French Canadians and the American Revolution

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Last night I watched the movie "Marie Antoinette." A part of the movie dealt with the French coming through to help the Americans in their rebellion against the British.

The French themselves did not seem to gain anything from assisting the Americans. Just the decade before the American rebellion, the French lost all of their North American territories to the British.

There are still many people in Quebec and in France who would like to see Quebec separate from Canada, and reunite with France.

So, why didn't the French try to push their advantage at the time, and have Canada returned to them?

Heck, the Spanish regained Florida from the British at the conclusion of the American revolution, and the Spanish didn't assist in the American revolution at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War

Actually if you look at wiki, it says that Spain did play a role in the American revolution.

I am of French Canadian ancestry, going way back to the first French settlers, also I have a lot of English Canadian ancestry as well, descended from Loyalists who were run out of the American colonies because they backed the wrong George. So the "other side" of the American revolution is part of my family heritage.

My guess as to why the French did not try to get Quebec back from Britain as opposed to Spain getting Florida back is that the French and Spanish governments were pursuing different policies regarding the New World. Spain was much more active in colonizing than France was, which is why Spanish is so widely spoken south of the US border, while French is spoken mainly in Quebec. Spain invested far more into its colonies. At one time France controlled most of the US west of the Appalachians and east of the Rockies (the Louisiana Purchase), but except for sporadic settlements along the Mississippi and in the Great Lakes region, it made little attempt to develop the area. Otherwise we in the Midwestern US might be speaking French along with the Quebecois. At one point the French King did try to encourage permanent settlement by recruiting well-bred women to go to the New World and become wives to the settlers already there (they were called Daughters of the King, and I am descended from at least one of them), but this program did not last.

Furthermore, unlike the regions the Spanish settled, there were no major sources of gold and silver in the areas the French controlled. The main source of wealth was fur, namely beaver. Add to the fact that by the time of the American Revolution France was experiencing internal troubles and it is not hard to see why it would not be interested in hanging on to territories that were seen as not worth the while. Along those lines, while Spain did get Florida back from the British, it did not keep it for very long, and probably for much the same reasons--it had more profitable colonies.

Didn't the French assist North Americans in the war partly to get back at the English?

Well, yes, there was a lot of rivalry between France and Britain, there had been for centuries, especially ever since Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church. But there was also a lot of rivalry between France and Spain.

France certainly could have been a much more dominant player on the North American continent had it had the desire to. All over the Midwest and the Mississippi Valley there are numerous place-names that bear witness to the amount of territory France "owned". But for whatever reasons, the French crown just was not interested in sending settlers out to populate this territory. And, even though the French did eventually aid the Americans, Versailles was very, very nervous at the idea of a revolt against a divinely ordained king. As well it should be, because the French Revolution followed soon after. My impression is that Lafayette received reluctant permission to go help the Americans.

By the way, the correct name for the "American" forces at the time is "Continentals". Both sides considered themselves Americans and it was a real shock for the Loyalists to suddenly learn that they were no longer welcome in their own country and that they were no longer "Americans" simply because they felt George III was the legitimate ruler and Washington an upstart rebel. Naturally, the Loyalist side is not taught in American schools. But the fact is that Washington, Henry and company were not the saints later American mythology makes them out to be and there were many valid reasons for not breaking with the mother country. The Canadian archives are absolutely fascinating reading if you want a different perspective on the American Revolution.