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
Alcohol in New France Recollect and Jesuit missionaries needing to provide for religious ceremony, who found their imported supplies often close to depletion. The Sulpicians even attempted to make wine from imported French grapes. Such production was limited to religious purposes. Attempts to domesticate local varieties, beginning with Samuel de Champlain in 1608, or to profitably cultivate imported French varieties, were largely unsuccessful. Aside from the aforementioned missionaries, production of Canadian wine in New France was non-existent. Consequently, colonists imported large quantities of wine from France, especially during the 18th century, with a strong preference for red wine. During the 16th and 17th Centuries,