New France, French Nouvelle-France, (1534–1763), the French colonies of continental North America, initially embracing the shores of the St. Lawrence River, Newfoundland, and Acadia (Nova Scotia) but gradually expanding to include much of the Great Lakes region and parts of the trans-Appalachian West. The name Gallia Nova (New France) was first recorded in 1529 on a map prepared by the brother of Giovanni da Verrazano, who, in the service of France, had explored the coasts of North America in 1524 from what is now the Carolinas north to Nova Scotia. Then in 1534 the French navigator and explorer Jacques Cartier entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and took possession of New France for King Francis I. In succeeding years Cartier ascended the St. Lawrence as far as the Lachine Rapids, to where Montreal now stands, and attempted, with Jean-François de La Rocque, sieur de (lord of) Roberval, to found a colony near what is now Quebec. The colony failed, but out of these explorations the French fur trade with the Native Americans (First Nations) of the gulf and the river regions began. Hope this helps!