Great article! I do want to clear a common misconception that folks outside of Canada often have: French is spoken in far more than just Quebec. There are many Francophone communities in Ontario, and scattered across the Prairies and the Maritimes/Atlantic Canada. New Brunswick has both English and French as its official languages---the only province in Canada where this is the case! I live in Ottawa, and being right on Ontario's border with Quebec (as well as the nation's capital), it's a super bilingual city. The French culture and accents vary quite a bit across these areas as well. It's much more diverse than many folks beyond Canada realize. (Maybe those variations are worth a future post?)
Very interesting article Tomas, as usual, but it doesn’t answer two questions:
1. The French territory you show in the first map isn’t entirely cold. Louisiana, for example, clearly has a warm climate, so cold weather doesn’t explain why so few French settlers were sent there.
2. Why did the French focus on Quebec, a region so cold and inhospitable, compared to southern territories? Why didn’t France prioritize Louisiana, for instance, which had far greater potential?
One reason might have been timing. Quebec City was founded in 1608, while New Orleans was founded more than a hundred years later in 1718. The mouth of the Mississippi was actually only discovered by an overland expedition coming from Canada, it's apparently actually quite hard to spot from the sea.
Tomas, read the book White Trash. The clearances in England created urban poor in England who were shipped to the colonies. They were shipped. they didn’t immigrate. This was not so marked on the continent
I believe you touched on it but didn't give it its proper due; Haiti (Saint Domingue) was providing more revenue for France than all 13 British colonies combined and Canada was small stakes compared to that. When confronted with losing Haiti permanently due to the slave revolt France/Napoleon sent a literal armada to reconquer it (that ultimately failed)...an armada that was supposed to wipe out the Haitian slave revolt and then head north to Louisiana. Ever wonder why the French sold Louisiana territories to the USA? Because their army was wiped out by the Haitians before they could start phase 2 of their North American reconquista. And neither Thomas Jefferson nor JD Vance ever said thanks...
Excellent summary. Never knew or thought of population pressure in Britain being a major cause of more emigration. BTW, the Seven Years' War, which I think Churchill called the first really 'world war', is often called in the USA "The French And Indian War" but in Québec: "La Conquête" (conquest). But interestingly, it really was started two years earlier in 1754 by none other than 20-something George Washington, who went out to the Ohio Valley -- kind of a real estate speculation -- where his troops and indigenous allies surprised and killed a group of French soldiers led by an aristo -- whose brother came from Canada for revenge, beat Washington and his men at "Fort Necessity". George signed a document admitting he was an assassin, and went back to Virginia, by odd coincidence, on the 4th of July, I believe. Anyway, thanks for this ongoing series about Canada.
I would also add how many New England settlers came early after formation of the colony. This is likely the largest and earliest wave of family settlement to the New World in one specific location.
Between 1629 and 1640, a span of only 11 years, approximately 21,000 Puritan settlers arrived in what is now southern New England. Because they settled very early, in vast numbers and they came as entire families, these settlements grew rapidly in population.
With 4-6 children per family in New England, the population grows very fast. In 1650, the total population of New England was 22,800 and by 1770 it was 581,000.
I'm greatly enjoying this series, but disappointed you'll be ending it ("for now"?) without discussing Canada's west coast, the third major population centre.
Very interesting article, Tomas! Life has kept me busy the past 5-6 months (went back to school, other family issues) so this is the first article I've read of yours in a while. Semester just ended and I'll be free-er over the summer until school resumes in August. I'll have to look through the archive and see what I've missed of interest. Glad you are still writing quality, interesting articles!
Interesting and perhaps slightly more plausible reason for the english to head over there than my previous theory - the pub food at home was shite ;) (things have improved)
Why they did not kick the french out of Quebec is still beyond me. (and why did they even stay?)
It could not have been much fun going on strike on your own and not checking the traps for a few weeks? No Operation Escargot (as our local taxi strike was called) over there.
All in gest of course. thanks for yet another great article!
Very interesting, as usual, Tomas. I've read a lot about the fur trade in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The French fur traders were a hardy bunch, and were very much present in the what is now the northern and western US. Also, the French missionary priests traveled the same areas, "Black Robe" being the best known, and well respected by what we call the American Indians. I have a book, "50 Years in the Church of Rome", (the years 1818-1868) by Charles Chiniquy, who served as a priest to French communities in the Illinois and Ohio territories. He ended up leaving the Catholic church (but not his personal Christian faith) in disgust over priests who exploited women sexually by controlling them due to their exposed weaknesses from coming to the confession booth.
He said 90% of priests exploited women and girls in confession, so it’s not believable he left Catholicism because of homosexuality. I read his book on women and confession, there was hardly any mention of homosexuality.
