Chapter 8 Heartland, Hinterland and the Staples Trade

Chapter 8 (p. 98 – 107) Heartland, Hinterland and the Staple Trade What is a “staple”? A product that dominates an economy’s exports Examples in Canada Fish (especially cod) Timber Trade Fur Trade (especially beaver) Natural gas and petroleum (today)

Staple Thesis (Dr. Harold Innis) Page 99 Harold Innis says that European countries imported staples to enrich their homelands The hinterland is affected by this trade There are three ways for staple-based economies to develop

The Staples Thesis (3 ways to grow) An economy is most successful when it expands into manufacturing and eventually manufacturing becomes more important (no longer a staple economy) An economy is moderately successful when it is flexible and can shift from producing one staple to another based on market demands An economy is unsuccessful when it relies on a staple and is unable to provide income (the staples trap)

Mercantilism and Staple Resources Mercantilism Economic system when the nations of Europe create colonies (hinterland) that will export staples and then buy manufactured goods from the mother country (homeland) The strength of a colony’s ecomomy depends on the value of the staple in the mother country

Feeding Europe: the cod fishery In the 1400’s food is scarce in Europe Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays and holy days, so fish is a good alternative John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) discovers the Grand Banks in 1497 Soon, England, France, Portugal, Spain and Holland are fishing on the Banks

How to preserve fish Wet method “wet” fishing or “green” fishing Fish is filleted, gutted, salted and stored in the bowels of the fishing ship Dry method The English lacked a ready supply of salt so they improvised Fish taken ashore, filleted, gutted, cleaned, lightly salted and laid out on racks to dry in the sun This method required workers and semi-permanent settlements (fishing stations)

Impact of the Cod Fishery Northern cod fishery was the epitome of the staple trade in the mercantile system Contributed very little to the early development of English or French colonies in North America All profits were taken back to Europe Sea routes meant little need for roads No agricultural sector, food from Europe

Fur Trade: Fashion from the Hinterland English focused on the cod fishery off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland French focused on the fur trade, furs traded by First Nations along the St. Lawrence River Fur is very, very, very profitable Unlike fishing, Europeans are forced to rely on First Nations for their product

Beaver Beaver is the most valuable Its inner fur is excellent for moulding and styling fur hats (very fashionable) Europeans meet the demand First Nations realize the economic opportunity of European demand Huron quickly position themselves as “middle- men”, trading with other First Nations Fur trade creates conflict and chaos between the French and Huron and other Aboriginals

The Hudson Bay Company, 1670 The English want their share of the fur trade, but the French control the St. Lawrence River Valley The English claim the land where rivers drain into Hudson Bay Royal Charter creates the HBC in 1670 English move into new lands in northern North America, direct competition to French After fall of New France in 1763, the HBC controls the entire fur trade In 1789 a new fur trading company (XYZ) forms in Montreal, but after decades of fighting, they merge in 1821

Chapter 8 – What I need to know What is an economic staple? Raw materials (natural product) such as fish, timber, wheat, fur or petroleum What is a tariff? Taxes placed on imported goods What is protectionism? The policy of taxing imported goods in order to encourage people to buy from within their own country (because of increased price) What is reciprocity? Free trade! No tariffs! The opposite of protectionism! Canada’s Four Staple Economies The Cod Fishery (1497 until 1992) – because settlement is on the coast, Aboriginals have little contact with Europeans (except the Beothuk) The Fur Trade (1534 until mid-1800s) -- because Europeans rarely hunt for furs themselves, Aboriginals are greatly affected (changed lifestyle, coming to European towns, diseases, alcohol, religion, inter-tribal warfare, marginalization) The Timber Trade (War of 1812 until present) – Britain had no tariffs on goods from her British North American colonies – Aboriginals were forced off their traditional lands, trees chopped down, turned into British warships and transport ships The Wheat Trade (National Policy of 1878 until present) - for Aboriginals on the Prairies, their traditional hunting lands (buffalo) were fenced in, lost their way of life

Chapter 8 Assessment (20 pts) 1. What is a staple product? (2 pts) 2. What is a tariff? (2 pts) 3. What is reciprocity (reciprocal trade)? (2 pts) 4. What is protectionism? (2 pts) 5. What staples trade began in 1497 and ended in 1992? (2 pts) 6. What staples industry attracted French and eventually English investment in North American colonies? (2 pts) 7. What staples trade was profitable during the War of 1812? (2 pts) 8. What staples trade caused the “opening of the Prairies”? (2 pts) 9. What was the impact of the following on Aboriginal Peoples during the (4 pts): The cod fishery? The fur trade? The timber trade? The wheat trade?