Imperialism
Program of Studies
7.1.3 compare and contrast diverse social and economic structures within
the societies of Aboriginal, French and British peoples in pre-Confederation
Canada by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:
1. What were the social and economic factors of European imperialism? (CC,
I, TCC)
2. In what ways did European imperialism impact the social and economic
structures of Aboriginal societies? (ER, GC, PADM, TCC)
3. How was European imperialism responsible for the development of Acadia,
New France and British settlements? (I, GC, PADM)
Definition
• Imperialism is the practice of extending the
power, control or rule by one country over
areas outside its borders.
• The areas so controlled or ruled may be called
that country's empire.
• Imperialism is the attitude of superiority,
subordination and domination over foreign
peoples
Word Origin
• The word itself is derived from the Latin verb
imperare (to command) and the Roman concept of
imperium, while the actual term 'Imperialism' was
coined in the 16th century, reflecting what are now
seen as the imperial policies of the European powers.
Imperialism not only describes colonial, territorial
policies, but also economic and/or military
dominance and influence.
British and French Imperialism
• When the French and British came to North
America, in order to exert their power and
control over an area
(Imperialism), they had to create settlements.
• These settlements were called colonies
• A colony: Is a territory of land that is
controlled by another country
Imperial Control of North America
• France was the first Imperial nation in the
world to lay claim or to establish control in
North America.
• They did this by establishing settlements in
Acadia, and New France (Quebec, Montreal,
etc)
Imperialistic Nations of the Old World
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France
England
Spain
Portuguese (Portugal)
Dutch (Netherlands)
Empire Building
• All Imperialistic Nations of the world who
were interested in Imperialism, were interested
in Empire building.
• Empires: Empires were a network of colonies
controlled by a single country sometimes
called the home country or “Mother Country”
• Countries used these colonies to exercise
control over other lands and people.
French Imperialism
French Land Claims
Pre French Colonial Expansion
• The excursions of Giovanni da Verrazzano and
Jacques Cartier in the early 1500s, as well as
the frequent voyages of French boats and
fishermen to the Grand Banks off
Newfoundland throughout that century, were
the precursors to the story of France's colonial
expansion.
France Begins to Establish Colonies
• France began to establish colonies in North
America, the Caribbean and India, following
Spanish and Portuguese successes during the
Age of Discovery, in rivalry with Britain for
supremacy.
• A series of wars with Britain during the 1700s
and early 1800s, France lost its colonies in
North America.
New France’s Beginning
• The story of France's colonial empire in Canada
began on July 27, 1605, with the founding of Port
Royal in the colony of Acadia in North America by the
Pierre de Monts.
• This area (Acadia) is now called Nova Scotia, Canada.
• 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
French in North America
• France entered the race to find the fabled
ocean passage (North West Passage) to the
spice and silk lands of Asia.
• First French explorer sent out by France was
Jacques Cartier in 1534.
Jacque Cartier
Cartier’s First Voyage
• He set sail for NA in the middle of May and landed in NA at a
place he called “Gaspe” , twenty days later.
• Cartier set sail under a commission from King Francis I of
France, hoping to discover a western passage to the wealthy
markets of Asia. In the words of the king's commission, he was
to "discover certain islands and lands where it is said that a
great quantity of gold and other precious things are to be
found".
• he explored parts of Newfoundland, the areas now known as
the Canadian Atlantic provinces and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
His claim to fame is that he was the first white man to see the
Gulf of the St. Lawerence and to sail up the St. Lawerence
River
Cartier’s Second Voyage
• Sets sail on May 19, 1535
• Reaching the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, he sailed up-river for
the first time, and reached the Iroquoian village of Stadacona
Quebec), where Chief Donnacona was reunited with his two
sons.
• He is the first white man (European) to see the Gulf of the St.
Lawrence and to sail up the river.
• The expedition could proceed no further, as the river was
blocked by rapids. So certain was Cartier that the river was
the Northwest Passage through this new land. The rapids
were all that was preventing him from sailing to China that he
named the rapids (Lachine) China.
Stadocona
• Stadacona was a 16th century St. Lawrence
Iroquoian village near present-day Quebec
City. Jacques Cartier reached this village on
Stadacone on Sept. 7th 1535. With the aid of
two Aboriginals from Stadacona, he was able
to travel to Hochelaga(Now Montreal) and the
Lachine rapids.