Great article! I do want to clear a common misconception that folks outside of Canada often have: French is spoken in far more than just Quebec. There are many Francophone communities in Ontario, and scattered across the Prairies and the Maritimes/Atlantic Canada. New Brunswick has both English and French as its official languages---the only province in Canada where this is the case! I live in Ottawa, and being right on Ontario's border with Quebec (as well as the nation's capital), it's a super bilingual city. The French culture and accents vary quite a bit across these areas as well. It's much more diverse than many folks beyond Canada realize. (Maybe those variations are worth a future post?)
Wife and I went to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on our honeymoon and heard French being spoken amongst the locals almost as much as English.
Hello from another Ottawan.
Very interesting article Tomas, as usual, but it doesn’t answer two questions:
1. The French territory you show in the first map isn’t entirely cold. Louisiana, for example, clearly has a warm climate, so cold weather doesn’t explain why so few French settlers were sent there.
2. Why did the French focus on Quebec, a region so cold and inhospitable, compared to southern territories? Why didn’t France prioritize Louisiana, for instance, which had far greater potential?
Fur Trade.
One reason might have been timing. Quebec City was founded in 1608, while New Orleans was founded more than a hundred years later in 1718. The mouth of the Mississippi was actually only discovered by an overland expedition coming from Canada, it's apparently actually quite hard to spot from the sea.
Tomas, read the book White Trash. The clearances in England created urban poor in England who were shipped to the colonies. They were shipped. they didn’t immigrate. This was not so marked on the continent
I believe you touched on it but didn't give it its proper due; Haiti (Saint Domingue) was providing more revenue for France than all 13 British colonies combined and Canada was small stakes compared to that. When confronted with losing Haiti permanently due to the slave revolt France/Napoleon sent a literal armada to reconquer it (that ultimately failed)...an armada that was supposed to wipe out the Haitian slave revolt and then head north to Louisiana. Ever wonder why the French sold Louisiana territories to the USA? Because their army was wiped out by the Haitians before they could start phase 2 of their North American reconquista. And neither Thomas Jefferson nor JD Vance ever said thanks...
Excellent summary. Never knew or thought of population pressure in Britain being a major cause of more emigration. BTW, the Seven Years' War, which I think Churchill called the first really 'world war', is often called in the USA "The French And Indian War" but in Québec: "La Conquête" (conquest). But interestingly, it really was started two years earlier in 1754 by none other than 20-something George Washington, who went out to the Ohio Valley -- kind of a real estate speculation -- where his troops and indigenous allies surprised and killed a group of French soldiers led by an aristo -- whose brother came from Canada for revenge, beat Washington and his men at "Fort Necessity". George signed a document admitting he was an assassin, and went back to Virginia, by odd coincidence, on the 4th of July, I believe. Anyway, thanks for this ongoing series about Canada.
Excellent overview.
I would also add how many New England settlers came early after formation of the colony. This is likely the largest and earliest wave of family settlement to the New World in one specific location.
Between 1629 and 1640, a span of only 11 years, approximately 21,000 Puritan settlers arrived in what is now southern New England. Because they settled very early, in vast numbers and they came as entire families, these settlements grew rapidly in population.
With 4-6 children per family in New England, the population grows very fast. In 1650, the total population of New England was 22,800 and by 1770 it was 581,000.
I go into more detail here:
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/why-european-settlers-in-north-america
Interesting. The map seems to skip over the 8.5% of Manitobans (112,000 people) that still speak French (but are bilingual.).
Excellent, packed with info. thanks- already worth $100
I'm greatly enjoying this series, but disappointed you'll be ending it ("for now"?) without discussing Canada's west coast, the third major population centre.
Very interesting article, Tomas! Life has kept me busy the past 5-6 months (went back to school, other family issues) so this is the first article I've read of yours in a while. Semester just ended and I'll be free-er over the summer until school resumes in August. I'll have to look through the archive and see what I've missed of interest. Glad you are still writing quality, interesting articles!
Interesting and perhaps slightly more plausible reason for the english to head over there than my previous theory - the pub food at home was shite ;) (things have improved)
Why they did not kick the french out of Quebec is still beyond me. (and why did they even stay?)
It could not have been much fun going on strike on your own and not checking the traps for a few weeks? No Operation Escargot (as our local taxi strike was called) over there.
All in gest of course. thanks for yet another great article!
Very interesting, as usual, Tomas. I've read a lot about the fur trade in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The French fur traders were a hardy bunch, and were very much present in the what is now the northern and western US. Also, the French missionary priests traveled the same areas, "Black Robe" being the best known, and well respected by what we call the American Indians. I have a book, "50 Years in the Church of Rome", (the years 1818-1868) by Charles Chiniquy, who served as a priest to French communities in the Illinois and Ohio territories. He ended up leaving the Catholic church (but not his personal Christian faith) in disgust over priests who exploited women sexually by controlling them due to their exposed weaknesses from coming to the confession booth.
He said 90% of priests exploited women and girls in confession, so it’s not believable he left Catholicism because of homosexuality. I read his book on women and confession, there was hardly any mention of homosexuality.
I edited it.
You’re right - sorry - I read it long ago and got mixed up with the more modern situations that have come to light.