Download Chapter 4 Notes: The Fur Trade

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.