New France - The Early Years Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry VII

Henry VII was a thrifty king. Although he authorized the voyage, the cost was to be borne by Cabot. The king, however, was to receive 20% of any profits which may result from the voyage. Since Bristol was to be the only port of entry for trade, the financial responsibility devolved upon the merchants of that city.

Although up to five ships were authorized, the merchants could only afford to send one ship, the Matthew. It would appeaer that all 19 of the sailors (Cabot had a crew of 18) returned to England safely. King Henry rewarded Cabot with a grant of 10 pounds which was later supplemented by an annual pension of 20 pounds.

Answer: Newfoundland

Cabot returned with a more substantial expedition in 1498. More than 300 men accompanied him on his second voyage. Cabot, like Columbus, was convinced that it was possible to reach Asia by sailing west. He believed that open water would exist north of the land that he had discovered - and he was the first to search for the North-West passage. Cabot returned to England without the riches he had expected, without encountering natives but with shiploads of fish. Cabot had established the territorial claim of England in North America and discovered the fishing grounds called the Grand Banks.

Answer: Francis I

The inhabitants of St Malo were not really in favour of this expedition, which set out in 1534. Since the discovery by Cabot of the fishing grounds off Newfoundland, the sailors of St Malo had been happily fishing the grounds without hindrance. Establishing settlements they felt would interfere with their freedom of action and result in controls on their activities being imposed.

Answer: bark and needles of white spruce, ground up and boiled

The cure seems to have been suggested to Cartier by the local Indians. However, it was forgotten, and during the Champlain settlements, scurvy appeared again without reference to the white spruce cure.

Answer: Three

Cartier's third expedition was less than succesful. Although one of the chiefs was friendly, his followers were not. As it became evident that the French had designs on their lands, the Indians became increasingly hostile. This was aggravated by the nature of Cartier's crew - some of whom had been reprieved from the gallows conditional upon their taking the voyage to the new world.

When revisiting the Montreal area, the Indians were so hostile that Cartier thought it better to withdraw.

Answer: True

While no further expeditions took place, the new world was not forgotten by either the French or other nationalities. Annual expeditions to the fishing banks were undertaken by the England, France and other nations and some fur trading continuted to be undertaken. Politically, France was in no condition to finance further expeditions. With the death of Henry II in 1559, France came under the joint pressures of weak kings (Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III) and religious strife due to the growing strength of the Protestant Huguenots.

The resultant religious civil wars were accompanied by the question of the succession since Henry III was the last direct descendant of Francis I.

Answer: False

Champlain served in the army prior to becoming involved in exploration. An ardent Catholic, he served under three generals, all of whom were involved in the religious wars on the side of Henry III. The sucession of the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarre (who converted to Catholicism saying that "Paris was worth a mass,") as Henry IV meant that these generals, and Champlain, went into service under the new monarch.

Answer: Spain

His book brought him to the attention of the French court although the drawings have been described as 'ludicrous'. Henry IV was a strong monarch and reorganized the French state making a renewal of French exploration feasible.

Answer: all of these

During the winter, the wind blew unrelentingly on the unsheltered island. They built no cellars under their houses as a result the food froze in the ill heated houses and then rotted and became inedible. Additionally, the springs froze creating a fresh water problem. As a result of the diet, scurvy killed 39 of the 79 people in the colony.

Answer: The Order of Good Cheer

In 1607 the charter for the new colony had been revoked due to pressure brought to bear by the independent fur traders who resented the competition the settlers created. The settlers were ordered back to France and Port Royal abandoned. The New World was not forgotten.

In 1578, after the abandonment of the Cartier expeditions, although exploration and settlement had come to a halt, it has been reported that more than 150 vessels of French origin and more than 200 ships of other nationalities were in the area each summer. Primarily these vessels were engaged in fishing but fur traders had also established bases at Anticosti and other places.

As in 1578, this contact continued.

Answer: Acadia

This area was chosen for settlement because the French were aware that this part of the New World had a more gentle climate than that of Hochelaga where Cartier had wintered. Although these explorers knew about the effect of the Gulf Stream, they were unaware of the origin of these effects.

Answer: Quebec

Quebec was chosen by Champlain. There was no evidence of the previous Cartier settlement except for the stone base of what was an oven.

