The Fur Trade in Eastern Canada Chapter 8 The Fur Trade in Eastern Canada (early 1500s to 1713)
1st Nations traded with each other Furs were just another thing to trade for other things between 1st Nations groups Once European explorers got some and brought them back to Europe, beaver pelts became immensely popular Fur trading became big business. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
The Fur TRADE
1st Nations Roles Men and women had different jobs to take care of:
Different views of trade
Developing the Fur Trade Coureurs de bois (means “runners of the woods”) were French men that went to the 1st Nations villages to trade for furs, instead of waiting for 1st Nations trappers to come to the trading posts They learned culture and survival skills from 1st Nations
Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart des Groseillers Coureurs de bois – brought 60 canoes loaded with furs to Trois-Rivières. Furs were seized for trading without a license, and they were fined Got revenge by going to England to find merchants willing to invest in an expedition to Hudson’s Bay 1668 This leads to the founding of the Hudson’s Bay Co.
Hudson’s Bay Company (The Bay”) Company founded in 1670 by King Charles II Created to compete with the French in the fur trade Charles II claimed all land that was part of the Hudson’s Bay watershed for the HBC. Named it “Rupert’s Land” Voyageurs – Frenchmen licensed to trade directly with 1st Nations trappers
Early map-making
Consequences of the Fur Trade For the 1st Nations peoples, the fur trade didn’t work as well for them, compared to the Europeans: 1st Nations peoples became dependent on European goods Increased competition among 1st Nations peoples Land gains and land losses
Consequences of the Fur Trade Alliances and Conflict: English and Mohawk Vs the French and Wendat Diseases: Smallpox and measles
Trading Fairly