the economy of new france was based on the fur trade.
the economy of new france was based on the fur trade.
the economy of new france was based on what?
the fur trade
the "compagnie des cent-associés" barely hung on against the iroquois onslaught, with iroquois war parties intercepting canoes carrying furs to montreal, cutting off french forts, raiding french settlements along the banks of the st. lawrence river to carry off captives, and sometimes laying out iron chains they had obtained from the dutch to blockade the st. lawrence to prevent ships from using the river. by 1660, the total population of new france was 3, 035 with about 1, 928 being french. there were about 900 people living in quebec city and about 200 each in montreal and trois-rivères, and the rest spread out in small settlements along the st. lawrence. the white population of new france was 63% male and most were engaged in someway in the fur trade. the "compagnie des cent-associés" fulfilled the terms of its royal charter to bring settlers to new france, but most were indentured laborers who left new france at the end of their five-year contracts. the harsh winters, the shortage of women, and the threat of being carried off by the iroquois led to very few frenchmen wanting to stay, and unable to build the population, the "compagnie des cent-associés" simply lacked the manpower to counter the iroquois. throughout the struggle, the authorities in new france sent desperate appeals for help to paris, only to be informed france was fully engaged in a war with spain that did not end until 1659 and there were no soldiers to spare to send to new france. additionally, france was caught in a series of civil wars known as the "fronde" in the 1650s, and with frenchmen busy killing each other, it was inconceivable to send a force across the atlantic. but even after the peace of the pyrenees ended the war with spain in 1659, the crown remained indifferent to new france. in 1661, pierre boucher, the governor of trois-rivères, visited paris to beg for help, saying that people in trois-rivères were afraid to go outside without a weapon lest they be carried off by the iroquois, only to be politely told that the responsibility of the defense of new france rested with the "compagnie des cent-associés", not the crown. unable to turn a profit with the "beaver wars" raging, the "compagnie des cent-associés" went bankrupt in 1663 and new france became a crown colony ruled directly by the french state. the immediate concern of king louis xiv was to make the new crown colony turn a profit, which would require ending the iroquois threat.
carignan-salières regiment
african slaves in new france were a minority in relationship to both african slaves within new france and throughout all "new world" slave holdings. out of the roughly 3.8 million slaves who had been transported from western africa to the america's by the 1750s, only about 1,400 ended up in new france. similarly, african slaves were continuously outnumbered by the enslaved indigenous population that formed the majority of the forced labour force in new france. while exact figures are hard to reconstruct, an estimate of slave populations in 1759, on the eve of british conquest suggests a total of around 4000 slaves, of which around 1200 were african. it was in 1632 that the first recorded black slave, olivier le jeune, arrived in new france. it would take more than 50 years later for the next black slave to appear in records, despite strong efforts to augment the numbers of black slaves. several attempts were made throughout the history of new france to increase the number of african slaves brought to the colony to increase the available workforce. attempts to increase the economic output of mines, fisheries, and farms were frustrated by the lack of workers. there was much concern that the introduction of african enslavement in canada would be a costly economic option, citing the major differences in climate as the main reason for its possible failure. nevertheless, the governor, marquis de denonville, petitioned louis xiv in 1688 for permission to import african slaves into new france to help establish a colonial economy more closely based on that of france's caribbean colonies. in may 1689, permission was granted by the king to begin the import of black slaves. however, the number of african slaves remained quite low; colonial records show that there were only eleven african slaves in new france between 1689 and 1709. later calls to increase the importation of african slaves to new france also echoed the example of other european colonies that relied on slave labour. for example michel begon argued in 1716 that new france should try to emulate the british colonies in their use of slaves.
slavery in new france