January 15: The French king Francis I colonized New France in Canada in 1541.

The French King Francis I commissioned corsair Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval to establish the province of New France in Canada, and ensured to impose and spread the “Holy Catholic Faith”. The chief navigator was Jacques Cartier because of his previous two trips to Canada. The competition then was for the Catholic power in the sixteenth century, which was growing against the Holy Roman Empire of the Hapsburgs of Austria and Spain.

 First settlement of New France

To counter the Catholic Habsburg power under Emperor Charles V, especially for its control over all Spanish territories in the New World of America, the French king undertook a plan of colonization in North America and Asia. Therefore, he sent fleets of ships to achieve its objectives, among which was the contact with the Turkish-Ottoman Empire to develop trade in the Mediterranean Sea and realize a strategic military alliance.

King Francis I received the citizens of Lyon who wanted to finance an expedition given by Giovanni da Verrazzano for North America. The king liked the idea, and Verrazzano left to America. When he landed in Canada claimed Newfoundland for the French crown. He also founded New Angoulême, where is currently the city of New York.