Heartland/Hinterland And The Staple trade

Definitions  Staple- Raw material, such as fish, timber, or wheat, which dominates an economy’s exports  Heartland- a region that is the economic centre of a country or empire  Hinterland- a region that provides the resources needed by the heartland  Staple thesis- an economic theory advanced by Harold Innis that argues that the development of a resource –based economy influenced Canada’s political and social development

Mercantilism and Staple Resources  European expansionism was motivated by the desire for the riches that the Spaniards had brought back to Europe in the 15 th century  Instead, European explorers found other resources-fish, furs, timber, and wheat  Two-way system: hinterland provided rich natural resources <> heartland manufactured goods from these materials<>Sold back to hinterland

Cod fishery  In the late 1400’s Europe needed a new food source  John Cabot introduced English to cod fisheries off the coast of Newfoundland  2 methods: –Wet (green): fish brought onboard to be cleaned, filleted, heavily salted, then shipped back to Europe –Dry: fish taken to shore, cleaned, split, lightly salted, cleaned a few days later again, then dried This caused seasonal fishing villages to be built along Atlantic coast (eg. Newfoundland)

How does the cod fishery illustrate mercantilism at its most basic?  Fish exported solely for the benefit of the mother country  No incentive for local businesses to develop around that industry  No local infrastructure development by mother country in colonies (roads, agricultural settlements)

Fur trade  Jacques Cartier explored the interior of the continent via the St. Lawrence River  Through contact with native peoples, discovered the valuable staple commodity- furs  Required assistance of native people to get the furs; French used Hurons to get furs from the Innu (Montagnais) and Abenaki  French lived in fur-trading posts along the St. Lawrence River

Hudson’s Bay Company  English wanted to be part of the lucrative fur trade, but had not established settlement in the interior  1610> Henry Hudson opened up the area around the Hudson Bay  1670> a Royal charter created the Hudson’s Bay Company, giving it a monopoly over all fur trading in territories drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay

Map of drainage basin  mpo.gc.ca/alphapro/ zmp/Maps/map3basins.gi  The charter gave the Company political and economic control over almost 8 million km² of territory  Much rivalry occurred between the French and English, until 1763

Buffalo/images/pf jp 

E arly Hudson's Bay Company Buildings at Athabasca Landing, Provincial Archives of Alberta, Ernest Brown Collection, A3264. 

pierce/postcards/hudbay-s.jpg 

Impact of the fur trade  Profits centralized in heartland (Europe)  Production of metal and cloth products exchanged for furs also centralized in heartland  Added to knowledge of N. American continent  Traders’ movements established beginnings of business interests and transportation infra structures  Initially beneficial to native peoples, but disease, increased warfare, displacement, loss of sense of identity occurred