Presentation Transcript

1. Chapter 4—Competition for Trade

   Social Studies 7
2. Converging in the West The British were eventually able to establish complete control over the fur trade in North America. After New France became a possession of the British Crown in 1760, French traders and explorers were forced to cooperate and co-exist with the British that now occupied the region. Some of the French remained in the cities and colonies under British control, and others settled in the Great Lakes Lowlands with their First Nations families, helping to build a Métis people and way of life.
3. The Nor’Westers Though the fur trade was no longer controlled by the French monarchy, French fur traders were quick to return to the wilderness after the British established their leadership. This new group of traders was made up of English, Scottish, French, Métis, and First Nations merchants, traders, explorers and adventurers, and would try to take a share of the large fur trade market in the interior of North America. These groups officially banded together and formed the North West Company (also known as Nor’Westers) in Montreal in 1779—they had several goals in mind:
4. The Nor’Westers Profits—in the past, the French had focused on building settlements and colonies as they expanded into North America. The Nor’Westers wanted to concentrate on making money off of the trade—they did so by using modern, efficient, and sometimes exploitative business practices. Traditions—the North West Company wanted to draw on the traditional strategies and relationships that the French had been using for over a century. They worked hard to maintain and strengthen the bonds between their company, colony, and the First Nations in the regions they would trade in.
5. The Nor’Westers Challenging the HBC—when the French fur trade officially ended, the Hudson Bay Company was the only large company trading in the region. The Nor’Westers wanted a share of the profits in the fur trade market, and had several strategies to take a share of the HBC market. Relationships—as above, the Nor’Westers would take advantage of their long-standing economic relationships with certain First Nations groups to take away some of the HBC’s customer base. Mobility—the HBC was limited by their factory system: First Nations were forced to travel great distances over land and water to the HBC factories on the edge of Hudson’s Bay. The Nor’Westers wanted to expand further inland than the HBC (further even than many French explorers and traders had) for new, untapped trading sources.
6. Who Were the Nor’Westers? The merchants were usually English or Scottish businessmen from the Thirteen colonies or Great Britain. They provided the funds or capital required to finance expeditions into the interior, and were responsible for finding the appropriate markets in North America and Europe for the furs they acquired.
7. Who Were the Nor’Westers? The voyageurswere mostly Canadiens—formerly the coureurs de bois, the hardy francophone backbone of the French fur trade—and were joined by First Nations men and Métis. The Metis played an important role as a) having traditional knowledge and experience in the region and b) knowledge of usually at least French and First Nations languages, both of which as a result of their mixed French and First Nations heritage. They would often act as guides, interpreters, diplomats, and hunters—they were invaluable to the Nor’Westers.
8. As seen earlier, the coureurs de bois and voyageurs relied heavily on the birchbark canoe for speedy and reliable transportation over water. As the volume of fur and goods (and number of traders) increased, they were forced to construct larger and heavier canoes to transport greater weights. The voyageurs were well-known for the small stature and incredible physical strength and stamina required to paddle and portage these vessels through the wilderness.
9. The Annual Cycle Although the company was organized and funded from Montreal, the majority of its trade took place very far away, in the interior of modern-day Canada. So far, in fact, that the voyageurs could not travel the distance from the trading centers to Montreal in a single summer. To solve this transportation problem, the company split its voyageurs in two: half of the voyageurs would live inland in the winters and trade with the First Nations, and make the journey to Fort William on Lake Superior. The other half of the voyageurs would make the journey from Montreal to Fort William, meeting the “inlanders” to take the furs they had acquired, and provide them with new trading items, food, liquor, and other supplies to last through the next winter.
10. Life of the Voyageur The voyageurs were an incredible hard-working and resilient people. They were active nearly every day of their working lives, and had to work through the foulest elements of nature: the occasionally harsh summer storms and deathly-cold winters of the woodlands and prairies, reliance and rationing of limited supplies, certain hostile First Nations groups, and, of course, bugs. Despite these tough living conditions, the voyageurs had an adventurous spirit and close-knit culture. The Metis had a great deal of influence on their lifestyle, identity and tradition: the voyageurs borrowed many ceremonies and strategies of the Metis, and the entire trade system was built on the French language. As the trade expanded and settled in the interior, the voyageurs helped to establish many Metis and francophone colonies and settlements in the woodlands and prairies