In this lecture, Professor Totten argues France's experience in the "New World" differed from the Spanish and English in their relatively positive relationships with various Native tribes. New France was less populous than other European possessions, though it was territorial expansive. However, France did not effectively control the territory they claimed, as they relied on Native Americans to trade and project power from the St. Lawrence River Valley, down the Mississippi River, into the Gulf of Mexico. French efforts at conversion were tepid and largely unsuccessful. Competition with other Europeans, like the Dutch, and competition between native tribes, created coalitions of support and led to endemic warfare. The Iroquois, with access to Dutch guns, were the most successful, and carved a swath of control from Upstate New York and Pennsylvania, into the modern Midwest. France's peace with the Iroquois in 1701, illustrates a missed opportunity for a more inclusive and mutually beneficial relationship. This example at cooperation and toleration, as we will see, would not be followed by the English settlers along the Atlantic coast.
