Explorer
In 1534, this French explorer claimed parts of modern-day Canada for France while searching for a passage to Asia.
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier crossed this ocean to reach North America on his search for a western route to Asia.
Atlantic Ocean
Like other European powers, France sought a shorter water route to this continent through North America.
Asia
This 18th-century conflict, known in North America as the French and Indian War, stretched across Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.
Seven Years War
Samuel de Champlain founded this settlement in 1608, which became the capital of New France.
Quebec
Known as the "Father of New France" this man founded Quebec City in 1608.
Samuel De Champlain
Cartier sailed this river in 1535, paving the way for French claims in the interior of Canada.
St. Lawrence River
Jacques Cartier was motivated by the hope of finding precious metals, especially this one.
Gold
This war also called Queen Anne’s War in the Americas, involved battles in Europe and overseas, ending with Britain gaining Gibraltar and parts of Canada.
Jacques Cartier claimed this island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for France in 1534.
Newfoundland
This explorer led expeditions down the Mississippi River, claiming the surrounding region for France and naming it Louisiana.
Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle
Samuel de Champlain explored and mapped parts of this system of lakes, including the one that now bears his name.
Great Lakes
Samuel de Champlain’s alliances with Indigenous peoples helped secure control of this trade.
Beginning in the 1600s, these conflicts between the Iroquois Confederacy and New France were fueled by competition over the fur trade.
Rene-Robert Cavalier, and Sieur de La Salle claimed this vast region drained by the Mississippi River for France in 1682.
Louisiana Territory
On his voyages, this explorer made contact with the St. Lawrence Iroquoians and brought two of their sons back to France.
Jacques Cartier
In 1608, Champlain founded Quebec along this river, which became the main French access route into North America.
St. Lawrence River
Along with wealth, French explorers were also driven by the desire to spread this religion to the New World.
Catholicism
Fought from 1689–1697, this conflict marked the first major colonial struggle between France and England.
Nine Years War
This French colony on the St. Lawrence River grew into a major center of trade and the second largest city of New France.
Montreal
After claiming Louisiana for France, this explorer planned a colony near the Mississippi’s mouth but instead landed in Texas, where his failed expedition led to his murder by his own men.
Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur De La Salle
Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, led an expedition down this river to the Gulf of Mexico, claiming all the land it drained for France.
Mississippi River
By claiming the Mississippi Valley and Louisiana, La Salle hoped to expand France’s territory and block the influence of these two rival European powers.
Spain & England
This 17th-century conflict devastated Europe, and though fought mainly on the continent, France’s victory against Spain and the Habsburgs helped secure its later colonial expansion.
Thirty Years War
In South America, France briefly attempted a colony here in the 17th century.
French Guiana