New France the 16th and early 17th centuries New France's economy was heavily centered on its Atlantic fisheries. This would change in the later half of the 17th and 18th centuries as French settlement penetrated further into the continental interior. Here French economic interests would shift and concentrate itself on the development of the North American fur trade. It would soon become the new staple good that would strengthen and drive New France's economy, in particular that of Montreal, for the next century. The trading post of Ville-Marie, established on the current island of Montreal, quickly became the economic hub for the
Pascal (given name) Pascal (given name) Pascal is a common masculine Francophone given name, cognate of Italian name Pasquale, Spanish name Pascual, Catalan name Pasqual. "Pascal" is common in French-speaking countries, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Derived feminine forms include "Pascale", "Pascalle" or "Pascalina". Pascal is also common as a surname in France, and in Italy (in Piedmont, Aosta Valley and, as "De Pascal", in Friuli-Venezia Giulia). Pascal derives from the Latin "paschalis" or "pashalis", which means "relating to Easter", from the Latin term for "Easter", "pascha", Greek Πάσχα, from the Aramaic "pasḥā" (Hebrew "pesach") "Passover" (since the Hebrew holiday Passover coincides closely