Why did so few French people settle in the New World?

Question

I've been reading a lot of questions about the French and Indian War on here. My question is referring to the pre-war period when the French were very involved in exploring North America.

Answer 1

Perhaps things in the old world werent so bad.  But a lot of them did settle up in Canada.

Answer 2

There are a number of reasons to explore, and perhaps a different set of reasons to settle.

At the time of the European "discovery" of "The New World", Spain was the predominant naval power, and there was quite a bit of political and religious unrest in England. Both of these worked as factors in colonization... the Spanish for economic reasons (exploiting the vast resources of the new world), some of the English to escape direct rule and set up their own societies.

The French, the Dutch, and many others were interested in exploring and tapping the resources of the New World, but they didn't have the naval power of the Spanish, nor the strong motivation to colonize of the various factions that left England. So they were not as numerous, but certainly, the French did settle in North America. They had claimed the territory they called Louisiane, which included about 23% of the continental United States of today, as well as large portions of Canada. It was the lack of a strong motivation to colonize these lands that made it a relatively good deal for the French to sell this territory to the USA in 1803 (the Louisiana Purchase, under President Thomas Jefferson).

And as well, average French couldn't just go to the new world and settle... this was regulated by the government. You had to pass certain standards (Roman Catholic, loyal to the crown, etc) and all. Had the Crown some desire to see the lands settled, it would have been different, but lacking any such motivation, they kept exploration and trade to low levels.

Answer 3

A big reason was only Catholics were wanted in New France (Quebec). It was ruled directly by the king and French Huguenots(French Protestants) were forbidden to settle. They went to other countries instead. Jean Ribault did try to found a Huguenot colony in Florida but conflict with the Spanish ended that. He tried to invade Spanish Florida but a hurricane wrecked his fleet. The survivors were captured and executed by the Spanish. The economic system in New France was largely dedicated by circumstances of to few colonists. Especially of women in the first few years. That is one reason that Louisiana was so different from French Canada. Different times and circumstances of settlement. So the economy was a secondary reason. The primary is religious discrimination. French Canada was settled originally when France was torn by religious civil war. Louisiana a century later.

Answer 4

Their people has less of a reason to go to the New World probably. It was dangerous to travel during that time and if you weren't wealthy then you usually had to get "sponsored" by someone wealthy to get over here. Sometimes that meant years of servitude.

People have to have a good reason to leave their homeland.

Answer 5

Two reasons, why only about 6,000 French came to the New World:

1) The French had different reasons for settlement than the British; who intended the New world as a place for her surplus population, and a dumping ground for religious/political dissidents...The French intended to settle just enough people to manage trading posts for fishing, or (especially) the fur trade. This required very few people.

2) Colonists were hand-picked by the crown; you had to show that you were Roman Catholic and of good character.  It was not easy to get to be a colonist, in the first place.

(Should also note here that the French only built one colony for religious dissidents, for Huguenots in the late 16th century; but this short-lived and so turned out to be one their many colonization attempts that failed.)

Answer 6

It might have been a difference in attitude. I don't know much about that period, really, but I do know of one historian who offered an observation which might bear on this. See quote in source.

Answer 7

Because the wine was terrible.