1600s in Canada
Encyclopedia
Events
- c. 1600: By now, perhaps 250,000 IndiansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and InuitInuitThe Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
(Eskimo) inhabit what is now CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
- 1627: King Louis XIII grants a fur-tradingFur tradeThe fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
monopolyMonopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to a group of FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
merchants.
- 1640: Françoise Marie Jacqueline, youthful daughter of a physician from Nogent, France, sets sail for what would become Saint John, New Brunswick, to wed Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour, Governor of Acadia, and to assume many roles, including wife, confidant, soldier and businesswoman. In spite of the ongoing and escalating conflict between LaTour and his well-connected rival Governor, Charles de Menou, Sieur d'Aulnay, she would elevate LaTour's status amongst the power brokers of the day in France and in the growing English colonies to the south. In 1645, she would successfully defend Fort LaTour against a vicious attack by d'Aulnay, only to be betrayed, ultimately losing her life. Buried in the vicinity of the Fort, in what is now downtown Saint John, her bones have never been found. Remains of the Fort still exist, protected as a national heritage site, hidden beneath layers of ancient soil.
- 1603-15 - Samuel de ChamplainSamuel de ChamplainSamuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
's (c.1567-1635) voyages in the Northeast lead to contacts with many AlgonquianAlgonquian peoplesThe Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
and Iroquoian tribes. He explores the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River for FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
- 1603: A fur trade monopoly charter is granted by France to the sieur de Monts to all the land lying between 40th40th parallel northThe 40th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 40 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
-46th degrees north46th parallel northThe 46th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 46 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
latitude. He establishes trade settlements in AcadiaAcadiaAcadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
(later Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
) and at Quebec CityQuebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
on the St. Lawrence.
- 1604-06: Mattieu da Costa travels with the Champlain expedition to Port RoyalPort RoyalPort Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
. He serves as an interpreter between the French and the Micmac Indians of the area.
- 1605-07: The Europeans are welcomed by Mi'kmaq Grand Chief Membertou, who converts to Catholicism, makes a wampum-belt treaty with the VaticanVatican CityVatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
.
- 1605: Samuel de Champlain and the sieur de Poutrincourt found Port Royal, Nova ScotiaPort Royal, Nova ScotiaPort Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
on the Bay of FundyBay of FundyThe Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
, Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
(later to be named Annapolis Royal by the British), the first permanent French settlement in North America.
- 1607: English colonists found Jamestown, VirginiaJamestown, VirginiaJamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
under John SmithJohn Smith of JamestownCaptain John Smith Admiral of New England was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania and friend Mózes Székely...
, leading to extensive contact with the tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy.
- 1608: Champlain allies himself with the Algonquians and with the Hurons, who are amenable to missionaryMissionaryA missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
activities and acts as the principal suppliers of furs. This alliance, however, antagonizes the Iroquoian Confederacy, traditional rivals of the Huron and suppliers of furs to the Dutch in New AmsterdamNew AmsterdamNew Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
.
- July 3, 1608: Quebec CityQuebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
is established as a fur post by Champlain and French colonists, creating in effect the first permanent European settlement.
- 1609: The settlement of Quebec owes much to Samuel de Champlain, an explorer hired by the sieur de Monts, who became the foremost champion of French colonization.
- 1609: Champlain supports the Algonquins against the IroquoisIroquoisThe Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
at Lake ChamplainLake ChamplainLake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
. He fires on the Iroquois, setting a pattern of Indian relationships.