The Establishment of (French) Canada

Four themes

• French pattern of diversity versus centralization [Wars of Religion1562-98]

• Long series of false starts• Persistence of Samuel Champlain• France’s successful encounter with Indians:

tolerance

New mercenary armies

Swiss mercenary, 1507 and 2007

New pikes and gunpowder weapons

Swiss mercenary, 1507

France’s Atlantic Port Cities• Highly

independent, and well-armed

• No government navy

• Normandy: Dieppe, Saint-Malo, Honfleur, Rouen

Rouen

La Rochelle

La Rochelle

Saint Malo

Saint Malo

Dieppe

Three sets of false starts

• Canada, 1534-42• Brazil, 1555-57• Florida 1562-65

• Then, success in 1630s

Jacques Cartier 1491-1557

• Experienced seaman

• May have accompanied Verrazzano

As imagined in the 1800s

Saint Malo

Cartier: Mistakes in 1534?

• Came to reconnoiter the Saint Lawrence

• Encountered 200 Iroquois fishing for mackerel

• Kidnapped several and took them to France

Cartier Mistakes in 1535

• Sailed up river to “Hochelaga” the future site of Quebec;

• Spent the winter, suffered scurvy, (Indians showed him how to cure it)

• Kidnapped more Indians, including their leader Donaconna and sons

Hochelaga

Cartier: mistakes in 1542• Noble

Roberval and 500 colonists

• Failed “gold”• Kidnapped 10

Iroquois• Cartier and

Roberval returned, leaving settlers

Map of Cartier’s findings, 1543

1547

1565

1562

Gaspar Coligny (1519-1572) : Admiral of France

• France’s most powerful Protestant

• Encouraging (failed) Huguenot colonies

Brazil: “France Antartique”

• “Fort Coligny” • 1555-1560• Island in the

bay• 600 soldiers

and colonists• Driven out by

Portuguese

1562: Jean Ribault and Fort Caroline (Florida)

• Religious Wars

• Huguenots only

• Ran out of food

• Mutiny• Some built a

boat to sail home

1564: 2nd attempt

• Ribault and Rene Laudonnière

• 10 months of food• Crops failed• Decided to attack

Spanish at Cuba• Spanish retaliated by

killing all members of the colony

Saint Augustine, Florida

Samuel Champlain (1575-1635)

• Illegitimate son of Henri IV?• Born into a Huguenot family• Veteran of Wars of Religion• Artist • First scientific cartographer in

the Americas• Spy in Spanish America

French Wars of Religion (1562-98)

• Deeply traumatic

• Partly, noble effort to escape royal power