Place details
Place nameNew France
Other namesNouvelle-france, Gallia Nova
SourceThesaurus of Geographic Names
Overview
Refers to the possessions of France in North America. It generally refers to the French lands dating from the time of Cartier in the mid-16th century, through the founding of the Company of New France by Cardinal Richelieu in 1627, and ending with the Treaty of Paris of 1763, when France lost her lands to Britain and Spain. It originally included colonies on the St. Lawrence River, Newfoundland, and Acadia (Nova Scotia), but it gradually expanded to include much of the Great Lakes region and parts of the trans-Appalachian West.