In New France, the growth of the population along the Saint-Lawrence had left many Frenchmen hungry for land, pushing settlement westwards into Illinois and Pays d'en Haut expanded. By 1785, the population of New France stood at around 7 million, making New France as populous as England. Of these 7 million, around 400,000 of these African slaves, with the majority inhabiting lower portion of the colony called Bas-Louisianne. During the 1760s the French crown began settling Germans in Illinois, with some 100,000 arriving from Alsace and the Rhineland and Palatinate. As German settlements proliferated, leading to the Côte des Allemands (German Coast), an area where the German language would remain predominant for generations to come. Other than that region, New France remained almost entirely French in character.
Though identifying themselves as Frenchmen, the settlers of New France had developed a unique culture, different from la Métropole as Metropolitan France was commonly referred to. Except for a few intellectuals and artisans in Québec and La Nouvelle-Orléans, the ideals of enlightenment were far more limited than in France. The vast majority of the habitants were illiterate farmers with little knowledge of world events. Even the merchants of La Nouvelle-Orléans were largely from France, were largely representatives of the trading houses in Nantes and Bordeaux. As a result, by the late 18th century much of New France, at least culturally clung to mediaeval norms which had predominated at the time of the first settlement. This was noted by Frenchmen even in the manner of speech, where archaisms in the vernacular speech were noticeable to Metropolitan visitors.
Economically, the colony expanded and provided France with its largest markets for goods. French wines in particular enjoyed immense popularity as they were often used as a means of barter. Trade with the West Indies, and particularly Saint-Domingue was also significant as sugar was imported
In Bas-Louisianne early sugar and cotton cultivation was beginning to rice and indigo production. La Nouvelle-Orléans grew into a bustling port of 65,000 as it handled cargoes of grain, tobacco and other goods arriving sailing to the port down the extensive network of tributaries from which settlement grew. Tobacco from La Belle Rivière (Ohio River) in particular was a major good as it was rolled into hogsheads and floated down to La Nouvelle-Orléans. More sophisticated keel boats and flatboats were able to carry larger cargoes, but it was the flatboats were increasingly built by farmers with limited tools that became abundant during this period, as an inexpensive mode of transport for isolated farmers living in the more isolated areas. These allowed farmers were able to make the journey down the river after the harvest, and trade their goods. As they could not make the return journey upriver, the boats themselves were usually salvaged for lumber at La Nouvelle-Orléans.
The imposing Château Saint-Louis, completed in 1784, symbolised the wealth and status of the French representatives of the crown. It served as home to Guillaume Léonard de Bellecombe, Governor of Illinois.
Though identifying themselves as Frenchmen, the settlers of New France had developed a unique culture, different from la Métropole as Metropolitan France was commonly referred to. Except for a few intellectuals and artisans in Québec and La Nouvelle-Orléans, the ideals of enlightenment were far more limited than in France. The vast majority of the habitants were illiterate farmers with little knowledge of world events. Even the merchants of La Nouvelle-Orléans were largely from France, were largely representatives of the trading houses in Nantes and Bordeaux. As a result, by the late 18th century much of New France, at least culturally clung to mediaeval norms which had predominated at the time of the first settlement. This was noted by Frenchmen even in the manner of speech, where archaisms in the vernacular speech were noticeable to Metropolitan visitors.
Economically, the colony expanded and provided France with its largest markets for goods. French wines in particular enjoyed immense popularity as they were often used as a means of barter. Trade with the West Indies, and particularly Saint-Domingue was also significant as sugar was imported
In Bas-Louisianne early sugar and cotton cultivation was beginning to rice and indigo production. La Nouvelle-Orléans grew into a bustling port of 65,000 as it handled cargoes of grain, tobacco and other goods arriving sailing to the port down the extensive network of tributaries from which settlement grew. Tobacco from La Belle Rivière (Ohio River) in particular was a major good as it was rolled into hogsheads and floated down to La Nouvelle-Orléans. More sophisticated keel boats and flatboats were able to carry larger cargoes, but it was the flatboats were increasingly built by farmers with limited tools that became abundant during this period, as an inexpensive mode of transport for isolated farmers living in the more isolated areas. These allowed farmers were able to make the journey down the river after the harvest, and trade their goods. As they could not make the return journey upriver, the boats themselves were usually salvaged for lumber at La Nouvelle-Orléans.
The imposing Château Saint-Louis, completed in 1784, symbolised the wealth and status of the French representatives of the crown. It served as home to Guillaume Léonard de Bellecombe, Governor of Illinois.
