Land near water was important for French settlers because it facilitated exploration, trade, and communication. The St. Lawrence and Great Lakes waterways served as key routes for travel and transportation, allowing French soldiers, missionaries, and fur traders to establish a network of forts, trading posts, and missions. These locations enabled them to connect with and navigate the continental interior, making it easier to exploit resources and establish their presence in the region. Additionally, the hope of finding a Northwest Passage to the wealth of the Orient further emphasized the strategic importance of water routes for the French settlers.
France took the lead in colonizing the Upper Midwest region. From the early sixteenth century on, French soldiers, missionaries and fur traders left their slight mark upon the St. Lawrence valley, the upper Great Lakes and points west. For the early French explorers, the more continent they discovered the more their hopes were frustrated. They had hoped that the vast St. Lawrence-Great Lakes waterway was part of a Northwest Passage to the wealth of the Orient. The French presence was asserted by a network of forts, trading posts and missions dotting the lake and river routes traversing the continental interior.
—Library of Congress
Question
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Based on your text and this reading, why was land near water so important for French settlers?
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