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New France: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As Nouvelle-France • Gallia Nova
Date 1534 - 1763

Photos

Map showing the routes of Jacques Cartier's first and second voyages to North America in the 1530s. Green arrows trace his 1534 journey, and red arrows trace his 1535-36 journey, both entering the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and traveling along the Saint Lawrence River past locations such as Anticosti Island, the Gaspe Peninsula, Stadacona (Quebec City), and Hochelaga (Montreal). Modern international and provincial boundaries are marked, and the map includes parts of present-day Canada and the northe
Histoire de la Nouvelle France
Black and white portrait of Samuel de Champlain with shoulder-length hair, a pointed beard, and a mustache, wearing a wide white collar and dark clothing.
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
A single aged sheet of handwritten French text details a 1692 fur-trade contract, with dark ink and uneven lines visible on the worn, slightly torn paper.
Engraving of Marquis de Montcalm dying on a makeshift bed, surrounded by French officers and soldiers, with battle and tents in the background during the Battle of Quebec, 1759.
Historical map depicting New France in the 16th to 18th centuries, showing locations of French forts marked with stars and routes of major French explorations labeled in red. The map covers eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, including areas around the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with Indigenous nations and key waterways labeled.
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Related Topics and References

Topics
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Related Places

Map of northeastern North America highlighting the historical region of Acadia in orange, located in present-day eastern Canada, including parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Surrounding geographic features such as the Atlantic Ocean, Hudson Bay, Greenland, and the United States are also labeled for context.
Acadia
historical region, Canada
Canada
Canada
country, North America
United States
United States
country, North America

Key People

Louis de Buade, comte de Frontenac
Louis de Buade, comte de Frontenac
French colonial governor
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
French explorer
Black and white portrait of Samuel de Champlain with shoulder-length hair, a pointed beard, and a mustache, wearing a wide white collar and dark clothing.
Samuel de Champlain
French explorer
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Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye
French-Canadian soldier and explorer
François de Montmorency Laval, portrait by Frère Luc
François de Montmorency Laval
French bishop
St. Jean de Brébeuf
St. Jean de Brébeuf
Jesuit missionary
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Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
French explorer
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Jean-François de La Rocque, sieur de Roberval
French explorer
Iberville, Pierre Le Moyne d'
Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville
French-Canadian soldier and explorer
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Nicolas Perrot
French fur trader, official, and explorer
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Daniel Greysolon, Sieur DuLhut
French soldier and explorer
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Roland-Michel Barrin, marquis de La Galissonnière
commandant-general of New France
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Jean Talon, count d’Orsainville
French statesman
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François Bigot
French civil servant and lawyer
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Louis-Armand de Lom d’Arce, baron de Lahontan
French soldier
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Charles de Biencourt
French colonial administrator and trader
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Antoine Laumet de La Mothe Cadillac
French soldier and explorer
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Claude-Jean Allouez
Jesuit missionary
Brûlé, Étienne
Étienne Brûlé
Canadian explorer
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Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix
French Jesuit