“The History of the Conquest of Canada” in 2 volumes is one of the best-known works by George Warburton that features the beginning of the European interest in the northern parts of the American continent. Starting in the late 15th century, French and British expeditions explored, colonized, and fought over various places within North America in what constitutes present-day Canada. The colony of New France was claimed in 1534 with permanent settlements beginning in 1608. Although the English had laid claims to it in 1497 when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on the North American coast and had claimed the land for England on behalf of Henry VII these claims were not exercised and England did not attempt to create a permanent colony. As for the French, however, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1534 and claimed the land in the name of Francis I, creating a region called “Canada” the following summer.
