Beaver and Fur Trade
The fur trade has diminished, and in many states, it is now illegal to trap and kill animals for their fur. It is a very controversial issue today, but many of our ancestors trapped and traded furs to make a living. Today, instead of hunting and trapping, many animals are raised on farms then their pelts are harvested. Animal rights organizations oppose the fur trade, complaining that animals are brutally killed. Synthetic fur imitations are now often used. The beaver pelt trade in the 1700’s was responsible for the development of Canada. The abundance of beaver in the Rupert Area, which is around the Great Lakes, was the perfect area to set up the beaver trade. European traders worked with aboriginal people to trade their
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European demand resulted in higher prices and the Aboriginal’s priorities changed. Tribes in the past had only hunted for what they needed. Eventually, animal populations decreased as they were over-hunted due to growing demand. Tribes began competing whereas before there wasn’t any competition. Alcohol was introduced to the aboriginal people by the Europeans creating more social problems. Food for the tribal members became inadequate as tribes were set on hunting for pelts instead of “living off the land” and growing food or hunting for meat for the tribe. The women had not only taken care of the meat and hides but had been decision makers, traded between tribes and had run the society while men hunted, trapped and fished. Aboriginal women eventually married white men and mixed-race descendants called Metis polygamy became standard. The fur trade made some aspects of their lives easier, but the tradeoff was that they lost their culture and way of life which was changed forever. The fur trade had increased trade in general; however, the native peoples became more and more dependent on the European firearms, ammunition, food and trade goods. Most of the hunting that the natives did in the past to provide for their own needs was now abandoned in consolation for the fur trade. Growing crops was also
The French Fur Trade Beginning in the mid sixteenth century, French explorers were able to establish a powerful and lasting presence in what is now the Northern United States and Canada. The explorers placed much emphasis on searching and colonizing the area surrounding the St. Lawrence River “which gave access to the Great Lakes and the heart of the continent”(Microsoft p?). They began exploring the area around 1540 and had early interactions with many of the Natives, which made communication easier for both peoples when the French returned nearly fifty years later. The French brought a new European desire for fur with them to America when they returned and began to trade with the Indians for furs in order to supply the European demands. The Natives and the French were required to interact with each other in order to make these trades possible, and, over time, the two groups developed a lasting alliance.
Jennifer S.H. Brown, W.J. Eccles and Donald P. Heldman, The Fur Trade Revisited, Michigan State University Press, 1994.
Throughout history, there has been a continuous movement of people, including European settlers and aboriginal tribes. The movement of these two groups of people has assisted in shaping and refining the world as we know it today. With each moving experience these groups of people had their own set of challenges and various difficult aspects present at various times throughout their journey. Whether they faced a foreign language upon arrival, or the difficulty with navigating a new place, challenges became their norm. A specific movement of people would be the Europeans arriving in Atlantic Canada and having contact with various aboriginal tribes. During the fifteenth century, the Europeans set out to find new land, natural resources and spices. The Europeans had contact with one particular group of aboriginals known as the Beothuk, who resided in Newfoundland. The relationship with this tribe and the European settlers was like no other. The conflict between these two groups was quite evident and caused trouble between the Beothuk and Micmac as well. The Beothuk tribe no longer exist. There are various reasons why researchers and historians believe this tribe has disappeared,one of which would be their way of life. The disappearance of this tribe has provoked a great
In the 1830's the Plains Indians were sent to the Great American Deserts in the west because the white men did not think they deserved the land. Afterwards, they were able to live peacefully, and to follow their traditions and customs, but when the white men found out the land they were on were still good for agricultural, or even for railroad land they took it back. Thus, the white man movement westward quickly begun. This prospect to expand westward caused the government to become thoroughly involved in the lives of the Plains Indians. These intrusions by the white men had caused spoilage of the Plains Indians buffalo hunting styles, damaged their social and cultural lives, and hurt their overall lives. The lives of the Plains Indians in the second half of the nineteenth century were greatly affected by the technological development and government actions.
Animals were highly valued in trade because they could be used for so many things. Parts of animals could be made into tools, their fur could be used as clothing, blankets and such, and they could be used as food. Animals were a great source of food back in the days of the indigenous people. Their meat was a very important source of protein. The Dakota made things out of their bison, such as little boxes out of their hooves, and water bottles out of their bladder. Meanwhile, the Ojibwe sold their deer, mainly for clothing and other similar
Fur trading started between the Europeans along with the Aboriginals when the most valuable beaver pelts were substituted for metal and clothing goods such as iron knives and axis, copper kettles, blankets and trinkets. The beaver pelts were well desired by the Europeans for the reason that using this fur for headgear provided an elegant way to keep dry. However these pelts were for fashion, as men and women could be instantly noted within the social hierarchy by according to their beaver hats. It was so valuable that the sand on the floor was filtered to save every hair that had fallen off. For the Europeans, captivating advantages of the rich furs from the Indians in the New World was a major factor in generating handsome profits, and there is no other pelt exchanging business enterprise like the Hudson's Bay Company.
