What Was Life Really Like in the Red River Settlement Between 1821 and 1869?

The Fraser River

The Red River

Advantages of a River Settlement Between1821 and 1869, Red River was a stable and self-contained community. Settlement was built around the needs of the HBC. The inhabitants of Red River (Metis, Country-Born, Scottish/Swiss Colonists, and HBC employees) were able to grow crops and participate in the bison hunt for food and furs More than 80% of population was mixed.

Isolated geographic region. Metis contributed to the colony primarily through the Bison hunt (pemmican, buffalo robes).

Effects on the Monopoly Merger of the NW Company and HBC: -Crime for anyone to trade furs or other goods because it violated the terms of the HBC monopoly. -Metis started fighting for the right to trade furs in the 1840s -In 1849, 4 Metis traders were charged with illegal trading. -Traders found guilty, but not sentenced.

Crops Grown in the Red River Horizons: pg.153 (old) Pg. 152 (new)

Disadvantages of the Red River Settlement The isolation meant that crop failures could be devastating. Combined gender roles (led to more work for the women). Increased settlement in the 1860s. Vulnerability to crop failures, bison decline, and failure of the HBC.

Seigneurial Pattern

Seigneurial Pattern cont.. Existed along the Assiniboine and Red Rivers since the 1820s Similar pattern as used in New France Typical pattern used by Metis farmers

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Seigneurial System -Rich and fertile black river soil near the water for crops, space near the back of the lot for hay and pasture. -Waterfront access -Close proximity to neighbors -Irrigation -Communication -Transportation -Communal use of the river’s resources Disadvantages: -Vulnerable to attack -Susceptible to flooding -Informal land regulation

Grid Pattern

St. Boniface

Grid Pattern cont.. After Canada purchased Rupert’s Land from the HBC, surveyors began laying out grids for townships in the Red River Settlement. Did not recognize the Seigneurial pattern used in the area since 1820s Assumed that current occupants did not own their land.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Grid Pattern -Organized system of land regulation --Better for defence -Simple to map -Led to the creation of a township. Disadvantages: -Limited river access (resources) -Decline in metis land ownership

Sources: St. Boniface image: John Macoun. Manitoba and the Great North-West : the Field for Investment; the Home of the Emigrant, Being a Full and Complete History of the Country. Guelph: World Publishing Company, 1882

Description: “In St Boniface, above, one can see the remains of an oxbow from the Red River. Detached from the main flow, it would have become, as indicated in this 1882 map, a slough perhaps flooding each spring.  Not to worry, the street grid has been drawn over it anyway, good flat land for development.  Just to the west (the map has west at the top) of the oxbow one can see the old seigneurial land divisions: thin narrow lots fronting on the river. 
In the google satellite view, below, the edge of the oxbow is Enfield Crescent, the eccentric in the grid.  The seigneurial pattern is gone, but the road that skirted the swamp (also long gone) remains, permanently embedded in the street layout.” Site: http://www.onsitereview.ca/miscellanea/tag/geography