The Virtual Museum of New France (french: Le Musée virtuel de la Nouvelle-France) is a

virtual museum A virtual museum is a digital entity that draws on the characteristics of a museum, in order to complement, enhance, or augment the museum experience through personalization, interactivity, and richness of content. Virtual museums can perform as t ...

created and managed by the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage ...

. Its purpose is to share knowledge and raise awareness of the history, culture and legacy of early French settlements in North America. The site includes interactive maps, photos, illustrations and information based on current research into

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

. This encompasses the French settlements and territories that spread from

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...

in the East through the

Saint Lawrence Valley The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, the Great Lakes region, the

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, and south to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The content is written by historical and archaeological scholars and reviewed by other experts. Different sections are devoted to colonies and empires, explorers, economic activities, population, daily life and heritage. The articles in the Virtual Museum of New France cover a variety of topics pertaining to New France, including important historical figures, territorial expansion by France and competing

colonial powers Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

, immigration, social groups, slavery, religion, food, entertainment, science, medicine and governance. The site was launched in 1997 and expanded in 2011.

External links

* Museums established in 1997 National museums of Canada

1997 establishments in Canada {{Canada-museum-stub Canadian Museum of History Corporation