Was their ever a point in canada's history when it could have been a french country?

[EkriirkEHere]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Yes, it means "strait" in French. This area and a large part of the midwestern US was also part of New France, but French settlement in the area was quite limited.

Thanks. I've also heard what Joe from Dayton has said from others that pre US revolution canada was pretty much a french country.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by EkriirkEHere

Thanks. I've also heard what Joe from Dayton has said from others that pre US revolution canada was pretty much a french country.

In a fairly large part of it, it still feels like a French country today. At least, as much as the US is an "English" country.

[BIMBAM]

Originally Posted by EkriirkEHere

Thanks. I've also heard what Joe from Dayton has said from others that pre US revolution canada was pretty much a french country.

The parts of it that were a French country then, are more less the parts of it that are still a French country now. About a quarter of the national population are mother tongue French speakers, and the country is officially a bilingual one. The areas settled heavily in New France and the far Western corner of Acadia in modern day New Brunswick, a bilingual province, are still majority French speaking places inhabited by many millions of French Canadians, some of who do not speak English or have only a very limited command of it. Indeed, even with post-revolutionary Anglo settlement, the English didn't demographically outnumber the French until over fifty years after the American revolution. As such, it was a majority French land for many centuries and French Canada is still a very significant component of the federation.

[GTOlover]

France, Spain and the Dutch Republic all secretly provided supplies, ammunition and weapons to the revolutionaries starting early in 1776. By June 1776 the Americans were in full control of every state, but then the British Royal Navy captured New York City and made it their main base. The war became a standoff. The Royal Navy could occupy other coastal cities for brief periods, but the rebels controlled the countryside, where 90 percent of the population lived. British strategy relied on mobilizing Loyalist militia and was never fully realized. A British invasion from Canada in 1777 ended in the capture of the British army at the Battles of Saratoga.

That American victory persuaded France to enter the war openly in early 1778, balancing the two sides' military strength. Spain and the Dutch Republic—French allies—also went to war with Britain over the next four years, threatening an invasion of Great Britain and severely testing British military strength with campaigns in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. Spain's involvement resulted in the expulsion of British armies from West Florida, securing the American southern flank.

The British naval victory at the Battle of the Saintes thwarted a French and Spanish plan to drive Britain out of the Caribbean and preparations for a second attempt were halted by the declaration of peace. A long Franco-Spanish siege of the British stronghold at Gibraltar also resulted in defeat.

French involvement proved decisive yet expensive, ruining France's economy and driving the country into massive debt.

A French naval victory just outside Chesapeake Bay led to a siege by combined French and Continental armies that forced a second British army to surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. Fighting continued throughout 1782, while peace negotiations began.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded roughly by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west. A wider international peace was agreed, in which several territories were exchanged.

[BIMBAM]

Originally Posted by GTOlover

France, Spain and the Dutch Republic all secretly provided supplies, ammunition and weapons to the revolutionaries starting early in 1776. By June 1776 the Americans were in full control of every state, but then the British Royal Navy captured New York City and made it their main base.

All true, but remember that there were no States at that time, just North American British colonies, of which there were 16 if we don't include the Caribbean. 13 signed on to the revolution but 3 did not (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Province of Quebec). To be accurate, the revolutionaries were in full control of the 13 colonies that had signed on, but the local revolutionaries were quelled in those that had not and much fighting for control occurred over the borders of the thirteen Revolutionary American colonies and the three Loyalist American colonies.