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
Name of France to Champagne Brie ("Brie champenoise") which was annexed by Champagne. Likewise, French Vexin was the part of Vexin inside Île-de-France, as opposed to Norman Vexin ("Vexin normand") which was inside Normandy. This meaning is also found in the name of the French language ("langue française"), whose literal meaning is "language of Île-de-France". It is not until the 19th and 20th centuries that the language of Île-de-France indeed became the language of the whole country France. In modern French, the French language is called "le français", while the old language of Île-de-France is called by the name applied to it according