Everything about French Canadians totally explained
French Canadian (
Canadien or
Canadien-français in French) refers to a
nation or
ethnic group that originated in
Canada during the period of
French colonization in the 17th century. They constitute the main
French-speaking population of
Canada. It may also refer to people of
French descent living in Canada, or native speakers of
French in Canada.
Most French Canadians currently reside in the Canadian province of
Quebec and call themselves "Quebecers". During the mid-18th century, settlers born in
French Canada colonized other parts of
North America, including
Alabama,
Louisiana,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
Illinois, the
Windsor-Detroit region and the
Canadian prairies (primarily Southern
Manitoba).
Between the 1840s and the 1930s, some 900,000 French Canadians emigrated to
New England; about half returned home. Those who stayed in the
United States (including
Acadians) eventually became a large portion of the
Franco-American community. During the same period of time, numerous French Canadians also moved to
Eastern and
Northern Ontario. Their descendants constitute the bulk of today's
Franco-Ontarian community.
Etymology
The French Canadians get their name from
Canada, the most developed and densely populated region of
New France during the period
French colonization in the 17th and 18th century. The original use of the term
Canada referred to the land area along the
St. Lawrence River, divided in three districts (Québec, Trois-Rivières, and Montréal), as well as to the
Pays d'en Haut (Upper Countries), a vast and thinly settled territorial dependence north and west of Montreal which covered the whole of the
Great Lakes area.
At the end of the 17th century, the French word
Canadien became an
ethnonym distinguishing the inhabitants of Canada from those of France. From 1535 to the 1690s, however, it referred to the Amerindians the French had encountered in the St. Lawrence River valley at
Stadacona and
Hochelaga. Those Amerindians are today called the
St. Lawrence Iroquoians by anthropologists who try to understand the reason for their disappearance.
Identities
Canada
Further Information
Get more info on 'French Canadians'.
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