1) The French established colonies in northern North America in the 16th century to trade furs and fish with local Native American tribes. They formed codependent relationships where the French relied on the Natives for hunting and the Natives relied on the French for goods. 2) Tensions arose between the French-allied northern tribes and the Iroquois tribes to the south. The fur trade began to change Native culture and overhunting depleted beaver populations. 3) The French expanded further inland, establishing trading posts like Quebec. Natives wanted help in wars in exchange for supporting the new settlements. Firearms became a major trade good, increasing Native power.

1. French Colonies of North America Tyler Campbell

2. American Colonies, Ch. 5: Canada and Iroquoia In the sixteenth century, the Spanish control most of the profitable eastern coast of the new world. English, French and Dutch mariners sought areas to colonize and cut in on Spanish control. In the northern colonies, the French found profitable good in the form of furs and fish. French traders relied heavily on the native Indians for their hunting expertise, and so a codependent relationship quickly formed, as the Indians also relied on the French for metals, cloth and alcohol.

3. American Colonies, Ch. 5: Canada and Iroquoia The setting of French alliances with tribe north of lake Ontario inadvertently created enemies south of the lake. The Five Nation Iroquoia were not as adept at hunting and trading as the northern tribes; however, they were fierce warriors who had made deals with other Europeans for weapons. The fur trade began to change the culture of the natives greatly. Where once they saw material goods as a part of the world in which they shared, they began to look at them for their commercial value. With that, they began to overhunt the beaver to extinction in the local areas as to benefit by means of alcohol, as well as metal tools, weapons.

4. American Colonies, Ch. 5: Canada and Iroquoia The french moved further inland to a valley known as Canada. Their interest lied in creating all-male colonies which could establish trading points and provide them with the ability to pull goods from further inland. In exchange for support of the new posts, such as Quebec, native tribes wanted help with their war efforts. The Europeans were well armed and had unorthodox battle strategies which secured victory for the northern tribes. Following armed support from the French, native grew increasingly more interested in acquiring firearms, which had been illegal for trade until then; however, traders began to quickly realize the monetary benefits of providing the natives with anything they desired.

5. American Colonies, Ch. 5: Canada and Iroquoia Early in the seventeenth century, and shortly after the French-Indian raids south of Lake Ontario, the Dutch came to settle on a piece of land just off of the Hudson river. The Dutch alliance with the Iroquoia nation to the south, provided the natives with guns that would fuel their warring on the French and tribes to the north. By the middle of the seventeenth century, the Iroquoian raids ascended to a severity that had never been seen in the new world. The destruction that was brought on by the Five Nations was absolutely unparalleled.

6. American Colonies, Ch. 16: French America In the end of the seventeenth century, the French colonized Louisiana. Their small numbers caused them to rely heavily on the support of the local Indians to defend the area. Back home in France, the government perpetuated the idea that the French controlled the natives in the area, although quite the opposite was true. The French colony was only sustained by the allowance of its presence by the Indians.

7. American Colonies, Ch. 16: French America Until 1663, the French province in Canada belonged to the fur trading company of New France, but their development and population was manifesting at an exceedingly slow rate. Recognizing the need for more settlers to secure the area and defend it from the threat of the English, the French government seized control of the colony and began immigration of French nationals to the New world. Unfortunately for the French, although they had the largest western European population at the time (nearly 20 million), they found it exceptionally difficult to convince their poor to immigrate to the new land, as the starving French population would rather deal with the known turmoil at home that to sail to new unknown troubles.

8. American Colonies, Ch. 16: French America The French immigrant who settled in the Americas found a life that was much more plentiful. Settlers were granted land in abundance, often leasing lands in the vicinity of one hundred acres, on which they could farm and hunt, in exchange for rents as low as ten percent of their annual crop. Because of French domestic laws, immigration for women to the new territories was more favorable than that of the British. Women in the French households were though of a economic equals. Similarly, women in the French territories were presented with options other that marriage and childbearing. They were given the opportunity to seek societal employ, as in schools, asylums, and hospitals.

9. American Colonies, Ch. 16: French America In spite of the newly flourishing settlers in the French colonies, the French were gravely disappointed with their economical prospects in the Americas. It inevitably turned out to be more expensive to sustain relations and trade with the native population than to terminate it. Unfortunately, the Indians had become so dependant on France for metals and weapons that it would have been considered a malevolent act of war to cut off their supplies, thus forcing the French to either continue supplying the native with materials at the cost of the throne, or abandon their relations with the Indians and run the great risk of pitting the colonists at war with the natives.