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Another Perspective
Century of the French
Unlike the British, they explored the wilds of North America with fearless abandon.
The contemporary French character is many times the object of Yankee derision. After all, these are the folks who in the 20th century laid down for the Germans, accommodated the Soviets, gave us Pétain, Sartre, and Foucault, and admired Jerry Lewis. And they've made a fetish at looking down their Gallic noses at most Americans, even those who rescued them twice (three times if you count the Cold War) from tyranny. Years ago, a friend returning from Europe told me that Paris would be a swell place but for all those Frenchmen.
I've been rereading parts of the two-volume Library of America editions of Francis Parkman's France and England in North America for another article, and I'm reminded how adventurous the French once were as compared to those stodgy, provincial Brits. In the 17th century they were a livelier bunch, and they certainly got around.
The British North American colonial experience is familiar (well, it used to be) to us thanks to the grammar school American History textbooks of another time (I remember how delighted I was to be handed my first one in the fourth grade). History books were actually constructed with interesting narratives back then. The Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock and their first hard years in New England. Those swashbuckling cavaliers who founded Jamestown, but couldn't properly settle the Virginia Tidewater without instituting the evil of the "peculiar institution" of slavery. And lighthearted stuff, like Ben Franklin flying kites in thunderstorms, and inventing a new stove and reading glasses.
But the British were hemmed in by the Atlantic and the Appalachians, though why such relatively low mountains posed a barrier to westward expansion is interesting to contemplate. It took Massachusetts almost a century to expand a hundred miles west to the Connecticut River. Pennsylvania populated Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley and farmland immediately to the west, but farther west still range after range of the mountains hampered settlement. It was the same for Virginia beyond the Piedmont. The British colonies clung to the seaboard to better enjoy the security offered by the British Navy, but also because they lacked a river to connect them to the continent's interior.
The French had the St. Lawrence River as an avenue to the West. After founding Quebec in 1608, the restless Samuel de Champlain was by 1615 exploring by canoe the shores of Lake Huron. The Pilgrims hadn't set foot on Plymouth Rock yet. Champlain sent another party west commanded by a young man named Etienne Brulé, and in 1623 Brulé reached "the Sault," the bottleneck of land between Lakes Huron and Superior that figured so prominently in North American history. Brulé was the first white man to see all five Great Lakes. In 1634, another "coureur de bois" ("runner of the woods," a trader) named Jean Nicolet arrived at Green Bay on Lake Michigan thinking he had landed in China. The presence of the local-friendly Winnebago Indians convinced Nicolet that he was a bit off course. So, by 1634 the French had reached the 88th Meridian. A year later Concord, Massachusetts, was founded, just sixteen miles west of Boston.
All through the 17th century the French and their French-Canadian progeny paddled the Great Lakes and explored the vast expanses of forest and prairie to the north and west. They trapped and traded and dealt with Indians both friendly and hostile. Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet first descended the Mississippi River as far south as the mouth of the Arkansas River in 1673. In 1683, Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle floated the great river to its mouth, thus adding a nebulous garment called "Louisiana" for Louis XIV to hang in his closet at Versailles.
The dawn of the 18th century saw the French build the forts that would become the cities of Detroit (Antoine de La Mothe-Cadillac, 1701) and New Orleans (Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, 1718). In 1719, Bénard de La Harpe ascended the Red River as he sought for trade the Comanches of present Texas. He couldn't find them. In 1721, Etienne de Bourgmond did. And he may have been the first man ever to kill a buffalo from horseback using a flintlock pistol. Only two years later, young Ben Franklin arrived in Philadelphia to make his fortune starting with "a Dutch dollar" in his pocket. He was 17 and had come from his hometown of Boston. Not taking anything away from the precocious, hustling Franklin; he'd never been to the Southern Plains, in fact, couldn't comprehend them. As for a buffalo, whether he'd heard of them is one thing, but he'd never seen one, much less killed one.
In 1739, two brothers, Pierre and Paul Mallet, and four friends wandered into Santa Fe after traveling south from the Platte River across present Kansas and Colorado. They were there illegally because it was Spanish territory and they were French-Canadians, but were unmolested and stayed the winter, traveling back to Louisiana in the spring of 1740 by way of the Arkansas and the Mississippi. In 1743, two other brothers, Pierre and Chevalier La Verendrye, at the head of another party of coureurs de bois gazed upon the "Shining Mountains," or the Bighorns, part of the first line of the Rockies in today's Wyoming.
A lot of geopolitical factors went into the loss of the North American continent by the French to the British following the Seven Years War and the Treaty of Paris of 1763. But lack of knowledge of that great vast wilderness wasn't one of them.
About the Author
Bill Croke, formerly of Cody, Wyoming, is a writer in Salmon, Idaho.
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Howard| 1.8.09 @ 8:25AM
Very interesting!!
Ryan| 1.8.09 @ 8:54AM
Louisiana government was corrupt back then, too. Particularly New Orleans...
