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Chapter 4 Notes: The Fur Trade FOCUS QUESTIONS: 1. How did economic competition shape the fur trade? 2. What roles did French, British, First Nations and Metis peoples play in the fur trade? 3. What impact did the fur trade have on diverse peoples? Phase 1: The Early Fur Trade 1500-1603 1. Economic Competition: The desire and policies that nations created to control and own more wealth then other nations. 2. Cod Fisheries began the early fur trade: First Nations began trading with the Europeans by coming to the East coast during the summer. The British would set up stations but did not establish permanent settlements. The French came to shore to refresh supplies . Phase 2: Expansion Inland:1603-1670 1. France dominated the fur trade during this phase. New France became permanently established: Quebec and Montreal became the shipping centers for a fur trade network running up the St. Lawrence river. Ships were loaded with furs to be sent to France and unloaded trade goods. 2. The French, Ouendat, Mi’kmaq, Innu, Kichesiprini became partners in the fur trade: The Anishinabe became middle men between the French and the First Nations in the Great Lakes region. 3. The French Haudenosaunee war began: The Haudenosaunee gained support from the Dutch and British who used the conflict to dominate the French in the trade. The French were allied with the Haudenosaunee’s enemies (the Ouendat) The Haudenosaunee defeated the Ouendat as middlemen in the fur trade. Military actions force the Haudenosaunee to seek a truce in 1701. 4. Catholic Missionaries establish missions among the Mi’kmaq, , Kichesiprini, Ouendat, Innu and Anishinabe: Jesuit missionaries aimed to convert First Nations to Christianity. Many showed little interest in becoming Christian. Some did so to solidify military and trade alliances, others blended practices. 5. Coureurs de bois emerged: The loss of the Ouendat as middlemen disrupted the fur trade in New France. It opened opportunity for traders to trade directly with First Nations. Soon after this, France made it illegal to trade outside of the North West Company. They wanted to keep the profits for themselves. 6. Intense trapping and hunting began to reduce the population of beaver and game animals: As furs and food became scarce, traders and middlemen moved west into new regions. Phase 3: Rival Networks: 1670-1760 1. Britain establishes the HBC in 1670: Britain offered a group of merchants a monopoly on trade in an area it claimed as Rupert’s Land. The HBC in modern day has become The Bay. They competed directly with the NWC for furs and trading relationships. 2. The Cree and Nakoda emerged as middle men in the Fur Trade: The HBC sought partners to work as middlemen between its forts along the Hudson’s Bay and First Nations to the west like The Blackfoot. The Cree and Nakoda worked for both the HBC and NWC. The Anishinabe became middlemen as well as the coureurs de bois with the French. 3. Voyagers emerge: New France established trading forts in the Great Lakes region and hired men to make the canoe trips between its settlements along the St. Lawrence and the forts and points beyond. These men were called voyageurs. 4. The Francophone Metis have their origin in this phase: The French developed direct relationships with the First Nations, fostering cross cultural marriage. The children of these marriages were called the metis – meaning “mixed”. 5. The Scottish Metis have their origins in this phase of the fur trade: The HBC recruited many men from Scotland’s Orkney Island who’s harsh landscapes resemble that of Rupert’s Land. Even though the company discouraged marriage to First Nations women, they occurred anyways. Phase 4: The Drive West (1760-1821) 1. New France became a British Colony in 1763: The entire trade was eventually controlled by the British. This began the beginning of an economic shift where the fur trade disappeared in favor of claiming land for farming. (Think back to Print Cut Fold assignment)The claiming of farm land pushed the fur trade and it’s people off the land. 2. The North West Company is formed: After New France became a British colony, the merchants took control of the fur trade network out of Montreal. The merchants competed as independents against the monopoly. In 1779 to improve their odds they united into the North West Company and competition between them and the HBC drove the trade west for new supplies and contacts. 3. A trade in pemmican developed: The trading posts became farther and farther apart, and farther away from the shipping stations. Voyagers and traders needed food that traveled well. Metis and First Nations began to supply pemmican. 4. Territorial Expansions occurred: As the fur trade moved west, so did the peoples who worked in the fur trade, including the Cree, Nakoda and Anishinabe. The Francophone Metis working for the NWC took up a central position in the trade’s expanding business in an area known as Red River (Manitoba). 5. The Metis develop a distinct culture in Red River: They became interpreters, guides, traders and carters. 6. Missionaries establish contact with First Nations in the West: They began to convert First Nations in the west to Christianity. Phase 5: Monopoly in the West: 1821-1870 1. The HBC and NWC emerged: The furious competition between the HBC and NWC lead to shootings, fights and hostage takings. Britain ended it by encouraging the companies to merge under the name of the HBC. 2. The HBC began to loose control of the monopoly: The HBC lost a court case against independent Metis traders supplying pemmican and furs to Americans. Britain began to worry that the Americans might use these relationships with the First Nations to gain control of Rupert’s Land. 3. The Trade Began to decline in the west: The buffalo began to disappear, beaver became scarce and European demands for furs began to fall (remember that it was reliant on fashion demands). Britain helped the HBC negotiate the sale of Rupert’s Land to Canada.