1. Explorations and Fur Trade in The West

2. Competitors and Goals
What European Countries Where
Goals: the 3 C’s

3. Russians in Alaska Vitas Bering: 1728, 1741: Russian trade
Bering Strait, Aleutian Islands, SE Alaska
Fur trade begins
Russian trade
Aleuts forced into trade
revolt
“reductions” by Russians
population drop from 25,000 to 6,000

4. Russians in Alaska Kodiak Island 1780s-90s Yakutat 1796
Sitka set up in 1799
Tlingets attack
Sitka destroyed in 1802
Russians return in 1804
Sitka is Russian capital
Fort Ross in California

5. Impact of Russians Populations down in some areas
Russian Orthodox missions
Mixed Race descendents
overfurring
cultural changes
Could “sell” Alaska to US 1867

6. Spanish Response Juan Perez 1774 to Nootka Sound Others
Missions in California

7. British Sir Francis Drake in California back in 1500s
Captain James Cook in NW
seeking NW Passage
Lands at Nootka Sound
exposes Natives to disease
finds furs
journals, reports increase trade

8. British Charles Barkley: Strait of Juan de Fuca 1787
Cook’s death website:

9. Americans a.k.a. “Bostons” Robert Gray: Columbia River 1792
More fur traders

10. Spanish drop NW claims Nootka Sound Incident
Spanish settlements -- short lived
1795: Spain drops claims

11. More Activity in NW George Vancouver 1791-95
goals
names and explorations
Vancouver names
reports
more activity on coast
By scientific and commercial voyages on NW coast

12. Lewis and Clark Louisiana Territory: Goals of “Corps of Discovery”
Spanish to French to American
US pays $15 million
Goals of “Corps of Discovery”
Scientific
Diplomatic
Commercial
NW Passage

13. Party Meriwether Lewis William Clark Soldiers York Georges Drouillard
43 leave St Louis, May 1804

14. Supplies Today’s 10 essentials
website:
Lewis and Clark’s supplies: website

15. Fort Mandan Spend Winter among Mandans and Hidatsas
Hire Touissant Charbonneau and Sacagawea
Significance of Sacagawea

16. From Ft Mandan to Ft Clatsop
Follow Missouri to Great Falls
Meet up with Shoshone in Idaho
Cross mountains to Nez Perce: Clearwater to Snake to Columbia
Build boats and shoot rapids to Pacific Ocean
Winter at Ft Clatsop
Journal entries

17. Significance of Expedition
no NW Passage
scientific, commercial possibilities
imagination of country: journals
a cross cultural as well as wilderness tale
peaceful, yet first step in US expansion
gov’t role

18. What happened to them later?
Lewis
Clark
Sacagawea and Pompey
York
Jim Colter
George Drouillard

19. Fur Trade
“Soft Gold”: types
When and Where

20. Major Companies HBC 1670 Northwest Co starts 1784
Alexander Mackenzie in BC 1790s
Simon Fraser in
establish forts in NW

21. Major Companies HBC takes over NW 1821
HQ: Fort Vancouver: “NY of the Pacific”
John McLoughlin
create “fur desert” to East
Puget Sound Agricultural Company

22. Major Companies American Fur Co 1808, Pacific Fur Co
John Jacob Astor
Fort Astoria: difficulties in set up
Sold to British
Example: James Bordeaux Trading Post 1837 to 1876
Missouri Fur Company 1808
started by Manuel Lisa
Rocky Mountains

23. Major Companies William Ashley’s innovations:
Later is Rocky Mt Fur Company

24. Lives of Trappers Who are they Often married to Native Am women
3 types of trappers
Brigades: company employees
Skin trappers: sharecroppers
Free: independent
The Rendezvous
Dangers of the job

25. Lives of Trappers
Joe Meek as an example
Continuation past heyday

26. Significance of Fur Trade
Environmental
animals
introduction of new crops
for Native Americans
National claims
Serve as transition before settlement