The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title French and Indian War in the singular is used in the United States specifically for the warfare of 1754–1763, which composed the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War and the aftermath of which led to the American Revolution. The French and Indian Wars were preceded by the Beaver Wars.

The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; French: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the largest and oldest corporation in Canada. As of December 2024, HBC has a Canadian division responsible for the namesake Hudson's Bay department stores (colloquially The Bay; La Baie in French), and an American division (Saks Global) that includes the full-line luxury stores Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue; the off-price department stores Neiman Marcus Last Call and Saks Off 5th; and the home furnishings website Horchow. It also owns or manages approximately 3.7 million square metres (40 million square feet) of gross leasable real estate through its HBC Properties and Investments business unit.

Among the Haudenosaunee (the "Six Nations," comprising the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples) the Great Law of Peace (Mohawk: Kaianere’kó:wa), also known as Gayanashagowa, is the oral constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy. The law was represented by symbols on wampum belts which functioned as mnemonic devices for storytellers, conceived by Dekanawidah, known as the Great Peacemaker, and his spokesman Hiawatha. The original five member nations ratified this constitution near modern-day Victor, New York, with the sixth nation (the Tuscarora) being added in 1722.

The Beaver Wars (Mohawk: Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (French: Guerres franco-iroquoises), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great Lakes region which pitted the Iroquois against the Hurons, northern Algonquians and their French allies.

Jesuit missions in North America were attempted in the late 16th century, established early in the 17th century, faltered at the beginning of the 18th, disappeared during the suppression of the Society of Jesus around 1763, and returned around 1830 after the restoration of the Society. The missions were established as part of the colonial drive of France and Spain during the period, the "saving of souls" being an accompaniment of the constitution of Nouvelle-France and early colonial Mexico.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North America and the Plantations of Ireland.

Samuel de Champlain (French: [samɥɛl də ʃɑ̃plɛ̃]; 13 August 1574 – 25 December 1635) was a French explorer, navigator, cartographer, draftsman, soldier, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He made between 21 and 29 trips across the Atlantic Ocean, and founded Quebec City, and New France, on 3 July 1608. An important figure in Canadian history, Champlain created the first accurate coastal map during his explorations and founded various colonial settlements.

The North American fur trade is the (typically) historical commercial trade of furs and other goods in North America, predominantly in the eastern provinces of Canada and the northeastern American colonies (soon-to-be northeastern United States). The trade was initiated mainly through French, Dutch and English settlers and explorers in collaboration with various First Nations tribes of the region, such as the Wyandot-Huron and the Iroquois; ultimately, the fur trade's financial and cultural benefits would see the operation quickly expanding coast-to-coast and into more of the continental United States and Alaska.