Coligny colonizes New York

WI Admiral Coligny, instead of building a colony in Florida, decides to colonize OTL New York instead? ( New Paltz, New York was founded by Huguenots, IIRC.)

Man, will this have...interesting effects, to say the least.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Maximum New Rochelle...

How do they deal with the Dutch and Swedes, and how do the French and English deal with Hugenyawks?

Best,
 
Given that Admiral Coligny has very little to do with the plan, and that the French are going to want colonies that... you know, have profits... yeah, I don't see this happening.
 
The Fur Trade is a likely economic factor in the region. Agriculture would follow as they moved into the Hudson.
 
Personally, I like the idea of a Huguenot settling of the New World, and Coligny putting relatives in charge of each settlement.

Then, later on, the "13 Colignies" could revolt. :);)
 
Okay... speaking as a guy who has done some--though likely not nearly enough--research on early French colonial practices for my timeline--what people need to understand is at this stage, France's eyes are fixed southwards. They've done some explorations up north, but the general consensus is it's a whole lot of cold nothing that isn't worth the expense. (England will keep at it because it can afford it, but remember, it's mostly chasing the at this point nonexistent Northwest Passage.) The Fur trade won't be profitable enough to justify the expense for... roughly half a century, I believe. Too much European competition, including several species that they will wipe out in a very short time. So France is going to focus on southerly climes, hoping for a chunk of Brazil, and maybe something in the Caribbean or Florida to needle Spain with. That's where the money is--or at least appears to be.

In the end, there's a reason that New England and the Keystone area were settled by the guys who had lots of excess population, including religious dissidents whose big thing was just getting away from home. Sure it's a treasure trove--in the long run. But most colonial efforts in this period are very short term thinkers.

Which is why you see so many "And they all died horribly" endings...
 
In the end, there's a reason that New England and the Keystone area were settled by the guys who had lots of excess population, including religious dissidents whose big thing was just getting away from home.

But this could be said of France during this time as well - it was the most populous European kingdom in this era, and the Huguenot population was at its largest in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
 
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