Section 3 Notes

Establishing New France In 1608, explorer SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN established

the first permanent French settlement in the Americas. Located near the mouth of the ST. LAWRENCE RIVER in what is now CANADA, the settlement became known as QUEBEC.

French settlers in the Americas were interested mostly in establishing FUR TRADE. Most French befriended Native Americans and accepted their ways.

French explorers soon began claiming large areas of North America for France. In 1682, ROBERT DE LA SALLE reached the mouth of the Mississippi River at the Gulf of Mexico. He named the region LOUISIANA in honor of King Louis XIV.

Samuel de Champlain

Quebec/St. Lawrence River

Robert de La Salle

The Boundaries of the French Empire; Attracting French Settlers By 1700, France’s American holdings, known as NEW

FRANCE, took in a huge portion of NORTH AMERICA. It included much of what is now Canada and the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Despite its size, France’s North American holdings were sparsely POPULATED.

Map of New France

Arrival of the Dutch and Swedes In the early 1600s, the DUTCH began establishing

settlements in North America. Like the French, they were interested in establishing a FUR TRADE.

The DUTCH established a settlement near modern-day NEW YORK that would come to be called New Netherland.

In the late 1630s, SWEDEN established small settlements just south of New Netherland.

Map of New Netherland

Map of New Sweden