The document discusses the French colonial empires of Canada and Louisiana. It describes the French efforts to convert Native Americans in Canada to Christianity to facilitate the fur trade, which often conflicted with the natives' desire to trade instead. It also discusses the Iroquois wars over captives and territory, as well as European trade with Native Americans involving goods exchange for furs. The document then outlines the loss of the Quebec colony to the British, French settlement of Canada, and France's later efforts to develop the Louisiana colony through various companies and volunteers with mixed success.

1. American Colonial Empires: France David Robarge HIST 140

2. American Colonies Chapter 5: Canada and Iroquois Jesuits The French wanted to convert the Indians in New France to Christianity to make them more dependable as trading partners The fur trade and the missionary system often had conflicting points of interest, but both systems had to be pacified to keep peace between the French and natives Many Indians resented the missionaries and desired trade instead The first mission to convert the natives in Canada was in 1615, but after 10 years only 50 natives were converted Later, priests arrived in Indian villages to build churches, but the Indians were more impressed by the supernatural power of the priests than the Christian message In order to retain trade with the French, the Indians continued to put up with the Jesuits

3. American Colonies Chapter 5: Canada and Iroquois Iroquois Warfare During the 1640s and 1650s, large scale fighting between Iroquois tribes escalated Guns allowed Indians to increase their attack power, while the diseases the French brought increased the amount of deaths The Hurons and Iroquois were competing tribes, and the French trade increased competition and their aggression towards each other The Iroquois sought captives to replace the people they lost in the wars and diseases

4. American Colonies Chapter 5: Canada and Iroquois Mourning Wars The Five Nations Iroquois were a powerful tribe, outmatching most other Canadian tribes The Iroquois could raid from long distance and in great force The Iroquois had a tradition of capturing people to be a part of their tribe, to replace the dead which were seen as a negative impact on the strength of the tribe Wars conducted to capture prisoners from Iroquois enemies were called “mourning wars” Women and children were most sought after for captives, and men were usually tortured to death, and then eaten by the entire village in order to absorb his power

5. American Colonies Chapter 5: Canada and Iroquois The Fur Trade Europeans offered the Indians manufactured goods, such as beads, kettles and knives in exchange for valuable furs Europeans desired the furs in Europe because of overhunting there, making furs scarce – furs were also valuable because the Indians provided the labor of hunting the animals Indians desired metal and beads from Europeans because they believed shiny objects to be possessed with more spiritual power than other objects Alcohol was also a valuable trading chip, as the Indians would use it as an easier method of obtaining a spiritual trance

6. American Colonies Chapter 16: French America Loss of a Colony In 1629, 3 British privateers sacked the French colony of Quebec, due to its small population of only 85 colonists The French had kept inhabitants of the colony to a minimum to maximize profits and reduce competition of the fur trade To inhibit any further losses, the French royalty hired “seigneurs” who were tasked at finding new colonists to protect the French Canadian settlement However, the British still had far more people in their colonies and the French royalty took control of New France in 1663 The problem of few immigrants to New France was that French peasantry feared the unknown

7. American Colonies Chapter 16: French America New Lives in Canada Canadian immigrants often led better lives than peasants in France, owning much larger plots of lands, paying no taxes and living in relative freedom while owning their own houses and eating better food The immigrants adapted to the cold climates and held festivities and used horse drawn sleighs Due to the climate, Canada did not facilitate big business and encouraged smart use of resources

8. American Colonies Chapter 16: French America Development of Louisiana During the 1670s and 1680s the French explored the Mississippi river The French wanted to extend trading posts from Canada to Louisiana to control America West of the Mississippi During this period, missionary activity was put in the backburner and trade relations were formed with natives To inspire development of the Mississippi colony, France made the Company of the Indies ruler of the colony to instigate growth of tobacco and indigo

9. American Colonies Chapter 16: French America Difficulties in Louisiana France sought volunteers to colonize Louisiana, and many outcasts such as thieves and prostitutes were sent because of the unwillingness of the French peasantry The environment made Louisiana a difficult place to settle; the vegetation was dense, swampy, promoted disease and had harsh temperature shifts By 1731, one third of the immigrants sent to Louisiana were still alive It was difficult for Louisiana to make profitable exports, because shipping was dangerous and expensive, and Louisianan tobacco and indigo was inferior to that of France In addition, the government was corrupt, misusing funds and smuggled to Spanish colonies