THE COLONIAL EXPANSION OF FRANCE 227 



tion upon any large scale was prevented b}' tlie fact that the people 

 did not feel the penury of land as in some countries. Another na- 

 tional trait worked in the same direction. Love of order, which led 

 France to impose rules U]ion religion, politics, art, and literature, 

 brought needless restraints. There were no commercial, no muni- 

 ci])al,and no provincial liberties. Love of consistency demanded the 

 introduction of feudal institutions, some of which have survived to 

 this day. The i)eo[)le, suffering at home from them, found no in- 

 centive to go to the colonies, where they would still be under the 

 same restrictions. The intolerance of the clergy in Canada produced 

 similar results. The^' opposed the advent of Protestants. The whole 

 history of America would have been different had the Huguenots 

 been allowed to settle in New France. Then, men like Laurens, 

 Boudinot, Jay, Marion, De Lance}', De Peyster, De Pew. and thou- 

 sands whose virtues and intelligence were so potent in building up 

 the best life of this Rejiublic, would have wielded their influence in 

 Canada. 



A fact of transcendent importance in determining the fortunes of 

 the French colonies was tlie geograj)hical position of France herself. 

 Had she been an island her transatlantic history would have been 

 different. She would have kept aloof from those numerous conti- 

 nental contentions into which at times she entered on account of the 

 necessities of her position, but more often for futile motives and with 

 disastrous results. However, the ultimate fact which shaped the 

 fate of Canada was the mother country. The expansion of a coun- 

 try can go on satisfactorily only in so far as it is supported by a 

 sound national life. The reign of Louis XLV was bound to be fatal 

 to the colonies i^ecause of its abuses and disorders. Nothing could 

 Iiave saved finances at the mercy of a personal i)ower surrounded 1)V 

 flatterers, courtesans, and mistresses. The ruin of the national 

 finances entailed the ruin of the navy. No navy, no colonies. The 

 resultant of these causes led naturally to the Treaty of Utrecht in 

 1713, the first important colonial collapse of France. 



The reign of Louis XV did not alter for the l)etter the working of 

 causes which had proven so fatal. The results of the national life 

 led to the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which involved the total surrender 

 of Canada and the vast domain of India to England, and Louisiana 

 to Spain— almost the whole colonial domain. The most intelligent 

 ])art of the French i)opulation had a very inadequate sense of the 

 los.s. Arjren.'^on iiad alreadv said that if he were the King of France 



