French Colonies of North America

Charla Lopez

Canada and Iroquoia

• The northern traders could not afford the Indians as enemies, Indians were better as allies and hunters. To avoid complications in trade, traders accepted Indian trade protocol, restrained their prices, and cultivated alliances.

• In alliances with Indians, European traders often tried to assist in native wars that complicated and slowed their profit.

• From the Indians perspective, the French came, in the words of historian Allan Greer, “not as conquering invaders, but as a new tribe negotiating a place for itself in the diplomatic webs of Native North America.” In those webs, the Indians negotiated from a position of strength.

Skills and trade

• Indians already skilled and experienced, hunted animals and treated the furs, this made it possible for the Americans to immediately profit.

• Indians appreciated the introduction of metals as it made tools that were very useful

• thus Increasing productivity.

• Indians rose their prices for their furs so that they could reduce their work, once their basic needs and wants had been met they valued leisure.

Gun Revolution

• The introduction of guns revolutionized Indian warfare. After seeing the demand for guns the forbidden status of making them available to Indians was disregarded.

• Mourning wars sought out prisoners from enemies. The matrons decided if death or adoption was the future of the imprisoned women, children and men. The men, usually the least likely to assimilate, suffered long torturous deaths, each villager taking turns administering torture till death.

Goods and People• Both Iroquois and French had a common interest in inferior source of

manufactured goods and tacitly worked to keep apart the best suppliers of furs(the northern Indians) and of manufactures(the Dutch).

• Jesuits surprised the Indians with their dedication and lack of interest in land, fur and women. Jesuits learning the native language and going into Indian villages to build churches was a different approach than before. Indians listened to the teaching but mainly agreed to disagree. Thus giving agreement in words but then continuing their lives as before.

• To their enemies the Iroquois were relentless in unity, purposeful and invincible. From within, their wars seemed to be in desperation rather than calculation, and more detrimental inward than successful outward. By winning great victories and taking more captives than could possibly assimilate, new problems and divisions were created within their own nation.

French America• Cold climate and complicated access

made British invasion difficult, limited numbers helped new France relieve tension with the Indians.

• Indians could be recruited by the French to help protect Canada from the ever growing threats of the British. Threats of growing population ,power and ambition.

• Though small in number the French laid claim and had influence to more of the continent than did any empire.

• Generosity and restraint helped the French influence their Indian allies but they could never command them.

Lost Cause Cost

• Suffering from corrupt government, with no profitable economy, the colony cost much more than it brought in revenue. French imperial Louisiana was the French imperial least valuable colony even below Canada.

• For New France the crown kept Louisiana mostly for its strategic value in keeping the British colonies to the east.

Bad influence• The English and French competed for

influence over native confederacies. The Indians had the potential to devastate either colony but vital in each ones existence.

• In trade British had better price, quantity and quality in cloth, guns and alcohol.

• Hard experience had proven that any people cut off from the gun trade was in for disaster from their native enemies.

Learn from the best• Attempting to dissuade the

Indians from trading with the British colonists , the French offered goods below market value on the great lakes posts. This revealed that the Indians strategic dependence on the French wasn’t near as much as that of the French on the Indians.

• Indians were adapting with exposure to the colonials, very resourcefully to the new world.