Notes and Comprehension Questions For First
... European explorers continued to explore and lay claim to land in N. America in their search for passages and profit. Although a N.W. passage to China was never found, new trade with the peoples of N. America emerged. Trade in furs quickly became popular. At first, the French were only interested in ...
... European explorers continued to explore and lay claim to land in N. America in their search for passages and profit. Although a N.W. passage to China was never found, new trade with the peoples of N. America emerged. Trade in furs quickly became popular. At first, the French were only interested in ...
Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois (French pronunciation: [kuʁœʁ de bwa]) or coureur de bois (French pronunciation: [kuʁœʁ də bwa], runner of the woods; plural: coureurs de bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They ventured into the woods usually to trade various European items for furs and along the way, learned the trades and practices of the Native people who inhabited there. These expeditions were fuelled by the beginning of the Fur Trade in the North American interior. Trade began with coat beaver, but as the market grew coureur des bois were trapping and trading prime beavers to be felted in Europe. The term is often confused with voyageurs who, rather than being unlicensed entrepreneurs were the canoe travel workers for licensed fur traders. The most prominent Coureur des bois were also explorers and gained fame as such.