<P> "Spanish civilization crushed the Indian; English civilization scorned and neglected him; French civilization embraced and cherished him" </P> <P> To boost the French population, Cardinal Richelieu issued an act declaring that Indians converted to Catholicism were considered as "natural Frenchmen" by the Ordonnance of 1627: </P> <P> "The descendants of the French who are accustomed to this country (New France), together with all the Indians who will be brought to the knowledge of the faith and will profess it, shall be deemed and renowned natural Frenchmen, and as such may come to live in France when they want, and acquire, donate, and succeed and accept donations and legacies, just as true French subjects, without being required to take no letters of declaration of naturalization ." </P> <P> Louis XIV also tried to increase the population by sending approximately 800 young women nicknamed the "King's Daughters". However, the low density of population in New France remained a very persistent problem . At the beginning of the French and Indian War (1754--1763), the British population in North America outnumbered the French 20 to 1 . France fought a total of six colonial wars in North America (see the four French and Indian Wars as well as Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War). </P>

How did early french settlement in north america differ from that of the english