Focus Questions
Unit 2 Chapter Focus Questions
Chapter 6: The Duel for North America
1. “Why was the French empire ultimately so much less successful than either the Spanish or the British empires?”
France was a late player in the settling game of the New World. During the 1500s it was ravaged by wars and internal conflict, most of these were caused from the Roman Catholics at odds with the Protestant Huguenots. Also, once the colonies were created settlers did not stay, many either came home or never trekked out into the wild. There were very few reasons to travel to the colonies for the French. This is because the colonial government was under direct rule of the crown. The one gain that could be obtained by immigrating to the colonies was religious freedom. However, France would not allow the passage of the prosecuted Huguenots. The main trade was Canada’s fur; not the most profitable. Although fur was very popular in America, and had great potential to succeed. The lack of settlers and the large land area controlled by the French could not be efficiently occupied or fortified. France was suffering from many struggles back in Europe yet the insufficient number of settlers prohibited the French from maintaining their land through the wars (the French and Indian war) and conflicts.
2. “If France instead of Britain had won the duel for North America, would the 13 colonies ever have become independent of Britain, or would they have been forced to stay within the empire for protection against France? Would Detroit, St. Louis, and New Orleans now be cities in Canada rather than in the United States?”
If France had won North America, then I still believe that the United States would become independent. The French and Indian war would have affected the greatly. They would have still been hurt economically from the French and Indian war, and by losing, they could have been damaged in many more ways. Britain would force even more taxes upon the colonies because a
Chapter 6: The Duel for North America
1. “Why was the French empire ultimately so much less successful than either the Spanish or the British empires?”
France was a late player in the settling game of the New World. During the 1500s it was ravaged by wars and internal conflict, most of these were caused from the Roman Catholics at odds with the Protestant Huguenots. Also, once the colonies were created settlers did not stay, many either came home or never trekked out into the wild. There were very few reasons to travel to the colonies for the French. This is because the colonial government was under direct rule of the crown. The one gain that could be obtained by immigrating to the colonies was religious freedom. However, France would not allow the passage of the prosecuted Huguenots. The main trade was Canada’s fur; not the most profitable. Although fur was very popular in America, and had great potential to succeed. The lack of settlers and the large land area controlled by the French could not be efficiently occupied or fortified. France was suffering from many struggles back in Europe yet the insufficient number of settlers prohibited the French from maintaining their land through the wars (the French and Indian war) and conflicts.
2. “If France instead of Britain had won the duel for North America, would the 13 colonies ever have become independent of Britain, or would they have been forced to stay within the empire for protection against France? Would Detroit, St. Louis, and New Orleans now be cities in Canada rather than in the United States?”
If France had won North America, then I still believe that the United States would become independent. The French and Indian war would have affected the greatly. They would have still been hurt economically from the French and Indian war, and by losing, they could have been damaged in many more ways. Britain would force even more taxes upon the colonies because a