1685-86.] NATIONAL RIVALRY. 119 



Dongan understood the situation. He saw that 

 the French aimed at mastering the whole interior 

 of the continent. They had established themselves 

 in the valley of the Illinois, had built a fort on the 

 lower Mississippi, and were striving to entrench 

 themselves at its mouth. They occupied the Great 

 Lakes ; and it was already evident that, as soon as 

 their resources should permit, they would seize the 

 avenues of communication throughout the west. In 

 short, the grand scheme of French colonization had 

 begun to declare itself. Dongan entered the lists 

 against them. If his policy should prevail, New 

 France would dwindle to a feeble province on the 

 St. Lawrence : if the French policy should prevail, 

 the English colonies would remain a narrow strip 

 along the sea. Dongan' s cause was that of all 

 these colonies ; but they all stood aloof, and left 

 him to wage the strife alone. Canada was matched 

 against New York, or rather against the gover- 

 nor of New York. The population of the English 

 colony was larger than that of its rival ; but, ex- 

 cept the fur traders, few of the settlers cared much 

 for the questions at issue. 1 Dongan' s chief diffi- 

 culty, however, rose from the relations of the French 

 and English kings. Louis XIY. gave Denonville 

 an unhesitating support. James II., on the other 

 hand, was for a time cautious to timidity. The 

 two monarchs were closely united. Both hated 

 constitutional liberty, and both held the same 

 principles of supremacy in church and state ; but 



1 New York had about 18,000 inhabitants (Brodhead, Hist. N. Y., II. 

 458). Canada, by the census of 1685, had 12,263. 



