New France was the French colonial empire in North America. Its first colony, Quebec, was established in 1608 to develop the fur trade along North Americas Atlantic coast. Within 150 years, France had claimed the area from the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the East, westward to the Great Lakes, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. The French colonists continually struggled against both Native Americans and the more numerous English colonists to maintain their foothold in the New World. After losing to the English in the French and Indian War (17541763), the French gave up their land in North America, and New France was no more.