French colonization of the Americas French colonization of the Americas The French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued on into the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America. Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, rice sugar, and furs. As they colonized the New World, the French established forts and settlements that would become such cities as Quebec and Montreal in Canada; Detroit, Green Bay, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Mobile, Biloxi, Baton Rouge
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries general trend of Mexican labor systems was that towards waged labor. In Peru mines, the mit'a system was a dominant form of native labor subjection, although waged laborers worked on the mines as well. Natives under the mit'a system were paid much less, and this was necessary for the production of silver to continue in Peru where costs were relatively high. The ultimate destination for the mass amounts of silver produced in the Americas and Japan was China. Silver from the Americas flowed mostly across the Atlantic and made its way to the far east. A popular route was around