Hochelaga
• Hochelaga was by the St. Lawrence. It was a Iroquois
fortified village near present-day Montreal, Quebec,
Canada.Its exact location is unknown.
– Its first European contact was by a French expedition led
by Jacques Cartier, where he arrived on October 2, 1535.
• The site of Sainte-Marie Sault became a very
important missionary post . Later the area was
settled by Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve,
who history considers to be the founder of presentday city of Montreal,
Donnacona
• Chief Donnacona's was the chief of the Haudassane
people in Statacona along with his two sons
(Taignoagny and Domagaya) were kidnapped by
Cartier and his men.
• This action and the planting of the cross on the Gaspe
peninsula led to generations of distrust/fighting
between the Haudenosaune people and the French
• Cartier took them back to France to prove what he
had found and for them to tell the King of all the
wealth that was in this new land.
Kingdom of Saguenay
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Ready to return to France in early May 1536, Cartier decided to take Chief
Donnacona to France, so that he might personally tell the tale of a country
further north, called the "Kingdom of Saguenay", said to be full of gold,
rubies and other treasures
The name "Kingdom of Saguenay" (French: Royaume du Saguenay) has
its origin in an Algonquin legend, as recorded by the French during French
colonisation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. According to the
Algonquin Indians, there was a kingdom to the north, of blond men rich
with gold and furs, in a place they called Saguenay.
While imprisoned in France in the 1530s, Chief Donnacona also told
stories about it, claiming it had great mines of silver and gold. He knew that
this was the only way for him to get back home, tell the French of this great
area, even though it was not true.
French explorers in Canada looked for this kingdom in vain. Today, it is
typically understood to be entirely mythical, a European misunderstanding,
or an Algonquin attempt to trick or confuse the French.
Cartiers Legacy
• Cartier was the first to:
– Document the name Canada to designate the territory on
the shores of the St-Lawrence River. The name Canada was
recorded by him in a conversation is derived from the
Huron-Iroquois word "kanata", or village, which was
incorrectly interpreted as the native term for the newly
discovered land
– Sail into and explore the Gulf of the St Lawrence and the
river area.
– To get the Aboriginal people mad at him because of his
cross planting, kidnapping Donncona and his sons
Impact of the Native Peoples on North
America
• Cartier's first encounter with aboriginal people, most likely the
Mi'kmaq , was brief and some trading occurred
• On his second encounter Cartier panicked as 50 Mi'kmaq
canoes surrounded one of his long boats. Despite the Mi'kmaq
signs of peace Cartier ordered his men to shoot two warning
shots over their heads.
• His third encounter took place at Baie de Gaspé with the St.
Lawrence Iroquoians, where on July 24, without their assent,
he planted a ten-meter cross bearing the words "Long Live the
King of France" and took possession of the territory in the
name of the king. The change in mood was a clear indication
that the Iroquoians understood Cartier's actions
European Impact On Aboriginal People
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Kidnaps Donnacona and his two sons, though they were promised to be
returned, they die in Europe.
Devastating wars between tribes trying to protect the Fur trade routes with
the French
Old World diseases killed thousands
Impact of the settlement of Acadia on the Mi’kmaq in the beginning was
small, because the French did not have much of an impact on fishing or
hunting grounds. But as time went on, more and more French people
moved in, taking away the Mi’kmaq’s lands
• Loss of lands
• Loss of hunting Habitat
Champlain
• In 1603, Champlain sailed to France on Francois
Grave Du Pont's expedition. They sailed up the St.
Lawrence River and the Saguenay River; they also
explored the Gaspe Peninsula.
• Champlain returned to Canada and helped found a
colony in Port Royal, Nova Scotia (1605).
• In 1608, Champlain led 32 colonists to settle Quebec
in order to establish it as a fur-trading center. Only
nine colonists survived the first bitter winter in
Quebec, but more settlers arrived the following
summer
Champlain
• Champlain headed the Quebec settlement for
years, until the English attacked and took the
Fort at Quebec in July, 1629.
• After a French-British peace treaty in 1632,
Quebec was once again French, and
Champlain returned as its governor (1633). He
died from a stroke on Dec. 25, 1635.
Founding of Quebec
• In every way but name, Samuel de Champlain was
Quebec City's and New France's Governor. Given the
fact that Champlain did not come from the class of
nobility, he never would have been able to reach that
title
• It is Samuel de Champlain's determination to
succeed in establishing a French colony earned him
the name "The Father of New France".
