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In 1492, Columbus set out to Find the "Indies" or currently known as Asia. Instead, He landed in America thinking he had found the "Indies".
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King Henry VII hired John Cabot to cross the Atlantic Ocean in search of a shorter route to Asia then Columbus had taken. John Cabot found enormous amounts of fish.
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By the early 1500's, some Europeans realized that Columbus had reached and unknown land. They called it the New World.
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King Francis I sent Jacques Cartier to the New World to look for Valuables. Cartier Sailed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He landed on the Gaspe Peninsula and claimed it for France.
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In 1535, Jacques Cartier became the first European to reach the interior of Canada. He sailed up the St. Lawrence river to where present day Montreal lies.
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In 1541, Jacques Cartier joined a French expedition that hoped to establish a permanent settlement in Canada. The establishment only lasted about 2 years or till 1543.
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In 1603, King Henry IV of France completed plans to organize the fur trade and to set up a colony in Canada.
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In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded a settlement along the St. Lawrence River. He named the village Quebec.
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In 1610, an English sea captain name Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson Bay in his search for a passage to Asia. As a result of this, England later based its claim to the vast Hudson Bay region on this voyage.
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In 1629, English forces captured the town of Quebec. The French regained the town in 1632.
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In 1663, King Louis XIV made New France a royal province (colony) of France. He sent troops to Canada to fight the Iroquois and appointed administrators to govern and develop the colony.
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In 1970, an English firm called the Hudson's Bay Company opened fur-trading posts north of New France on the shores of Hudson Bay.
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In 1672, Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, became governor. This helped the boundaries of New France to expand rapidly to the west and south.
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King William's War broke out in Europe before spreading to America. King Williams War lasted from 1689 to 1697.
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Queen Anne's War started in Europe before spreading to America. Queen Anne's War lasted from 1702 to 1713.
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By 1738, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de La Verendrye, had established a chain of fur-trading posts between Montreal and what is now Sakatchewan.
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King George's War started in Europe before moving to America. King George's War lasted from 1744 to 1748.
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The Seven Years' War began in the Ohio River Valley in 1754 and lasted until 1763. It spread to Europe in 1756, that is when it became known as the Seven Years' War. It marked the final chapter in the struggle between the French and British colonists in America.
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In 1759, British armies who were backed by the British Royal Navy captured Quebec City.
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In 1760, the British seized Montreal and the fighting in America ended.
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In 1763, in the Peace of Paris, France surrendered most of New France to the United Kingdom.
