Early Canadian

History
New France

Map of First Nations

Lesson 1
Early Exploration

One thousand
years ago, people
who lived in one
area knew very
little about the
rest of the
world.

The earliest European

explorers were the
Vikings.

They lived in the

part of Europe that
is today called
Scandinavia.

The Vikings were

known throughout
northern Europe as
great warriors and
sailors.

A
Viking
Sailing
Ship

Much of what we
know today about
their adventures
comes from sagas.

Historians have come

to believe that the
Vikings were the first
Europeans to reach
the Americas, about
1,000 years ago.

A Viking named Eric

the Red and his crew
set sail from Iceland
and landed on an
island that he named
Vinland.

It was called Vinland

because of the
abundance of green
vines found there.

Twenty years later,

Leif Ericson founded
the island now called
Newfoundland.

Fierce battles took

place between the
Native Americans and
the Vikings as a
result of a land
dispute. . . .

The Vikings
eventually
abandoned
their
settlements in
North America.

Almost 500 years

passed before
Europeans took
up an interest in
sailing across
the Atlantic.

Three reasons:
1. Better ships
2. Better instruments
3. Desire to trade

What was in Asia?

Silk, spices, perfume,
diamonds, spices,
rubies, pearls, and
spices!
(Did we mention spices?)

Traders knew of only

two routes to Asia,
both of which were
very long and
dangerous.

Some people thought

that if they sailed
west, instead of east,
they could also reach
Asia.

The first European to

attempt this route was
Christopher Columbus.
(But he reached the Americas
instead of Asia.)

Later, other explorers

began to hope that they
could find an all-water
route to Asia by
traveling along the north
coast of North America.

Although none of
them ever found
this Northwest
Passage, they were
able to explore
much of Canada.

English Exploration

(1497)John Cabot, an
Italian, reached
Vinland. He renamed
it Newfoundland.

French Exploration

(1524) Giovanni da
Verrazano
established French
claims to land in
Canada.

(1534) Jacques Cartier

explored the St.
Lawrence River and
founded the presentday city of Montreal but
returned to France in
failure.

Lesson 2
Settlements and
Colonies

Many European fishing

boats fished in the
Grand Banks, an area
near Newfoundland that
was teaming with fish.

Europeans living in
Canada traded with
the Native Americans
knives and kettles for
fur pelts.

Hats made out of

beaver fur were all
the rage back home
in Europe!

The king of France

sent Samuel de
Champlain to start
a colony in Canada
in the early 1600s.

In 1608, Champlain
established the
settlement of
Quebec.

Quebec was the

beginning of the first
French colony in
North America, which
was called New
France.

Because of his hard

work, Champlain
became known as
the Father of New
France.

The French
would not allow
anyone to move
to Quebec that
was not Roman
Catholic.

Also, people
were not used
to the areas
climate and
farming was
difficult.

Champlain was the

first European to see
the Great Lakes.
Most of the traders
who ran the Canadian
trading posts were
French.

The British began

to also see the potential
and formed the Hudsons
Bay Company, which
spread quickly,
establishing posts all
along Hudson Bay.

Some European trappers

lived in the forests with
the Native Americans.
They were called
coureurs de bois, wood
runners

These scouts
learned from
the Native
Americans.
They learned
how to use
birchbark
canoes.

The French
voyageurs carried
the traders goods
from the forests.

The strong voyageurs

paddled down Canadas
swift rivers, carrying
their canoes and cargo
over each portage, or
land route.

In 1642, the colony

of Montreal was
founded.

Montreal became the

center for
missionaries
from France.

The French
hoped to
convert the
Native
Americans to
Christianity.

Montreal served as a
missionary center for
many years. It also
became an important
base for fur traders
and explorers.

Lesson 3:
Colonies in Conflict

By the 1700s, Canada

was a land of many
cultures.
French
British

In the late 1600s and

early 1700s the
French and British
frequently fought over
land and competed for
the fur trade.

In 1754 war
broke out in the
Ohio River Valley,
an area claimed
by both France
and Britain.

The war became known

as the
rench and

Indian War because

the French and the
Huron banded together
against the British.

British troops
surrounded New
France, using a
blockade to keep food
and other supplies
from entering the
colony.

James Wolfe was one

of the officers for
the British army.

General Louis de
Montcalm was with
the French army.

The Battle of the

Plains of Abraham is
considered the most
decisive in Canadian
history. This battle
lasted only fifteen
minutes!

By 1763, France had

given up all of its
claims to land in North
America.

In 1774, the British

passed the Quebec
Act, which guaranteed
the French the right
to maintain their own
culture.

Thousands of Frenchspeaking people were

forced by British
soldiers to leave Nova
Scotia, then called
Acadia.

These Acadians
refused to pledge
loyalty to the British
crown. Some Acadians
went to the area
around present-day
Louisiana.

Today, their
descendants are
called Cajuns.

In 1776, the
United States
became
independent
of Great
Britain.

Loyalists, colonists
who had remained loyal
to Britain had often
been forced by the
rebels to leave their
homes.

Many loyalists
migrated to Canada
during and after the
American Revolution.

Many Loyalists did not

want to live among
French-speaking
Canadians.
Est-ce que
vous parlez
en Francais?

Huh?

Non, il a
arrive a
LAngleterre.

In 1791 Britain divided

the former colony of
New France into two
colonies, Lower Canada
and Upper Canada.

Most English-speaking
settlers lived in the
western part of Upper
Canada.

Lower Canada, now

Quebec, was home to
many French-speaking
settlers.
Au contraire,
mon frere!

In the 1700s Britain

gained control over
the vast area of
Canada.

However, Canada
would have to
struggle in order to
survive as one nation.

(not quitewe still

have more learning to
do in our booklets)