By 1700 , fewer than 20,000 people of French origin were settled in New France , extending from Newfoundland to the Mississippi , with the pattern of settlement following the networks of the cod fishery and fur trade .
Most Quebec settlers were farmers .
By 1700 , fewer than 20,000 people of French origin were settled in New France , extending from Newfoundland to the Mississippi , with the pattern of settlement following the networks of the cod fishery and fur trade , although most Quebec settlers were farmers .