nced that the English and the Dutch had adopted the right
policy. Strong trading companies--not weak ones--were what France
needed.

Henry IV could have given the French a fair start, or even a lead, in
the race for colonies. He missed this great opportunity; partly
because he was preoccupied with the reorganization of France, and
partly because Sully, his minister, had no enthusiasm for colonial
ventures. Twenty years later the situation had changed. Richelieu,
who was a man of wide outlook, was also compelled by the activity of
England and Holland to give attention to the problem of a New France.
The spirit of colonization was in the air, and Richelieu, with his
genius for ideas, could not fail to see its importance or what would
befall the laggards. His misfortune was that he lacked certain
definite qualifications which a greater founder of colonies needed to
possess. Marvellous in his grasp of diplomatic situations and in his
handling of men, he had no talent whatever for the details of commerce.
His fiscal regime, particularly after France engaged in her duel with
the House of Hapsburg, was disorganized and intolerable. Nor did he
recognize that, {122} for the French, the desire to emigrate required
even greater encouragement than the commercial instinct. He compelled
his company to transport settlers, but the number was not large, and he
kindled no popular enthusiasm for the cause of colonization. France
had once led the crusade eastward. Under proper guidance she might
easily have contributed more than she did to the exodus westward.

At any rate Richelieu, 'a man in the grand style, if ever man was,' had
decided that New France should no longer languish, and the Company of
One Hundred Associates was the result. In 1627 he abolished the office
of viceroy, deprived the De Caens of their charter, and prepared to
make Canada a real colony. The basis of the plan was an association of
one hundred members, each subscribing three thousand livres.
Richelieu's own name heads the list of members, followed by those of
the minister of finance and the minister of marine. Most of the
members resided in Paris, though the seaboard and the eastern provinces
were also represented. Nobles, wealthy merchants, small traders, all
figure in the list, and twelve titles of nobility were distributed
among the shareholders to help in the enlistment of capital. The
company received a {123} monopoly of trade for fifteen years