New France essays

New France essays From the time Samuel de Champlain first stepped foot on Canadian soil to the Jesuits setting up permanent missionaries on the First Nations land, it was evident that the colonization of New France would not be easy. After many failed attempts at creating a settlement along the St. Lawrence River, it was only in 1701 when the Iroquois reached a peace agreement with the French, that allowed New France the opportunity to expand and flourish. The purpose of the young colony, if it succeeded, was to help make France rich and so mercantilism was enforced to insure all goods would only be available to the mother country as well as its colonies in the Caribbean. In order for this to work however, New France had to be self-sufficient and from there a new community was born. A Government designed to oversee the activity of New France was put in place by the Crown, and with the growth of settlement, the economic face of the colony began to change along with the social aspect which included the influence the Church had on the Canadians. All these factors came into play to create New France, a new distinct community, very different from what Old France had in mind when they first sent explorers down the St. Lawrence. With Louis XIV on the throne of France, an absolute monarchy was created where all authority would come from him. New France was then declared a royal province and under his control. Jean-Baptiste Colbert was appointed the title: Minister of Marines, and below him in order of power came The Governor, The Intendant, The bishop and the appointed councillors, all of whom made up the Sovereign Council Under Colberts supervision the seigneurial system was adopted to control land titles among the settlers. Two distinct groups emerged from this system: The Seigneurs, mostly made up of nobles and religious bodies, and The Censitaires, who were known as peasant settlers. The seigneurs had rights over the soil, howev...