French Colonial Society in America

New France was the French colony organized in the North America. The first French foundation – Quebec – was established in 1603. The French society was concentrated on the fur trade and Catholic missions. The Spanish and the French understood the importance of the maintenance of friendly relations with the Native Americans and it became their major priority. In his ‘The People of New France’ Allan Greer describes the growth and development of the French colony in Canada. His book is a deep look into the social life of New France that occupied a large territory of the North American continent. French colonial society was developing rapidly owing to the fur trade with the Native Americans. The French regime allowed woman in the status of a wife to be an equal owner of the family property along with her husband. The similar law was present in New Spain where women had the same amount of rights. Another common feature was that the Spanish as well as the French wanted to find gold and silver in America, to trade with the Native Americans and to convert them to their religion.
Despite its growth French Canada became an obstacle for English government to establish its colonies in the North America. England started the colonization of America in 1607 having established its first colony in Jamestown. England sent many people to America – more than 400,000 in the 17th century. Besides, the English established constant agricultural settlements and converted Native Americans to their religion. New England society was more secularized and increasingly overpopulated than the Spanish and the French societies. The English society was based on family farms and land that was inherited by relatives.
In his book ‘American Colonies: The Settling of North America’ Alan Taylor describes many cultures and societies that formed America. He stresses the significance of the Native Americans, African slaves, who worked on the plantations, and the contribution of the Spanish, French and English colonizers to the development and growth of the USA society. The author tries to be objective in his description of the English colonial society emphasizing that the British and especially their spawn the Americans dedicated their governments to promoting commerce. Taylor depicts the mixture of nations and the interlay of freedom and slavery in the colonized America, as well as the movement toward colonial independence displayed by the English in New England. Thus, the Spanish, English and French created unique colonial societies in the Americas. Although each society had its own features, all of them had similar features in the organization, development and growth of trade, silver and gold mines, agriculture and communication with Native Americans.