"The Fur Trade & European Introduced Diseases." Fur Trade and Epidemics. Canadian Heritage, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .
Métis were important because they were skilled buffalo hunters so they could sell a lot of buffalo hides (“Métis and the Fur Trade” slide 4). “Trading companies would use the Métis for their knowledge of the fur trade or use them as employees (slide 2). They were also used for voyagers, hunters, employees, traders, and interpreters (slide 3). Woman played a role by trading while the husbands went out and got more fur (slide 2). Many woman would also make moccasins to sell or trade with the fur from rabbits, squirrels, and other smaller animals that they would hunt (Rahsai slide 4). If they didn't sell any items they would make furniture and clothes out of them (“The Métis” para
A significant factor in the transformation of the land of the New World was trading and hunting. Before Europeans arrived, the natives had manipulated the land themselves to create herds of buffalo and other animals for food, clothing, and other resources. After European colonization, the hunting and trade systems of both groups of people changed. The natives acquired guns and hors...
Women had an immense impact on the years of fur trading. Especially Native or Mixed Blood women because these are the ones that most men in the fur trade married. Benefits came along with marrying these women; fur traders had the inside scoop and strong ties with her Native family. The improvement of relationships was built with marriage but also information about their culture and language. Women coming from a strong culture like Natives bring along skills to improve and help the fur traders. Like how the women could set up camp off of the settlement, prepare the furs to be traded, make leather to make more of a profit, cook meals with the surrounding goods that not necessarily a white wife could make. First Nations women were built to work;
The Europeans’ preconceived opinion about the Natives Americans had a big impact in the life of the Native Americans . Many Indians died not only because of the diseases that the Europeans carried, but the cruelty of the settlers and the brutality of slavery also contributed to the destruction of the native population. The ones that entitled themselves as Christians and grabbed about their holiness, marched through the continent expelling people from their own land, raping women and killing people. The Native American culture suffered a great loss as well “European trade goods quickly became part of Native American material culture, and their efforts to gather furs for trade for these goods altered the ecological balance in much of the New
The changes of occupation effect the growing lifestyle of Native Americans. Before Europeans, women and men each had responsibilities (Wishart, n.d.). Specifically, for the plain Indians, the women responsibilities were vast (Wishart, n.d.). For example, they were in charge of farming to housing building. It was common
To them, the excitement and the adventure of the buffalo hunt held more appeal than farming. Hundreds of Metis were content to earn a living by hunting buffalo, making pemmican or finding employment as freight drivers. After a while Canada bought Rupertsland from Hudson Bay Company. When the Metis heard this they were alarmed. They feared their religion,their language, their lands and their old, free way of* life.
Aboriginal women had occupied an essential position in the fur trade of the North American region from its birth during the 17th and 18th centuries. Even though this is true, the role of women, especially those of the Native American society, has been ignored a great deal in the entire history of fur trade. Contrary to the belief that the whole fur trade activity was only male-dominated, it very much depended upon Native women and their participation and labor in order to ensure survival as well as economic success. This paper will attempt to illuminate how Native women played the role as important producers when it comes to fur trade of the American Plains and, of course, the Canadian region. This paper will also deal with the two important company's namely the North West and Hudson's Bay Company and tell how each functioned during the time of fur trade. The term “fur traders” is the term often used to described anyone who was interested in the traffic of furs. The traditional picture has been that of a male in buckskin shirt and a raccoon cap, dispensing alcohol and trinkets to gullible savages, in turn for the quality furs worth 10 times their value.
When the Europeans made contact things started to change tremendously for American Indian tribes. The Europeans brought with them something that the indians could not fight against: disease. These diseases were called Smallpox, influenza, and measles. Unlike the Europeans the Natives Americans had no immunity to fight off these diseases. Soon these diseases started to spread killing 90% of the Indian population. In addition, to diseases the Indians soon began to adapt and depend on the Europeans. The Indians became interested in the things that the colonist could provide and used new materials and products everyday. Their desire for European goods changed the ancient trading patters and soon their simple hunting for food became less important