New France

State · 1609–1791 CE · at its largest around 1757 CE

The French colonial territories in North America, centred on the St. Lawrence River with Quebec as its capital and later extending down the Mississippi to Louisiana, largely lost to Britain in 1763.

On its lands while it lasted

Maya civilization (c. 2,000 BCE – c. 1697 CE): Civilization of southern Mexico and Central America known for its writing system, calendar, astronomy and monumental cities; Maya peoples still live in the region.
Mali Empire (c. 1235–1670 CE): West African empire founded by Sundiata Keita that at its height in the 14th century stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Niger bend and controlled major gold sources.
Middle Passage (c. 1526–1866 CE): The forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas. Of about 12.5 million people embarked between the 16th and 19th centuries, some 1.8 million died on the crossing.
Galileo Galilei (1564 CE – 1642 CE): Italian astronomer and physicist born in Pisa who pioneered experimental science and telescopic astronomy. Condemned by the Inquisition in 1633, he spent his last years under house arrest near Florence.
William Shakespeare (1564 CE – 1616 CE): English playwright and poet from Stratford-upon-Avon whose plays, performed in London, include Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in English.
Isaac Newton (1643 CE – 1727 CE): English mathematician and physicist at Cambridge who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, co-invented calculus and advanced optics.
George Washington (1732 CE – 1799 CE): Commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and first President of the United States (1789–1797).
Industrial Revolution (c. 1760–1840 CE): The shift from hand production to machines, factories and steam power that began in Britain around 1760, centred on textile towns such as Manchester. It spread to Europe and North America and transformed work, cities and the world economy.
Napoleon (1769 CE – 1821 CE): Corsican-born general who seized power in France in 1799 and crowned himself Emperor in 1804. He conquered much of Europe before his defeat in 1815 and died in exile on Saint Helena.
Watt steam engine (1769 CE): James Watt patented his separate condenser in 1769, greatly improving the steam engine's efficiency. Built with Matthew Boulton in Birmingham from 1775, it powered the Industrial Revolution.
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783 CE): War in which thirteen British colonies, aided by France, won independence and formed the United States of America.
US Declaration of Independence (1776 CE): Adopted by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on 4 July 1776, it declared the thirteen colonies independent and asserted natural rights.
Simón Bolívar (1783 CE – 1830 CE): Caracas-born leader who led the independence of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia from Spain, known as El Libertador.
Storming of the Bastille (1789 CE): On 14 July 1789 a Paris crowd seized the Bastille fortress-prison. The event became the symbol of the French Revolution, which overthrew the absolute monarchy.
Haitian Revolution (1791–1804 CE): Uprising of enslaved people in the French colony of Saint-Domingue that abolished slavery and created Haiti, the first state founded by formerly enslaved people.