EXPANSION OF THE COUNTRY

WHERE NEXT? 1 st : Rupert’s Land: – Where?: any area who had a river that drained into Hudson Bay – Who?: 70,000 people – 60, 000 First Nations – Rest: » workers of the fur trade » mix of French and Native Métis

WHO CONTROLLED RUPERT’S LAND? Metis? First Nations? Fur trade companies: – 1 st : Hudson’s Bay Company – 2 nd : Northwest Company CHART: Find the difference between the two companies (see chart on website)

WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO WORK FOR? WHY? Competition bw the HBC and NWC led to a depletion in fur resources  movement further inland  increased contact with First Nations and Metis peoples

TYPES OF BOATS IN THE FUR TRADE YORK BOAT (HBC): – 13 m long – Carried 3000kg – Weighed 1 tonne – Fort Edmonton –Fort York (30 days) CANOTS DU NORD (NWC): – 7 m x 1m – Carried 1500kg – Throughout the northwest – 6 people CANOTS DE MAITRE (NWC): – 11m x 1.5 m – From Fort William to Montreal – Carried up to 4000kg

THE FUR TRADE What was a voyageur? – Someone who traveled up and down the river transporting fur what does portage mean? – To carry from one body of water to another

NATIVE PEOPLE IN THE NW 4 groups: – Ojibwa-Assiniboin – Cree -Chippewyan Acted as middlemen in the fur trade: – dealer between two parties who want to exchange goods – Brought furs to HBC and NWC trading posts

IMPACTS OF FUR TRADE ON NATIVE PEOPLE 1.Moved to be closer to the fur trade 2.↑ competition between HBC and NWC = ↑ demand of fur – Natives becoming full-time trappers  abandon fishing, hunting, preserving  Self-sufficiency is threatened  Cultural values/way of life disturbed  Change to more European –style values

3. Exposure to European diseases – Smallpox – measles

4. Introduction of alcohol -alcohol had, and still has, a devastating impact on First Nations culture  high rates of alcoholism

METIS Moving further northwest  NWC fur traders stayed for winters with FN groups – Married local women  good for both groups NWC encouraged marriage  good trading relationships HBC prohibited marriage – By the 19 th century, Metis culture was developing At first, called themselves bois brule (burnt wood)

– Métis: French word for “mixed”:Native and French – Country-born: Native and Scottish/British

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT Spoke French and Algonkian Roman Catholic Mix of Native and European customs Used seigneurial system Hunted bison/buffalo – made pemmican

USES OF THE BISON

THE COLONY ON THE RED RIVER (1812) Earl of Selkirk (Thomas Douglas) an HBC director – Wanted to provide a colony for poor Scottish tenant farmers in the Red River Valley Fertile soil Farms could feed HBC employees in the Northwest – The HBC gives him 300,000 km2 of land in Southern Manitoba, called “Selkirk’s Grant”

Miles Macdonnell– appointed to bring in settlers to the area – Early and harsh winters, difficulty clearing land, failed crops  settlers faced starvation -Macdonnell issues Pemmican Proclamation- bans sale and export of pemmican (major source of income of the Metis who sold it to the NWC  TROUBLE!!!!!

Angered the NWC traders – Burnt buildings, destroyed crops, fired rifles – Took colonists to Fort William and arrested Macdonnell

ROBERT SEMPLE-Governor of Red River (1816) Brought previous and new colonists Red River Attacked and burned NWC Fort Gibraltar – Angered NWC and the Metis Leader of the Metis, Cuthbert Grant, attacked HBC boats, stole pemmican and took over Red River Colony in the Battle of Seven Oaks