2. Establishing New France
In 1608, explorer SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN established
the first permanent French settlement in the Americas.
Located near the mouth of the ST. LAWRENCE RIVER in
what is now CANADA, the settlement became known as
QUEBEC.
French settlers in the Americas were interested mostly in
establishing FUR TRADE. Most French befriended Native
Americans and accepted their ways.
French explorers soon began claiming large areas of North
America for France. In 1682, ROBERT DE LA SALLE
reached the mouth of the Mississippi River at the Gulf of
Mexico. He named the region LOUISIANA in honor of
King Louis XIV.
6. The Boundaries of the French
Empire; Attracting French Settlers
By 1700, France’s American holdings, known as NEW
FRANCE, took in a huge portion of NORTH
AMERICA. It included much of what is now Canada
and the United States west of the Appalachian
Mountains.
Despite its size, France’s North American holdings
were sparsely POPULATED.
8. Arrival of the Dutch and Swedes
In the early 1600s, the DUTCH began establishing
settlements in North America. Like the French, they
were interested in establishing a FUR TRADE.
The DUTCH established a settlement near modern-
day NEW YORK that would come to be called New
Netherland.
In the late 1630s, SWEDEN established small
settlements just south of New Netherland.
