Website dedicated to French history in America

PARIS, May 10 (AFP) – The US Library of Congress and the French National Library have joined forces to launch a bilingual website exploring the history of the French presence in North America from the 16th to early 19th centuries.  

The site, which includes more than 100,000 images from the rare book collections of the two libraries, was launched at a ceremony in Paris on Tuesday.  

“In developing this web presentation both national libraries have done what they do best – sift through an exhaustive amount of material in order to make our common histories comprehensible and accessible to the public,” said Jean-Noel Jeanneney, president of the Bibliotheque nationale de France.  

The site looks at the role played by France in such events as the French and Indian war, the American Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase.  

It also documents the travels of French explorers and the role of French fur traders and missionaries in opening up the Midwest.  

Among items available on the site are versions of Samuel de Champlain’s “Voyages”, Jacques Marquette’s account of his voyage in North America in 1673 and Theodor de Bry’s late 16th century illustrations of native Indian villages.  

“This site will be especially valuable for teachers as they prepare lessons on this complex and pivotal chapter in American and French history,” said Congress librarian James Billington.  

“France in America” can be found on the Library of Congress site at http://international.loc.gov/intldl/  – while the French version “La France en Amerique” is at http://gallica.bnf.fr/France-Amerique.