Ammo Guy| 1.8.09 @ 9:29AM
I'm sure this is all wrong, but I'm going to have to wait for our resident history professor cum Interloper to set me straight...I would prefer that he do it en francais for the purposes of credibility. Toujours l'audace!
George| 1.8.09 @ 10:17AM
My Mother descends from a Frenchman who boated whisky down the Ohio in the early 1800s and eventually settled in Missouri where the French had established towns on the banks of the Mississippi. My ancestor married a local girl who was descended from French-Canadian trappers who had settled on the Illinois side of The River.
I have long admired many of the French contributions to Western Civilization. In particular I am impressed by their 1789 solution to the bread shortage, and of late have become a strong advocate of its application to our current fiscal crisis.
Robert Nowall| 1.8.09 @ 10:43AM
Ah, would that these kind of Frenchmen had been with us in the 20th century.
Dave| 1.8.09 @ 10:46AM
A special thanks to Mr. Croke for his interesting and informative piece of historical writing; one that will no doubt be lost on several generations of re-educated/indoctrinated Americans who think the Alamo is a place that rents cars at the airport That, and Jean Lafitte is a foot powder.
Think I'm just silly here? Well, look no further than who's going to be running the show from that historical Oval Office in upscale D.C. -- then get back to me on that I.Q. score of your average U.S. couch potato.
OK, I'd howl "Heaven Help Us", but I'm thinkin' the bulk of today's college clones probably figure I'm talkin' about that old TV show with Della Reese and Roma Downey.
Roma Downey? Isn't that a fabric softner?
Thomas| 1.8.09 @ 12:29PM
An excellent overview of French exploration in the New World.
In the 17th century France was entering the discovery for exploitation game as a late comer. The Spanish had been involved in it for a hundred years and were the de facto lords of exploitation. They had already conquered and enslaved most of the civilizations of South and Central America. But, the Spanish were not colonizers. Spanish colonists followed entrepreneurs, who followed the conquistadors. France followed much the same model, but cutout the military conquerors. Opting, instead, to begin their push into the New World with advance men for economic and trading concerns. The French, like the Spanish, were in the New World for what they could take back to France and there was a tremendous amount of private and governmental support for their activities. The English were the last to begin the economic sack of the New World. The original British invasion of North America was accomplished by people who came to form long term settlements to avoid various types of persecution. Economic refugees followed and many settled in, or near, the established settlements. As Mr. Croke pointed out, British economic exploration was hindered by the fact that the Spanish and the French controlled the easy entrances to the North American heartland; the Gulf of Mexico and the St. Lawrence corridor.
So there were two distinct types of expansion into the Americas; economic exploitation and settlement. And of the former, there were two types of exploration; military conquest followed by enslavement and looting and individual exploration for exploitation of resources and trade.
Stark differences existed between the reasons for French activity in North America and those of the early British; economic exploitation versus settlement. After the founding of the United States, the differences became even more pronounced as the former British colonists were heavily involved in solidifying the new nation. American expansion began largely as population increased and the economic opportunities in the coastal areas diminished. British economic exploration was largely confined to activities that would stymie the French interests in the New World.
The point is, that even with the advantages enjoyed by the French because of their access to the St. Lawrence, Mississippi,Missouri and the Arkansas river systems, the French explorations were driven by economic gain while the English/American explorations were done more to reduce population pressures than for economic gain.
richard| 1.8.09 @ 3:43PM
I grew up in Northampton, Mass, 100 miles west of Boston. The town celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2004 (est.1654). So, more like 35 years than 100?
John Londregan| 1.8.09 @ 3:53PM
As for whether the French are "the folks who in the 20th century laid down for the Germans" it is worth noting that well before the Confederates took 75% casualties they laid down their arms for the Yankees--yet 75% is the casualty rate for the French army during the first world war. What happened to France in 1940 is incomprehensible without noting that, to paraphrase Mr. Nowall's posting, "these kind of Frenchmen" WERE present at the beginning of the 20th Century--and that they were decimated (literally) several times over. By 1940 the generation of the 50-somethings, the ones who actually made the decision about whether to surrender, had lost more brave men than most groups of people have to begin with. As always, an accurate historical account is a good corrective for one's preconceptions.
Michele San Pietro| 1.8.09 @ 5:30PM
The French just spread destruction, abject poverty and death in North America as they did in all the countries they colonized. Personally, I am definitely for the extinction of France.
Marisol Popper| 10.27.09 @ 12:28AM
wow..what a sad comment...kind of reminisicent of the Nazis wanting to exterminate Jews..Sad, very sad....
Lloyd| 1.8.09 @ 5:33PM
"All through the 17th century the French and their French-Canadian progeny paddled the Great Lakes and explored the vast expanses of forest and prairie to the north and west."
I own a reprint of a book written by the Chief geologist to Michigan Territory Governor Cass' canoe trip around the great lakes, ca. 1820.
