Early New France HIstory

Before the first explorers searched Canada with the hope of finding a water route to China. . . fishermen came for the Cod. The Grand Banks had an abundance of fish that was caught, cleaned, salted, sun dried or smoked and sold in France, Portugal, Spain and other European countries. This was the first major export of New France.

On his first voyages, Champlain, like past explorers, searched for a water passage to China.  Later, Champlain brought men to the islands around the mouth of the St Lawrence and later still to Quebec to experiment in settlement. He respected the Native Americans and befriend many tribes over time. Champlain was responsible for building a network of French outposts and developed a trading monopoly in which French manufactured goods were traded for furs. At one time, French forts dotted the Great Lakes at Detroit, Duluth, Niagara and Mackinaw while the English and Dutch where bottled up by the Appalachian mountains. French men traveled as far west as the Rockies, through the Great Lakes, exploring the St Lawrence, Ottawa, Mississippi and other river systems. These were the Frenchmen's highways. Brigades of hardy voyageurs paddled large birch-bark canoes, sometimes seventy miles or more per day, delivering trade goods to outposts and returning with tons of wild animal furs to Montreal and on to France. The gross national product of New France depended on these fur shipments. In France, the furs were processed into felt and made into stylish, expensive hats for ladies and gentlemen.