Although it remains, in Allan Potofsky’s words, the “poorer cousin” of scholarship on the British and Iberian Atlantics, research on France’s early modern empire has expanded in recent years. This article examines that growing body of literature, focusing on works that deal with the complex relationships among indigenous peoples, French colonists, and the French state. We argue that these books, articles, and dissertations point toward a new vision of the early modern French Atlantic. Rejecting older notions of a static, moribund monarchy opposed by dynamic colonial societies that flouted the crown’s designs, recent studies instead examine points of connection between a multi‐faceted state and the peoples it engaged, creating a more nuanced portrait of early modern French colonialism.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.