ECFC Parts 6-10

Part 6: I can’t come up with a good title​

While the French colonies in the Southeast were getting off the ground, the English and Scottish colonies were flourishing in the Northeast. As the stream of settlers continued into Nova Scotia, the Scottish settlers founded new towns like Saint John, New Falkirk, Pesacid, Riversbend and Naymche. By 1700 the population of Nova Scotia had grown to nearly 40,000 people, fueled by large emigration during the troubled times of the 1690s. Canada was also surging in population, growing from 25,000 in 1675 to 52,000 in 1700. With cold winters and abundant pastures, Nova Scotia and Canada were perfect for sheep farming, and soon wool was the primary export from those two colonies. The cold also killed any disease that would limit population growth, so fertility rates were sky-high and mortality rates were lower than back in Europe. Scottish colonists were spreading around the Bay of Fundy and south shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while English colonists were flooding the St. Lawrence river valley, with new settlements such as Williamstown, Chauenigan, Cheltenham and Riverbend. I can’t come up with anything to write next, so I’ll just stop it right here.

Part 7: Missions​

After losing their colony in Canada, France now had a colony up and running along the Florida Coast. By 1670, the colony had grown to over 11,000 French settlers (and presumably thousands of African slaves). They’d seized San Agustin from the Spanish and were founding new settlements like Marennes (named for a town in Saintonge, where many of the settlers came from), Baie-des-Crevettes (named for the abundant shrimp in the bay), Île-Saint-Simon (which secured the coast between Nouvelle-Charlesfort and Saint-Augustin), Fort Caroline (which had been a French Huguenot colony in the 1560’s, but was destroyed by the Spanish) and Port Saint-Lucie (the furthest south the French would settle for quite a while). French settlers lived off of growing tobacco (using African slaves, of course ‍) and growing Corn for food, although as previously malaria and yellow fever were constant challenges, as well as English and Spanish piracy.

In the meantime, the King gave another order: convert the natives. Ville-Marie had been founded as a religious mission, and many of the natives had been converted in the area, but make disciples of all nations, right? Thus, missionaries went off into the interior to make disciples of the natives, but also exploring as a side effect. The first mission of Saint-Denis was founded in 1662, being the first major inland settlement in La Floride. Aside from missionaries, a small garrison was brought there for defense, as well as farmers to grow wheat and grapes for the communion. A second mission, Saint-Pierre-des-Chutes was founded to the north near the unofficial border with the English colonies, which made the English just slightly uncomfortable. Priest Jacques Marquette explored further inland up the Rivière Saint-Jean, eventually reaching a large mountain range and making contacts with a tribe called the Salaguis.

In the meantime, the French had heard of a great river leading to the Gulf of Mexico, so what else to do but search for the mouth of the river? The French did reach a great river leading to the Gulf, founding an outpost called Fort Saint-Esprit at the mouth, which was the first French colony on the Gulf of Mexico. However, after further exploration it was determined that the Rivière Saint-Esprit musn’t be the great river, and more expeditions were sent out in the following years.

Part 8: 1700​

Alas, a new century had dawned upon the world. It was now the 18th century, and both the English, Scottish and French had been in North America for almost a hundred years. The English were thriving in Virginia, New England and Canada, the Scottish had their colony of Nova Scotia, while the French were growing wealthy off of the cash crops of La Floride. The French level of colonization dropped off after 1675, but a ship or two of colonists arrived each year (except for a few years of the 1690’s when France was struck by famine). Meanwhile, the English colonization continued at a steady clip, with the largest amount heading to Virginia, but the fastest population growth occurred in New England and Canada due to the lower mortality rates. The English were expanding down to Lake Pibago, with Fort Ticonderoga being a supply center between the Hudson River and St. Lawrence River.

Fur trappers continued to explore the Great Lakes, hearing from the natives about a quick passage from Lake Michigan to the Great River from a place called Chicago. British traders explored OTL’s Midwest, founding forts and trading posts along the way, while the French expanded more along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, establishing settlements such as Fort Bilocci, Baye Sainte-Rose and Saint-Germain. The French discovered the mouth of the great river, which they found was called the Mississippi, and they founded the fort of La Balize at the mouth. Despite repeated hurricanes, the fort was needed to control the mouth of what was discovered to be the longest river in North America. Anyway, border disputes between France and England continued, and each side attempted to secure alliances and partnerships with the natives and build forts and trading posts across the center of this vast continent.

Part 9: Exploration of the Interior​
In the 18th century, both the British and the French were exploring the interior of North America. The British influence over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley was being secured, as the British established forts such as Fort Michilimackinac, Fort Bawitigong, Fort Lakesend, Fort Sandusty and Fort Gaminstigwea in the Great Lakes, and Fort Cumberland and Fort Kensington on the Ohio River. Explorer John Lawson played a big role in mapping the Ohio River valley, as well as finding passes across the Appalachians. Meanwhile, France continued to explore the southern part of North America, founding forts across the hinterland like Fort Jolliet, Fort Frontenac, Fort Ocmulqui, Fort Palluau and Fort Toulouse. Meanwhile, with the mouth of the Mississippi being under French control, they could explore up the river for places to settle. Further up the river along a large coastal lake, the French found a perfect place to found a trade center, and thus La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded. A series of outposts were constructed upstream along the Mississippi and rivers feeding into it, such as Baton Rouge, Natchitoches, Fort Rosalie and Fort De L’Assomption. The French forts generally had a small garrison (a few dozen men), a few priests and missionaries, and merchants to trade with the natives. In general, the British had more influence north of the 36th parallel, while the French had more influence south.

Part 10: This TL Is Back​

Ignore the two month hiatus, I will be occasionally doing updates to this TL. Anyway, allons-y!

Anyway, we’re back in the Early 18th century, and in the colonial era of North America. The population of French Florida is about 50,000, although 35% were African slaves, while the population of English Canada is 52,340 and the population of Nova Scotia is 40,000. It just so happened that as soon as the new century started, a new war had broken out. You see, in 1701, the Spanish King Charles “I’m really, really inbred” the 2nd died, likely due to complications from the aforementioned inbreeding, and the French king’s grandson Philipp was the heir to the throne. However, disputes over the Spanish and French crowns emerged, and the Habsburgs weren’t so ready to give up the Spanish throne, and thus the War of Spanish Succession had begun…

The war, while mainly fought in Europe, also saw fighting in North America, as the English sided with Austria against France. The war in North America took the form of Queen Anne’s War, a conflict over the control of the North American continent between the English on one side and the French and Spaniards on the other. Militias from Virginia fought French soldiers stationed in La Floride, and battles took place on the high seas.

In the end, not a whole lot happened, and the preexisting borders were largely maintained. In total, about 300 French colonists died during the war, as most of the deaths were either of soldiers or of allied native tribes. About 1,250 British colonists died, including 150 Canadians and 125 Nova Scotians. In the end, the North American Theatre of the War of Spanish Succession was basically a draw, with neither side coming out on top. Back in Europe, the result was a bit… complicated. Phillip kept his status as King of Spain, but in return had to revoke his claim to the French crown. Spain ceded its territory in the Low Countries and Italy to Austria.