THE FUR TRADE: ALL HAIL THE
MIGHTY BEAVER
(Module 1 Section II #1)
TYPES OF COLONY
► Fur
Trading Colony ($$$$$)
► Settlement
Colony (build society similar to
Mother Country, i.e. France)
MERCANTILISM
 Economic
policy during 17th & 18th Centuries.
 Country’s
wealth and power dictated by
accumulation of gold, silver, and riches.
 To
acquire wealth, country needed to export
more than they import (i.e. sell more goods
than it purchased).
 Mother
Country (e.g. France) would use their
colonies (e.g. New France) by exploiting their raw
materials, manufacturing finished goods, selling
the finished goods on international markets;
including their own colonies!
COMPANIES
 Companies
obtained charter from King to
hold and control trading monopoly in fur
trade.
 In return, companies promised to populate
their respective areas.
 Companies also governed the colony.
 1627 – The Company of One Hundred
Associates was created.
TERRITORIAL EXPANSION DUE
TO THE FUR TRADE (p.17 Nutshell)


Demand for fur pelts increased and sources known to French
(e.g. St. Lawrence Valley) were depleting.
New territory needed to be explored and claimed.
-1634, Nicolet, explored Lakes Huron &
Michigan.
-1671, Saint-Lusson, expl. Lake Superior.
-1671-2, Saint-Simon / Albanel, expl. Saguenay
to James Bay.
-1673, Joliet / Marquette, expl. Mississippi
Valley to the Arkansas River.
-1682, LaSalle, expl. Mississippi River to its mouth in
Louisiana.
-1742-3, LaVerendrye, expl. Interior Plains to the Rocky
Mtns.
FUR TRADE ALLIANCES
► French
aligned themselves with Algonquin Nations.
► Iroquois
(enemies to Algonquin) allied themselves
with Dutch and English.
► Many
battles between Algonquin and Iroquois over
territory for fur.
destroyed Huron Nation. Birth of coureurs
de bois to explore and do work of acquiring fur
pelts done by Hurons.
► Iroquois
CHAIN OF PRODUCTION IN FUR TRADE
1) Natives: Hunted & trapped animals for fur.
2) Coureurs de bois: French settlers traveled territory to purchase
fur pelts from Natives. Lived with natives learning way of life
(language) and survival.
3) Voyageurs: Replaced coureurs de bois in 1700. Paddled canoes
with furs from West to posts in Montreal and Quebec. Many
employed by merchants/traders.
4) Traders: Merchants who financed the expeditions. Acquired
permits to do business.
5) Company: Controlled fur trade and governed colony. Traders sold
furs to company who shipped them to France.
6) Furs: returned to France where they were made into manufactured
goods and sold on markets.
RESULTS OF THE FUR TRADE IN NEW FRANCE
► Territorial
growth (demands of the fur trade and
missionary work led to exploration of new territory –
New France extended from the Atlantic to the
Prairies, and from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico)
► Alliances
with Natives (French allied themselves with
the Hurons and Algonquians. The Dutch and English
allied themselves with the Iroquois. Many battles
ensued)
► French
encircled English colony (French territorial
expansion blocked English from going westward to
find fur rich areas. English felt threatened and many
battles ensued leading to English conquest in 1760)
Mutual Benefits from Interaction
►
The meeting of two cultures had both positive and negative
results. Positives included the exchange of ideas, objects and
ways of doing things. Unfortunately, over time, the Natives
got the raw deal resulting in a breakdown of their society.
The Europeans
► Acquired Native customs and were taught how to survive in
the North American wilderness.
► Learned how to make winter clothing from furs and
moccasins from leather; how to use canoes, snowshoes, and
toboggans to travel; how to preserve food and how to use
plants for medicinal purposes (e.g. cure scurvy).
► Learned of new foods such as corn, pumpkins, and maple
syrup.
Mutual Benefits from Interaction
cont’d
The Natives (Positive Influences)
► Learned of new foods such as bread, peas,
and salt.
► Introduced to woolen cloth and blankets.
► Introduced to iron tools and weapons.
Mutual Benefits from Interaction
cont’d
The Natives (Negative Influences)
► Use of alcohol, unknown to the Natives before the
arrival of the Europeans, had disastrous
repercussions on Native society.
► European diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza)
killed thousands of Native people.
► Fur trade conditioned European-Indian relations
along antagonistic lines and changed the Native
way of life.
► Religious orders, such as the Jesuits, tried to
impose Christianity on the Native populations.