Why the Ships Came

Try Why the Ships Came in 10 seconds

Tap an arrival to see where it landed. A post, a fort, a habitation, a mission town — each on a river. Just to touch — nothing is recorded.

Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order

1. 1Lesson 1Start hereFish, fur, and faithFish, fur, faith or land? Sort the reasons Europeans came, put the arrivals in order, and do the numbers on a ship sent westTeaches: Why Europeans came: fish, fur, faith, landYou will use: a timeline · a sort · questions · cases · an inquiryOntario A3.3Test yourself on lesson 1 →
2. 2Lesson 2ReadyRunning New FranceKing, governor, intendant, bishop, seigneur: who did what in New France. Then the wars from Europe, and what they did hereTeaches: How New France was run — and Europe's wars hereYou will use: questions · a sort · a role to play · an inquiry · a choiceOntario A3.4, A3.8Test yourself on lesson 2 →

Play with it — any time, nothing recorded

• LabJust playVoyage LabSend a ship west in 1600 for cod, furs or settlers. See what it costs and what comes back
• GameJust playWhy Did They Come?Whalers, a cross, nuns, a company charter. Name the reason each arrival shows best

Why it matters today

• Why two languages

  French on the cereal box exists because of the people in this world — and the king who wanted a colony that stayed.

• Fish on Friday

  Cod fed Europe's meatless days. The first reason boats came here every spring is still a fish and chips shop.

• Who is in charge

  Governor, intendant, bishop — nobody was elected. Ask what is different about who runs your town now.

Words you will meet

Tap a word. The lessons explain each one the first time it appears.

• missionary

  A person sent to spread a religion; in New France, the Récollets and Jesuits.

• seigneur

  In New France, a person granted a long strip of land along the river who had to find farmers for it. The seigneur owed his habitants a mill; they owed him rent and work days.

• habitant

  A farmer in New France who worked a strip of land on a seigneury.

• intendant

  The official in New France in charge of money, courts, roads and the everyday running of the colony.

• epidemic

  A disease spreading fast through many people, as smallpox and measles did after contact.

What Ontario asks

The 2018 curriculum expectations this world teaches, in the Ministry’s own words. 3 of the course’s 35.

• A3.3 describe the main motives for Europeans’ exploration of Indigenous lands that were eventually claimed by…

  describe the main motives for Europeans’ exploration of Indigenous lands that were eventually claimed by Canada and for the establishment of permanent European settlements (e.g., with reference to Norse in Newfoundland and Labrador; the voyages of Cabot, Cartier, and/or Hudson; settlements by De Mons and/or Champlain in Quebec; exploration by Étienne Brûlé; motives such as colonization , the desire to gain control over Indigenous lands by imposing sovereignty and land ownership, missionary work to spread Christianity, the desire of European settlers to escape from oppressive European government structures, the exploitation of natural resources , including the establishment and expansion of the fur trade and the fishing industry)

• A3.4 identify significant offices and institutions in New France

  identify significant offices and institutions in New France (e.g., the seigneurial system ; the Roman Catholic Church; the king, governor, bishop, and intendant; nuns, priests, missionaries), and describe their importance to settlers in New France

• A3.8 describe some significant effects of European conflicts on Indigenous peoples and on what would eventually…

  describe some significant effects of European conflicts on Indigenous peoples and on what would eventually become Canada (e.g., conflict between First Nations who were allied to different imperial powers; changes in control of Acadia between the French and British; fur trade rivalries)