Champlain Relations and War With Natives
• 1609, befriended the Huron Indians and
helped them fight the Iroquois (this battle
along with the kidnapping of Donaccona led
to 150 years of bitterness and hostility
between the Iroquois and the French).
• It was during this venture that he discovered
Lake Champlain.
Defeat of the Iroquois at Lac Champlain
On 30 July 1609, armed with his harquebus, Champlain killed three Mohawk chiefs. The battle ensured the enmity of the Iroquois Confederacy. Champlain's drawing is fanciful in detail (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C5750).
Defeat of the Iroquois at Lac Champlain
On 30 July 1609, armed with his harquebus, Champlain killed three
Mohawk chiefs.
Coureurs de Bois
• During the 17th century, the fur trade was very
lucrative for New France.
• Coureurs de bois were unlicensed fur traders
of NEW FRANCE. They were called by the
English “ wood-runners or Runners of the
Woods”
Courtesy Library and Archives Canada 1989-401-1X; C-2771).
courtesy Library and Archives Canada 1989-401-1X; C-2771).
Coureurs de Bois
• By 1681, the French authorities realized that these
illegal traders had to be controlled so that the
industry might remain profitable. The French
authorities limited the numbers of coureurs des bois
by giving out licences.
• These coureurs des bois were not looked upon
favourably by New France’s royal officials. They
disapproved of settlers leaving the developing
agricultural areas to seek their fortune trading
Voyageurs
• The voyageurs were highly valued employees
of trading companies, such as the North West
Company (NWC) and the Hudson's Bay
Company (HBC).
• A voyageur was an adventurer who journeyed
by canoe from Montréal to the interior to
trade with Indians for furs
• The term voyageur, literally means "traveller".
Famous Coureurs de Bois
• Etienne Brule
Etienne Brule
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Though Etienne Brule has gone down in history as a scoundrel and traitor, his
role in the foundation of French Canada is unequivocal. More than just an
interpreter or trader, he was a pathfinder and scout, who made future
exploration possible
He arrived in New France with Samuel de Champlain in 1608. When
Champlain made the decision to turn his attention further inland, hoping to
find what Cartier alluded to beyond the Lachine Rapids, he entrusted Brule
with the task of finding a route and forging alliances.
in 1610 Champlain sent Brule to live amongst the Huron people, he not only
learned their language and customs, This time became known in Canadian
history as the first European.Native Peoples Cultural Exchange, but became
one of them, throwing away his old inhibitions, and learning how to survive in
an uncharted wilderness.
However, he would turn out to be a disappointment to Champlain. When the
Kirke Brothers took over Quebec, it was supposedly Brule and Nicolas
Marsolet who led them to the French. When Etienne was brutally tortured
and killed by the Huron people in 1633, Champlain said that it was the fitting
death for a traitor
France Expands Its Empire
• In 1604 a French nobleman Pierre de Monts
received a monopoly or charter from the King
of France to set up a settlement or colony in
North America.
• In the Spring of 1605 the de Monts
established a settlement at Port Royal on the
Bay of Fundy.
• The French called the area Acadia
First French Colony
• The first French settlement was established by Pierre
Dugua, Sieur de Monts, was on Saint Croix Island in
1604.
• In 1605 the settlement was moved across the Bay of
Fundy to Port Royal after a difficult winter on the
island and deaths from scurvy.
• In 1607 the colony received bad news: King Henry
had revoked Sieur de Monts' royal fur monopoly.
Port Royal
• In 1605 the settlement was moved across the Bay of
Fundy to Port Royal from the Island of St Croix.
• The original French settlement at Port Royal, known
as the Habitation at Port-Royal, was settled by
Samuel de Champlain and Pierre Dugua, Sieur de
Monts in 1605.
• Port-Royal becomes the capital of the French colony
of Acadia
Port Royal Nova Scotia Pictures
Founded by Champlain and de Monts in 1605
Acadia
• Acadia (in the French language Acadie) was
the name given to lands in a portion of the
French colonial empire in north-eastern North
America that included parts of eastern
Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modernday New England, stretching as far south as
Philadelphia.
French Colonists
• Early French colonists, who would later settle in the
area would become known as Acadians.
• The first French settlement was established by Pierre
Dugua, Sieur de Monts was on Saint Croix Island in
1604. In 1605 the settlement was moved across the
Bay of Fundy to Port Royal.