EXPANSION OF THE FUR TRADE
Canada is a big place. The west coast of Canada was not reached overland by European
explorers until 1793, almost 400 years after they first found Newfoundland. Who were these men who
journeyed so far? Why did they go on the journey? You will be doing a brief biography on an explorer
of Canada by answering the following questions. Choose an explorer and answer the questions using
the computer provided (this will be uploaded to your website). Use the internet and the textbook pgs
86-113.
LIST OF EXPLORERS:
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Alexander Mackenzie
Simon Fraser
David Thompson
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Lewis and Clark
James Cook
George Vancouver
1. Who? Who was your explorer? Give a brief personal history.
2. What? What were the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Northwest Company? Give a short history of
the two companies.
3. Where? Where did this explorer explore? Give an explanation of the route taken and show the
route on the map provided.
4. When? When did the explorer explore?
5. Why? Why did the explorer end up in western Canada? What was the purpose of the trip?
6. How? How was the explorer able to make it to the west coast? What technology was used? An
explanation of the technology is required.
MAP OF EXPLORATION BY GEORGE VANCOUVER
George Vancouver was an explorer who was born on June 22, 1757 at King’s Lynn, England,
as the sixth and youngest child of John Jasper Vancouver the customs collector at King’s Lynn. When
Vancouver joined the Royal navy in 1771, he caught the attention of James Cook while he was
preparing for his second voyage. He was invited to Cook’s ship, the Resolution, as a midshipman for
the second and third journey. Captain George Vancouver was best known for exploring and charting
the northwestern Pacific Coasts of North America in 1791 to 1795, but he had many other journeys as
well. He was ordered the expedition to meet Bodega y Quadra, the Spanish commissioner, to make
claims from an agreement made by the Spanish and the Britain. He also had to find out if there was
a Northwest Passage connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. The captain travelled in the ship
Discovery, a 78 foot sloop.
On May 2, 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company was founded. Prince Rupert and his crew were
granted a charter by King Charles. After the British conquered New France in 1763, the French traders
founded the North West Company in order to continue the expansion of their fur trade.