United States History Student Edition

French trappers traded with Native Americans, and France built forts to protect its trade. Aided by Native American guides, French explorers traveled into the interior of North America looking for a sea route through North America to Asia. In 1603, French explorer Samuel de Champlain made the first of many journeys into North America. In 1608, he sailed down the St. Lawrence River and founded the settlement of Quebec. A year later, he led settlers into the Champlain Valley, located in the northern parts of New York and Vermont. Champlain established many settlements in New France. In the 1670s, a French fur trader, Louis Joliet, and priest, Jacques Marquette, explored the Mississippi River by canoe, hoping to find the Northwest Passage. By the time they reached the Arkansas River, however, they realized the Mississippi flowed south into the Gulf of Mexico rather than west into the Pacific. Fearing they were approaching Spanish territory, they headed back upriver. In 1682, Robert Cavelier de La Salle followed the Mississippi all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed the region for France, calling it Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV. In 1718, the French founded New Orleans. French explorers and missionaries traveled west to the Rocky Mountains and the Rio Grande. New France and New Netherland In 1663, New France became a royal colony. The new royal governor supported expanded exploration. French settlement advanced slowly. New France was made up of estates along the St. Lawrence River. Estate holders brought in settlers in exchange for land. These tenant (TEH•nuhnt) farmers paid rent and worked for their landowner for a set period of time each year. Compared to other European colonizers, the French had better relations with the Native Americans. French trappers and missionaries lived among them, learned their languages, and converted some Native Americans to Christianity. Because the French colony grew slowly compared to others, the French seemed to pose less of a threat to Native Americans and their lands than other Europeans.

This 1660 map of New Amsterdam corresponds to the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City today. On the map, the colony’s four-pointed fort is clearly visible, as is a wide street (at top) that today is Broadway. The Netherlands also had a large fleet of trading ships that sailed all over the world. In 1621, the Netherlands created the Dutch West India Company to run its trade between the Americas and Africa. In 1623, the company took over control of the Dutch colony in North America, called “New Netherland.” The heart of the colony was New Amsterdam. The town was built on the tip of Manhattan Island. 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Making Connections How was the geography of the Netherlands related to its interest in developing a colony in North America? LESSON ACTIVITIES 1. Narrative Writing Write a letter to a relative in Europe from the point of view of someone accompanying an early French explorer in North America. Describe your experiences and what your goals are in North America. 2. Presenting Work with a partner to create a map of North America that shows specifically the routes of explorers who were searching for the Northwest Passage. Working together, do further research on one of the explorers on your map and develop a short report on his discoveries.

tenant farmer a farmer who pays a landowner an annual rent and works for that person for a fixed number of days each year

pose to put forward; to present

FLHC MAPS 6/Alamy Stock Photo

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