When Canada was New France

"When Canada was New France" by George H. Locke is a historical account written in the early 20th century. It traces the exploration, settlement, missions, and wars that shaped New France, focusing on famed explorers, Indigenous nations and alliances, the fur trade, and the ultimate transfer of power to Britain. The opening of this work frames Canada’s early history against the backdrop of the Great War, then swiftly recounts the first two centuries of New France through vivid episodes. It covers Jacques Cartier’s voyages up the St. Lawrence to Stadacona and Hochelaga; Champlain’s founding of Quebec, alliances and enmity with Indigenous nations, and paths into the Great Lakes; Joliet and Marquette’s canoe route from the Fox-Wisconsin to the Mississippi and back by the Illinois and Chicago portage; and La Salle’s bold claim of the Mississippi basin with the steadfast aid of Tonty. It also sketches Radisson’s perilous wanderings that prefigure the Hudson’s Bay trade, the fall of New France under Montcalm and Wolfe, Pontiac’s far-reaching uprising (including the failed Detroit ruse and the Mackinac lacrosse stratagem), and the contrasting labors of the Récollet “Gray Gowns” and Jesuit “Black Gowns” among the Hurons, culminating in the Huron missions’ destruction and martyrdoms.

When Canada was New France, by George H. Locke. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78668.