which was full of gold, diamonds and other treasures. When he returned to France in the Spring of 1536, he brought the Iroquoian Chief with him to tell the King and others about Saguenay.
When Cartier returned to the St. Lawerence River in 1541 on his third voyage, his two goals were to establish a permanent settlement and find Saguenay. The settlers who accompanied Cartier on this trip established the colony of Charlesbourg-Royal with houses, gardens, livestock and a fort. Once the construction of the town was underway, Cartier started the search for Saguenay. While Cartier never found a ‘Kingdom’, he did discover an abundance of what he thought were diamonds and gold, only to learn on his return to France the following year that the diamonds were mere crystals and the gold was iron pyrite (fool’s gold). That winter of 1541-42 was severe and the French colonists suffered from the lack of provisions and illnesses. And even worse, the Iroquois became hostile and began attacking the settlement. Cartier left in early summer of 1542 just as another group of French settlers arrived. Charlesbourg-Royal was abandoned in mid 1543 after yet another harsh winter and the continued threat from the Iroquois.
For the rest of the 16th century, the French continued to fish the Grand Banks near Newfoundland, but establishing colonies or searching for a passage to the Far East were no longer priorities for the French. That was in part due to the strong Spanish and Portuguese defense of their ‘New World’ holdings, and also in large measure to France’s internal struggles, particularly the long ‘Wars of Religion’.
Beginning with King Henry IV of France, who reigned from 1589 to 1610, colonization was revived with the founding of the Port Royal colony in 1605 on the coast of Acadia, which was comprised of what is today Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, a portion of Maine and a number of offshore islands. A few years later, 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec which was to become the primary settlement of New France. Generally, land acquisition was not the primary goal for the French. The emphasis was on the fur trade rather than agricultural settlements, relying on the Indigenous Peoples to supply furs through a network of trading posts along the St. Lawerence river and eventually around the Great Lakes.
Because he wasn’t royalty, Champlain could not have the official title of Governor, but he essentially served as the colony’s chief administrator until he died in 1635. Champlain explored, documented and mapped much of the area surrounding the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. Except for the Iroquois, who competed with the French in the fur trade, Champlain established stable relations with the Indigenous Nations and conducted trade and land sharing with all of the nations he encountered in a relatively fair manner. Indigenous Peoples were considered naturalized French subjects with the same rights as French nationals if they were baptized. Whether they were baptized or not, they could not be enslaved or sold as slaves.
Primary Source: Lacoursière, Jacques (2005). Canada Quebec 1534–2000. Québec: