Pioneers of France in the New World offers a vivid and detailed account of the French exploration and colonization of North America in the 16th century. Francis Parkman provides an engaging and informative narrative of the struggles and triumphs of the early French settlers as they encountered Native American tribes, harsh climates, and rival European powers.

Parkman's writing is both scholarly and accessible, making this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of North America. His meticulous research and attention to detail bring to life the challenges faced by the French pioneers, as well as the complex interactions between different cultures in this new and unfamiliar land.

Overall, Pioneers of France in the New World is a compelling read that sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of American history. Parkman's engaging storytelling and insightful analysis make this book a must-read for history enthusiasts and anyone curious about the early exploration and settlement of North America.

Book Description:

Francis Parkman (1823-1893) has been hailed as one of America’s first great historians and as a master of narrative history. Numerous translations have spread the books around the world. The American writer and literary critic Edmund Wilson (1895-1972) in his book O Canada (1965), described Parkman’s France and England in North America in these terms: The clarity, the momentum and the color of the first volumes of Parkman’s narrative are among the most brilliant achievements of the writing of history as an art.

Parkman’s biases, particularly his attitudes about nationality, race, and especially Native Americans, has generated criticism. The Canadian historian W. J. Eccles harshly criticized what he perceived as Parkman’s bias against France and Roman Catholic policies, as well as what he considered Parkman’s misuse of French language sources. However, Parkman’s most severe detractor was the American historian Francis Jennings, an outspoken and controversial critic of the European colonization of North America, who went so far as to characterize Parkman’s work as “fiction” and Parkman himself as a “liar”.

Unlike Jennings and Eccles, many modern historians have found much to praise in Parkman’s work even while recognizing his limitations. Calling Jennings’ critique “vitriolic and unfair,” the historian Robert S. Allen has said that Parkman’s history of France and England in North America “remains a rich mixture of history and literature which few contemporary scholars can hope to emulate”. The historian Michael N. McConnell, while acknowledging the historical errors and racial prejudice in Parkman’s book The Conspiracy of Pontiac, has said: “…it would be easy to dismiss Pontiac as a curious perhaps embarrassing artifact of another time and place. Yet Parkman’s work represents a pioneering effort; in several ways he anticipated the kind of frontier history now taken for granted….” Parkman’s masterful and evocative use of language remains his most enduring and instructive legacy.

This is Vol 1 of Parkman’s series “France and England in North America.