Virtual Museum of New France Virtual Museum of New France The Virtual Museum of New France () is a virtual museum created by the Canadian Museum of History. Its purpose is to share knowledge and raise awareness of the history, culture and legacy of early French settlements in North America. The site includes interactive maps, photos, illustrations and information based on current research into New France. This encompasses the French settlements and territories that spread from Acadia in the East through the Saint Lawrence Valley, the Great Lakes region, the Ohio Valley, and south to Louisiana from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The content
French Armed Forces the Italian Wars. The Wars of Religion crippled France in the late 16th century, but a major victory over Spain in the Thirty Years' War made France the most powerful nation on the continent once more. In parallel, France developed its first colonial empire in Asia, Africa, and in the Americas. Under Louis XIV, France achieved military supremacy over its rivals, but escalating conflicts against increasingly powerful enemy coalitions checked French ambitions and left the kingdom bankrupt at the opening of the 18th century. Resurgent French armies secured victories in dynastic conflicts against the Spanish, Polish, and Austrian crowns. At