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French Immigration to America Timeline: Religion French Immigration to America Timeline |
1517 |
Martin Luther sparks the Protestant Reformation. French Protestants were in the minority and referred to as Huguenots. |
1524 |
The Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano (1485 – 1528) explored the coast of North America, on behalf of France, from the Carolinas north to Nova Scotia. |
1534 |
The explorer Jacques Cartier established the settlement of Charlesbourg Royal in the colony of 'Canada' along the St. Lawrence River |
1535 |
The settlement of Charlesbourg Royal was abandoned but France gained an important fur trading foothold. |
1536 |
French theologian John Calvin (Jean Calvin - 1509 to 1564) inspires the French Protestants |
1562 |
The Huguenot Jean Ribault enters the St. Johns River in Florida claiming the territory for France |
1565 |
The Spanish in Florida opposed the Protestant French presence and attack the military settlement founded by Jean Ribault. 350 Huguenot colonists and Jean Ribault are taken prisoner by the Spanish and questioned whether they were Catholics. All those who were Huguenot Protestants were killed by the Spanish. The infamous event occurred on September 29, 1565 and is referred to as the Florida Massacre. |
1600 |
The first fur trading post is established in North America, at Tadoussac, by Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit |
1604 |
Acadia was established as a French colony in north-eastern North America |
1608 |
Explorer Samuel Champlain explored the area of the Great Lakes and founds Quebec |
1625 |
Jesuit and Recollet (Franciscan) missionaries start to establish Catholic missions in the colonies of New France and were some of the first immigrants. |
1627 |
The Company of New France was given the complete monopoly of the fur trade. In return the Company agreed to take 200 - 300 settlers a year to colonies. |
1650 |
Famine and disease struck the eastern France from 1650 to 1652 causing deaths and widespread poverty |
1662 |
The colony at Plaisance in the Newfoundland area was established by France |
1663 |
The huge French Hudson Bay colony was established by France |
1670 |
New France made into a royal colony, heralding the first major Wave of Colonists. |
1670 |
Alexandre de Prouville had forced peace with the Native American Indians to pathe the way for more immigrants and French Indentured Servants, called Engagés, took the opportunity to immigrate to America. More than 3000 colonists made their way to the New World in the 1670's. |
1673 |
Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette explore the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Arkansas River |
1673 |
The lack of women in the colonies was addressed by King Louis XIV in a emigration system, referred to as the 'King's Daughters', in which girls of marriageable age were given free passage to America to boost the population of the Canada colony. |
1680 |
Famine followed by disease struck France in the 1680's and 1690's increasing the numbers of immigrants. |
1682 |
The massive French colony of Louisiana, stretching for 3,000 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River up to Canada was established by France. |
1682 |
Robert Cavalier Sieur de la Salle explores the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico |
1688 |
The French and Indian Wars (1688-1763) began between Britain and France for the possession of North America, involving their various American Indian allies. The French and Indian Wars were to last for 75 years. |
1693 |
The Great Famine of 1693-1694 claimed 1.5 lives in France to death and diseases such as typhus. |
1699 |
Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville explores the Gulf Coast and discovers Biloxi, Mississippi |
1709 |
1709 Another terrible famine lasting from 1709 -1710, killed over half a million people in France |
1717 |
The Company of the West, run by John Law a favorite of the monarchy, brings 7000 Europeans and 3000 slaves to the Louisiana Colony. |
1718 |
The city of New Orleans was founded and the Creole society emerged. |
1721 |
The "Mississippi Bubble" burst and control of migration to the Louisiana Colony was taken from John Law and returned to the French monarchy. |
1730 |
Famine followed by disease struck France in the 1730's and 1740's |
1755 |
The Expulsion of the Arcadians (1755–1764) occurred during the French and Indian War as part of the British campaign against New France. Exiles from Arcadia migrate to the French Louisiana colony |
1762 |
France, realising they had lost the French and Indian Wars made the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau with Spain ceding Louisiana, as well as New Orleans to the Spanish. |
1763 |
The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian Wars by which most of the colonies of New France were ceded to Great Britain. |
1775 |
France became allied to America during the War of Independence (1775 - 1783) supplying military support, ammunition and money to the US. |
1787 |
France was hit with harsh winters and devastating harvest (1787 - 1789) which led to deaths, hunger disease and great poverty. These terrible events led to the final outbreak of the French Revolution. |
1789 |
The French Revolution (1789 to 1799) increased French migration to America with refugees fleeing for religious and political reasons. |
1800 |
The Treaty of San Ildefonso forces Spain to return the territory of Louisiana to France. |
1803 |
The Louisiana Purchase was agreed and 828,000 sq. miles of land was sold by France to the US for 15 |
1846 |
Famine and the Potato Blight led to a massive increase in French Immigration to America from 1846 - 1848 |
1850 |
Political persecution follows the coup d'état of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte |
1892 |
The Ellis Island immigration center was opened (1892 - 1954) where immigrants from Europe were required to undertake to medical and legal inspections. Less than 2% of immigrants from France were turned away. |
1893 |
The Panic of 1893 led to a 4 year economic depression, high unemployment levels reaching 20% and a rise in prejudice and discrimination against immigrants. |
1865 |
Emigration from France fell to small levels in the 1900's |
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