 The Open Door Web Site |
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| France claims the Mississippi River French Canadians now felt squeezed between the British Atlantic colonies to the south and the British Hudson Bay Company to the north. Worse still, the native Indians began diverting their trade from Quebec and Montreal to the more profitable Hudson Bay Company.
To meet the challenge, French explorers, missionaries, soldiers and traders looked westward towards the Great Lakes. On the far side of Lake Superior, where they made new alliances with the native Indians, they turned south. In 1682, Robert Chevalier de la Salle reached the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Forts were built to protect these newly acquired lands. However, by the end of the 17th century, it was becoming clear that New France and the British colonies, as they expanded, would have difficulty living side-by-side. ......
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© Shirley Burchill, Nigel Hughes, Richard Gale, Peter Price and Keith Woodall 2007 Footnote : As far as the Open Door team can ascertain the images shown on this page are in the Public Domain. |
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