New France a permanent benefit to the French. New France New France () was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris (1763). At its peak in 1712 (before the Treaty of Utrecht), the territory of "New France", also sometimes known as the "French North American Empire" or "Royal New France", consisted of five colonies, each with its own administration: Canada, the most developed
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries global economic changes the silver trade engendered, it also put into motion a wide array of political transformations in the early modern era. "New World mines," concluded several prominent historians "supported the Spanish empire," acting as a linchpin of the Spanish economy. Spaniards at the time of the Age of Exploration discovered vast amounts of silver, much of which was from the Potosí silver mines, to fuel their trade economy. Potosí's deposits were rich and Spanish American silver mines were the world's cheapest sources of it. The Spanish acquired the silver, minting it into the peso de ocho (a currency)