Final answer:
Both France and England viewed the lands surrounding the St. Lawrence River and Hudson Bay in North America as crucial to their empires for trade and colonization. While France focused on the fur trade, England concentrated on agricultural settlements. The Seven Years War ultimately decided the fate of these territories, leading to French cession of lands to Britain and Spain.
Step-by-step explanation:
The region in North America that was viewed as crucial to both the French and English empires was the vast expanse of land including the areas around the St. Lawrence River and Hudson Bay. This significance arose due to the economic activities each empire pursued in North America. The English focused on establishing colonies along the East Coast that were oriented towards agriculture and trade, with cash crops like tobacco in the southern areas playing a vital role in their colonial economies. Conversely, the French concentrated on the lucrative fur trade, establishing close relations with Native American tribes and developing the mixed-ethnic community known as métis. Despite the varied approach to colonization, the outcome of the Seven Years War in 1763 marked a turning point where France ceded its North American territories to the British and Spanish, profoundly shaping future geopolitical dynamics in the region.