Review: Pioneers of France in the New World

Pioneers of France in the New World by Francis Parkman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Parkman tells of the early French settlements in what is now Florida as well as later French settlements in Canada and the Northern American coast. First thing is that Parkman is a story teller. He makes his stories of settlements made and destroyed quite interesting. I was left with a number of observations.

Even in a book about the French, religion and religious differences are a constant source of friction. The religious animosities between French and other settlers, as well as among the French themselves, led to many lost lives and destroyed settlements. From the Spanish destroying the mostly Protestant French settlements in Florida, to the later pro- and anti-Catholic French settlements in Canada, to worries about what the Jesuits are thinking, understanding religion is a big part of the enterprise here.

Another observation is that most of the French settlements put mostly colonist who were unfit for colonizing. Most seemed to spend their time doing a little work, but mostly waiting for another ship full of supplies (and perhaps women, since they were almost entirely men). This waiting for the supply ship was so important that the settlers trained the natives to help them look for ships and to report when one was spotted. The two groups that seemed to thrive in the new world were the trappers/fur traders and the guys with the guns – the army.

You also see that this exploration business was quite risky. Financing was difficult and involved making deals with unfriendly powers, generally royals or the church. And the King granted licenses to settle and removed licenses capriciously. In this volume, I don’t believe any of the company founders got rich. In fact most lost all their money and died poor. Perhaps this was a French issue, the few Spanish mentioned here did well and reaped rewards.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Parkman’s works.


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