French Colonial America

Maju:

Interesting topic.....and not well known.

The French efforts in the New World were affected by two main things:

The eight French Wars of Religion, 1562-1598 (including war w/Spain)

France's continental position being "outflanked" by the Habsburgs.

Also, colonial emigration was not so attractive to the French, and goes a long way to explaining why so few French went to the New World.

France, comparatively, was a wealthy country with sufficient food, etc. (until the crises in the XVII c.).  Also, as Huguenots were viewed with some suspicion, there was no movement to colonial territories for religious freedom.  They were not trusted.  In any case, many Huguenots were merchants or soldiers and profit for them was more available in Europe.  More left for Holland or Brandenburg or the Scandinavian kingdoms.

The religious wars diverted French attention and capital from the exploration and settlement in the XVI c.  The Florida settlement was eliminated by Spain, and trading/colony interests could not raise the money needed.  Not until France recovered after 1600 was some presence in Canada (New France) established and sustained.

From the beginning, French interest was mostly in trade with the Indians and in fishing off Canada, with some agriculture.  Eastern Canada was so heavily forested, and the growing season so short, that the few French who went there were mostly at subsistence level.  There were never enough of them to change that, unlike the English further south.

The Mississippi and Ohio valleys were certainly recognized as important, and settlements (mostly trading posts and Catholic missions) popped up accompanied by French royal claims.  The posts were sparsely populated and separated by hundreds of miles.

France never supported Canada very strongly, being constantly embroiled in European politics and wars.  For France, North America was an afterthought, and after the Seven Years War the French lost interest in overseas empire building until Algeria in the 1830s....closer to home.

The retrocession of Louisiana to France ended when it was purchased from Napoleonic France by the U.S. (1803?)

As part of the imperial struggle between England and France, when England assumed control of the Canadian maritimes, (French "Acadia"), many of the French there were relocated to what became New Orleans.  There are many descendants of them in Louisiana, and French names and place names are widespread.

Many of the fisherman and shrimpers as well as others call themselves "Cajuns," a corruption of "Acadians."  They have a distinct and recognizable culture including dialects, music and really, really spicy food!

Incidentally, although the basis of law in the United States is English common law in 49 states, the basis in Louisiana is the Napoleonic code.