French took the lead in colonizing the upper midwest region. from the early 16th century on, french soldiers, missionaries and fur traders left their slight mark upon the st. lawrence valley, the upper great lakes and points west. for the early french explorers, the more continent they discovered the more their hopes were frustrated. they had hoped that the vast st. lawrence-great lakes waterway was part of the northwest passage to the world of the orient. the french presence was asserted by a network of forts, trading post and. missions darding the lake and river roots traversing the continental interior. based on your text and this reading, why was land near water so important for french settlers? (a) settlers relied on water routes for transportation. (b) settlers use water route to hunt for food. (c) settlers depended on water from rivers and lakes for the crops. (d) settlers continued to look for a northwest passage across the continent.