Question

Why didn't the French build many permanent settlements

Answer 1

Answer:

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Explanation:

The French claim to lands in North America was based on the Doctrine of Discovery, a European concept that allowed France to assert legal ownership of lands not occupied by Christians. The territory that became New France and later Canada may have been discovered by French fishermen in the year 1504, followed by the better-documented voyages of Jacques Cartier to the St. Lawrence River.1

French King Francis I financed explorations by Giovanni da Verrazzano to explore the coast of North America in 1524. To minimize the chance of creating a justification for military action, that expedition explored far north of the Spanish-controlled Caribbean. Verrazzano chose to stay rather far from the shore and missed the mouth of both the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. He did discover New York harbor, where the Verrazano Bridge (missing one "z") was named for him.

On the way north up the coastline, Verrazzano stopped at what may have been Cape Fear, Hatteras, and the Eastern Shore of Virginia/Maryland. He had the political good sense to name the land "Francesca" to honor his French king, Francis I. After Verrazzano saw water behind barrier islands, he was one of many who explored eastern North America and claimed to glimpse the Pacific Ocean:2

We called it Annunciata from the day of arrival, and found there an isthmus one mile wide and about 200 miles long, in which we could see the eastern sea from the ship... This is doubtless the one which goes around the tip of India, China and Cathay.

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Answer 2

As far as England was concerned, they were pretty much a backwater for much of the early modern period. They were a tiny and weak nation, going through lots of religious turmoil and government reforms in the 16th century.

Spain, on the other hand, had a pretty consolidated government and cash to spend on exploration and colonization. It also helped that Spain, Portugal, and the Pope got together and split the new world up between the two Catholic nations, essentially giving them a sort of right-of-way pass in the eyes of Catholic Europe.

England finally wraps up their internal reformations, and emerges a pretty solidly organized Protestant nation. Elizabeth I get excommunicated, making war against England open season for any interested Catholic country. England is still a 2nd rate power at this point, and simply cannot challenge the existing Colonial powers.

Spain eventually declares war, angry about the actions of English privateers in the Caribbean. The 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English changed everything. All of a sudden, England's on the world stage as a major naval power. Now they can support and defend a colonial effort. Ireland will be their first (and interestingly enough most profitable) colony for another hundred years, but the door's suddenly open and English colonies in North America start popping up.

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