Answer: Louis Hebert

Hebert had accompanied Champlain on his first trip to Port Royal and when that settlement was abandoned, re-established himself as an apothecary in France. When the new expedition was being organized, he contracted with Champlain to act as physician and surgeion to the company and receive an annual salary of 200 crowns annually. Unfortunately Champlain's backers disavowed the deal and cut the terms to 100 crowns for three years after which Hebert was required to serve for nothing.

The new terms also stated that he could not engage in the fur trade and if he raised produce he must sell it to the colony's backers at prices which the backers would set.

Hebert, having sold his shop, was forced to agree. Notwithstanding this unfair treatment, the Heberts prospered.

In 1653 he was given full title to his lands and became part of the minor gentry.

Answer: more than 30

When they married, Champlain was 43 and his bride was 12. The marriage contract, which provided for a dowry of 6000 livres - a considerable amount at the time - stipulated that the bride would remain with her parents for at least two years. In fact it was ten years before she joined Champlain in New France.

Her marriage was not a successful one. After four years, she accompanied Champlain on a trip to France and never returned to Canada. She became deeply religious and wished to enter a convent.

However that needed the consent of her husband which was not forthcoming. Only after Champlain's death did she enter an Ursuline convent taking the name of Sister Helene de Augustin. She founded a convent at Meaux and died there in 1654.

Answer: Iroquois

The Huron and Algonquin Indians were allied against their traditional enemies the Iroquois. The unsuccessful 1609 expedition resulted in the undying enmity of the Iroquois who subsequently allied themselves with the Dutch and British. Champlain was wounded in the expedition and spent the winter in the Huron villages. During that time he realized that in the selection of his Indian allies, he had chosen the militarily weaker group.

In all probability, however, he had little choice given the location of the French settlements.

Answer: Etienne Brule

Brule was entrusted with leading the second attack wing in the 1609 attack against the Iroquois. He was to bring a contingent of the Carantouan Indians and so went down the Humber River to meet them and was the first European to see the site of present day Toronto.

The Carantouans delayed their departure in discussions and by the time that this contingent arrived, the battle had been lost.

Answer: Captain David Kirke

Kirke was successful in capturing Quebec in 1629. At the time of the surrender, the food supplies of the colony were virtually exhausted. The terms of settlement provided that one of Kirke's ships would be used to convey the settlers to France. When the expedition returned to France it was discovered that the capture had taken place after peace had been made between the two warring nations.

As a result, Quebec was returned to France along with all the furs that had been seized. Charles I made the return of Quebec conditional upon the French paying the unpaid portion of his wife's dowry.

The only losers in this transaction being the merchants of London, who lost all that they had invested in the expedition. On the return to Europe after his capture, Champlain discovered that the Kirke brothers had been assisted in the capture of Quebec by his former servant, Etienne Brule.

Answer: Jeanne Mance

Jeanne Mance was a member of the lesser nobility in France. She was inspired to go to Canada as a result of reading the Jesuit Relations, a book written by the Jesuits concerning their work in the colony. She was assisted financially by the widow of Claude de Bouillon, Superintendent of National Finances. During his lifetime, Cardinal Richelieu had supplemented Bouillon's salary with an annual pension of 100,000 livres.

When Claude de Bouillon died, his widow was financially sercure and aided Jeanne Mance conditional upon her being known as 'the unknown benefactress'. Father Lalemant was a Jesuit who was martyred by the Iroquois in 1649. Marie de l'Incarnation established a school in Quebec. Paul de Chomeday, better known as Sieur de Maisonneuve, founded Montreal.

Answer: Radisson and Groseilliers

The voyage of Radisson and Groseilliers to England was eventful. Britain and Holland were at war at the time and they were captured by the Dutch and held captive in Spain. When they reached England, London was in the throes of the Great Plague. They met Charles II in Oxford and were given a weekly allowance of 2 pounds, a considerable increase on Cabot's pension of 20 pounds per annum. Radisson and Groseilliers were introduced to Prince Rupert and the result was the estblishment of the Hudson Bay Company and the claiming of the north of Canada for Britain.

Answer: Jean Talon

Talon was an able administrator. He recognized that one of the basic needs of the colony was for an increase in population. He requested his superior, Colbert, to send five hundred settlers a year to the colony - a request that was not granted. He established new settlements in order to lessen the overcrowding in Quebec itself and settlers were subsidized both monetarily and with farm implements.

