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In the 240 years between Verrazano's voyage of exploration in 1524 and the Conquest of New France in 1763, the French marked the North American continent in many ways. . Whether it was through by land distribution and clearing, the establishment of villages and towns, deploying a network of roads and paths or developing the territory with various constructions, the French colonists transformed ...
Starting with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, New France, of which the colony of Canada was a part, formally became a part of the British Empire.The Royal Proclamation of 1763 enlarged the colony of Canada under the name of the Province of Quebec, which with the Constitutional Act 1791 became known as the Canadas.
Ultimately, Canada was transferred over to the British without much protest. [8]: 310 As I.K. Steele points out, the Conquest of Canada was only one part of the Seven Years' War, and France was willing to surrender Canada peacefully in exchange for their more profitable colonies in the West Indies, particularly Guadeloupe.
These colonies did not last long except the fisheries in Ferryland under David Kirke. [63] In 1631, under Charles I of England, the Treaty of Suza was signed, ending the war and returning Nova Scotia to the French. [64] New France was not fully restored to French rule until the 1632 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. [65]
A few years later, in 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec, which was to become the capital of the enormous, but sparsely settled, fur-trading colony of New France (also called Canada). [16] New France had a rather small population, which resulted from more emphasis being placed on the fur trade rather than agricultural settlements.
Around 1580, France became interested in America again, because the fur trade had become important in Europe. France returned to America looking for a specific animal: the beaver. As New France was full of beavers, it became a colonial-trading post where the main activity was the fur trade in the Pays-d'en-Haut. [16]
Roman Catholics were the first major religious group to immigrate to the New World, as settlers in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of Portugal and Spain, and later, France in New France. No other religion was tolerated and there was a concerted effort to convert indigenous peoples and black slaves to Catholicism.
Early permanent European settlements in what is now Canada included the late 16th and 17th century French colonies of Acadia and Canada (New France), [4] the English colonies of Newfoundland (island) and Rupert's Land, [5] the Scottish colonies of Nova Scotia and Port Royal. [6]