UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter The Start of Trade Page 1 -Furs were scarce in Europe--most fur- bearing animals had become extinct on that continent by the late Middle Ages -The fur trade began almost 100 years prior to the settlement of Jamestown and Plymouth -North America was rich in furs -The fur trade emerged along to St. Lawrence River -Native Americans were very willing to hunt/trap, process and transport pelts to trade -The French dominated fur trading in North America until 1763 (1st Treaty of Paris) UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter The Start of Trade (CONT.) Page 2 -The French and Indian fur trade began with Jacques Cartier in He was seeking the Northwest Passage (all water route to Asia) -Samuel de Champlain began colonizing New France in 1604—trade with Native Americans was central to the colony's economy -Champlain established trade agreements with the Native Americans -Annapolis Royal, Quebec and Montreal became thrive commerce centers UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter The Great Lakes, as seen by the French Page 3 UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter Trade Goods Page 4 -Native Americans were very willing to hunt/trap, process and transport pelts to trade -Native Americans were eager to obtain manufactured goods -Europeans bartered goods, such as iron tools, utensils, brass kettles, wool, cloth, glass beads, firearms and alcohol -European fashion (especially hats for men) drove the demand for beaver pelts -Muskrat, mink, marten, fox, sea otter and seal were also sought UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter Native American Involvement Page 5 -The Huron were the foremost supplier of furs to the French -Acting as middlemen, the Huron traded agricultural products to other tribes for pelts -The Algonquin speaking tribes of the Great Lakes region traded the most with the Huron -They then carried the pelts to the French in Quebec or Montreal, to trade with UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter European Fur Traders Page 6 -Many Frenchmen, some sponsored by Champlain, others by the Catholic Church, sought out new sources of furs -Men who earned a livelihood by paddling large canoes into the wilderness in quest of furs for licensed traders came to be known as Voyageurs UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter European Fur Traders (CONT.) Page 7 -The independent, unlicensed entrepreneurs who defied regulations, became known as Coureurs de Bois (“runner of the woods”) -Many of these Coureurs de Bois lived among the native population -Intermarriage between Frenchmen and Native women created strong ties within the French fur trading empire UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade

Chapter The Effects of the Fur Trade Page 8 1.European goods drastically decreased the native’s ability to “fend for themselves” 2.Guns and liquor had enormous impact on the productivity natives 3.The fur trade took native men away from family—altering traditional culture 4.Natives were introduced to new diseases 5.Long-term ecological disruption of the food chain by the depletion of fur-bearing mammals 6.Brought European settlers onto native lands UNIT #4 Settlement The Fur Trade