Your homework was to…. Describe briefly at least five changes that would take place in your life if Canada were to become self-sufficient. Think about changes that you would consider positive and others that you would consider negative.
Word of the week….. “Canada”
The History of Canadian Trade
The European Connection John Cabot lands on the shores of Newfoundland in 1947 Cabot was looking for spices (he thought he had found the orient), but didn’t. (What he found a lot of, was fish!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=261-NYB7Sko
During the 1500s and 1600s, hundreds of fishing boats from Europe came over to fish for cod on the East coast of Canada. The cod found a large market in Europe once it had been dried, salted, and taken back to Europe at the end of the fishing season.
Other ships that came over and traded with the aboriginal peoples for furs. Beaver fur was waterproof, durable, and could be shaped in many different ways. Beaver hats became a fashion rage in Europe that was to last over a century!
Even though the French, Dutch, and English still wished to find a route to Asia, they were realizing there was lots of $$ to be made in the fur trade as well. Samuel de Champlain, in the early 1600s, established the first permanent settlement of Europeans in Canada. (He was from France.)
Trade had provided the stimulus for settling North America (& Canada) Two French explorers and entrepreneurs (Radisson and des Grolliers) wished to set up their own company in the new world, but the French government in Quebec would not grant them a trading license. So, instead, they received backing from the English government (and received a Royal Charter to set up business in the Hudson Bay area)
May 2, 1670… In 1670, the Hudson Bay Company was founded. The Hudson Bay Blanket was first manufactured and marketed in 1780.
For almost a hundred years, the French fur trading merchants and those working for the Hudson Bay Company fought for control of the fur trade. Both French and English had been given sole permission from their respective European governments – which meant they were constantly competing with one another. (The French and English were eventually to fight a war over who would control Canada.)
Aboriginal Groups The trapped and hunted animals were no longer used just for survival (food, clothing, and shelter) Self-sufficiency was being replaced by the principles of trade. Interdependence (the reliance of two or more groups to fulfill the needs and wants of the other) was on the rise!
Trade… Settlements were established to support the fur trade. However, not much manufacturing could be done. So, raw goods were sent to Europe and manufactured goods were brought back.
Early Trade between Canada and Europe
Activity.. Read the ‘International Company Profile’ on page 11 of your text. Answer the questions 1 & 2 at the bottom of the page. How is HBC doing in 2012? (Search the internet to find this information.) What is the current focus of HBC’s business activities? http://archives.cbc.ca/economy_business/consumer_goods/clips/2740/