The map he created to illustrate the voyage contains dotted lines connecting every river or stream I can see on the map. Each one is a portage discovered by these French canoeists or shown to them by friendly inhabitants of the area.
The only equivalent to a road on the map is the portage connecting the "Ouisconsing River" to Green Bay. This portage was done by wagon.
Ken| 1.8.09 @ 7:46PM
As a native New Englander, I have had quite a bit of contact with French Canadians. They are the largest ethnic group in NE. They love country music. Most of them are named Cormier or Gagne, or Gagnon. Ed Muskie, from Maine, lost his Presidential bid because he called them Canucks. Us kids mostly called them Frogs. They didn't seem to mind. The NHL was loaded with them and the Montreal Canadiens won a whole lot of Stanley cups. This was in the days before helmets and most have them had only one or two teeth left. The beaches in Maine and New Hampshire were full of them all summer when whole neighborhoods from up North would descend all at once. It was great for our local economy with the only down side being that the men would don their bikini bathing suits and not wear anything else until the two weeks was over. The French Canadien lumber jacks and apple pickers would work 24 hours a day and catch little naps in their cars. They weren't any better with deoderant than the average French man or woman in the real France.
All in all, the French are a colorful and rich part of the American experience.
William Woodford| 1.8.09 @ 8:15PM
It’s worth noting that these accomplishments, as well as helping us win our independence, were done under the ancien régime, which fell to the bloodthirsty jacobins. The first French republic quickly created socialism, communism (Babeuf’s Conspiracy of Equals), and anti-Semitism.
When it comes to republican France, Mark Twain said it best: “
France has neither winter, nor summer, nor morals. France is miserable because it is filled with Frenchmen, and Frenchmen are miserable because they live in France.”
James B. Ronan II| 1.8.09 @ 8:16PM
Re: The British North American colonial experience is familiar (well, it used to be) to us thanks to the grammar school American History textbooks of another time (I remember how delighted I was to be handed my first one in the fourth grade).
I learned all about the Catholic French explorers (and the Spanish ones, too) at the Immaculate Conception Grammar School, Malden MA in the 50s.
Have since re-read Parkman many times.
What a great adventure (for the explorers and me).
James B. Ronan II
Raymond Barry| 1.8.09 @ 8:23PM
It was against British policy to have their settlers move west- it endangered the fur trade. Still, the young men of New France were forbidden to leave their settlements but they vanished into the woods in droves, marrying with the native girls, learning native languages regardless. Who was going to enforce the rules? Unfortunately, the Voyageurs were illiterate and left no journals, nor were they able to use survey instruments for mapmaking so we don't know that much about them.
What amazes me most is that the Canadian literary and media establishment, both French and English, have never mined this rich heritage for material. The fur trade era lasted much longer than the cattle drive days mythologized in so many American Westerns.
Jorge| 1.8.09 @ 10:32PM
The French lost their courage when they lost their God at the close of the 18th Century. Raising the goddess of reason slowly turned them into the cowardly collabos that they have been for quite some time. Whether Nazi or Jihadist, you have a friend in France.
Jeannine| 1.8.09 @ 10:37PM
Excellent article! It's nice that someone reminds us of our French heritage. As an amateur historian who is currently studying events leading up to the 1st Crusades, I can attest that the French have a very long & most of the time proud history of spirited adventure & chutzpah. The French (or Normans) were mercenaries for the Byzantines and their opponents, the Seljuk Turks, at the same time. They conquered England (William the Conquerer), ransacked Italy & Sicily. They had a major role in the 1st Crusade (Some of us actually believe it was an appropiate war.), & many more events, all this w/in 50 yrs before the start of the 11th century. W/out going into details, they played a major part in moving western civilization forward for good & bad. Although I'm not too sure what they did for the past 60 yrs.
Gerry| 1.9.09 @ 2:08AM
The French were able to trade and move freely through Indian territory because they didn't bring families or farming with them. The English did and suffered much greater opposition from the tribes as a result.
Rhea| 1.10.09 @ 7:27AM
...and as I teach...when the women came, then the communities began...which was almost from the very start in the 1600s...if anyone cares to know the whole story...
Tim| 1.12.09 @ 11:47AM
That was a good article on French exploration in America. As pointed out by others, the French displayed many good qualities and contributed greatly to humanity prior to the nightmares unleashed in 1789. What the atheist Jacobin proto-commies failed to kill in the French spirit, the disaster of WWI finished off.
The French treated the natives much better. The French largely worked with the natives as business partners and friends. French Jesuits braved the wilds attempting to convert the Hurons, Chippewas, etc. while the British concentrated on pushing the natives off the land completely, when not simply exterminating them. Their big mistakes were not encouraging more settlement in the New World and settling more in frigid Quebec than say Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, or Louisiana
p.s. We only saved the French twice from tyranny: WWII and the Cold War. The tyranny of WWI was shared equally by both sides despite Woodrow Wilson's nonsense about making the world safe for democracy (otherwise known as trading Habsburgs for Hitler and Turks for Arab terrorists).
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