He established industries, hemp growing, weaving and distilling. He encouraged an increase in livestock which led to the establishment of a tanning industry.

He returned to France after a term of three years. During his time in France, he met with King Louis XIV and was instrumental in securing additional programmes to encourage settlement. These included the sending of 'The King's Daughters' to New France.

These were unmarried women who were sent out to redress the imbalance of men to women in the colony. Upon arrival, the unmarried men of the colony had the opportunity to select one of the new arrivals as a bride. Each of the 'King's Daughters' who married brought a dowry of an ox and cow, two pigs, a pair of chickens, two barrels of salted meat and eleven crowns in money. Talon returned for another term in New France.

After completion of his second term, Talon returned to France and received the title of Comte d'Orsainville. He died twenty two years after the expiry of his second term, in 1694.

Answer: all of these

Louis enacted laws regulating even the most trivial of things. Bachelors, spinsters and their parents in particular bore the brunt of royal wrath since they interfered with the plan for population increase. Townspeople were fined if they rented accommodation to 'habitants' (farmers).

Other regulations stipulated that a farmer must not own more than two horses or mares and one foal because he might not then raise cattle and sheep in sufficient quantities. Merchants were not allowed to hold meetings, no one could trade in foreign goods, innkeepers could not serve during any church service. Bakers were required to make only dark brown bread because the king felt it was more nutritious - although of course white bread was served at Versailles. And the list goes on.

Answer: Adam Dollard, Sieur des Ormeaux

Dollard and his followers established their base in an abandoned stockade where they awaited the arrival of the Iroquois. Shortly after their arrival, a group of Hurons led by Etienne Annahotaha, a Huron chief, joined to assist in the defence. The Iroquois arrived in two waves, an initial group of 200 was held off by the French and Hurons but a few days later an additonal 500 Iroquois joined their fellows.

The attack on the improvised fort continued but without success. A final assault on the stockade resulted in desperation on the part of the defenders.

In a defensive move, a home-made grenade was thrown. The grenade, instead of falling into the midst of the attackers, struck the top of the palisade and fell into the group of the defenders killing many and blinding the remainder.

This gave the Iroquois the advantage and the defenders were killed. The final result, however, was a victory for the French and Hurons since the Iroquois, dismayed at the delay caused by so few, called off their planned attack on Montreal.

Answer: Francois Xavier de Laval-Montmorency

Early in his career in New France, Laval had several conflicts with the governor concerning the role of church and state. As he aged, Laval became more mellow, but his dispute with secular authority continued. He was partially responsible for having New France declared a royal province.

He established, among other things, a school for boys and a manual training school, and a seminar for the training of priests. Although he lived frugally, the lands given to his bishopric generated considerable revenue and he became a rich man.

In his will, he left his fortune to the educational institutions he had established allowing them to become financially independent. Philippe de Rigaud, more commonly known by his title Marquis de Vaudreuil, was a governor of New France. Queylus, Abbe de Loc Dieu, was a Montreal cleric who disputed Laval's right to head the Church in New France.

He lost this battle and returned to France.

Answer: Comte de Frontenac

Frontenac was the godson of Louis XIV and won renown in the French armies in Holland, France, Italy and Germany. He was made a marshal in the French armies. During his first term as governor he built Fort Fontenac at what is now Kingston. He sent out La Salle on a voyage of exploration down the Mississippi River.

His haughtiness and quarrels with the governor of Montreal, Bishop Laval, the intendant and other prominent people in the colony was the cause of his recall to France. During his second term, his temper had softened and his quarrelsome nature had lessened.

When he died, he was mourned by the whole colony, which he had saved from ruin.

Answer: "I shall answer by the mouths of my cannons."

When taken to meet Frontenac, the messenger from Sir William Phips was blindfolded and led through the narrow streets of Quebec, forced to climb barricades and heard sounds of drilling infantry - all in an effort to confuse him as to the exact strength of the defences.

After returning with his answer, the British fleet remained anchored in front of Quebec for some time but since it was not prepared for a land battle, eventually returned to Boston. The three other responses were given to reporters by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Eliot Trudeau in response to various questions.