After the British and French negotiated the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, New France experienced a period of stability. French ships, unmolested by British warships, carried large shipments of furs to France. Although New France prospered, its population grew slowly. Few new colonists arrived from France. The British colonies to the south, however, grew rapidly as thousands of new colonists arrived.
The French established an ambitious program to fortify New France. In 1720, the French government commissioned Sieur de Verville to construct a stone fortress at Louisbourg on the northeast coast of Cape Breton. In 1726, Chaussegros de Léry completed the reconstruction of Fort Niagara at the western end of Lake Ontario. The new fort was well protected with thick stone walls. The following year, the British responded by constructing a stone fort at Oswego on the south shore of Lake Ontario.
In 1731, Pierre de Hertel de Montcour commanded companies of the Troupes de la Marine as they built Fort St. Frédèric, a stone fort at the north end of Lake Champlain. He also upgraded the defences of Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) on the southwest shore of Lake Champlain.
