The Hudson’s bay company and the voyageurs

Key Terms Compete (verb) Competition (noun) Merchant (noun) To try to be better or more successful than someone or something else e.g. In the Olympics, athletes from different countries compete for the gold medal. Competition (noun) When two companies are trying to have a bigger part of the market. e.g. Apple and Samsung are two of the biggest cell phone companies in the world so they are in competition. Merchant (noun) Someone whose job is to buy and sell things in large numbers to make money.

The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) British company established in 1670 to compete with the French fur traders. Granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II and given ownership of the land where rivers flow into Hudson’s Bay. HBC built several forts around Hudson’s Bay where they traded with the First Nations. Each year Aboriginal people would travel by canoe to the HBC forts to trade their furs. In exchange they received iron pots, knives, axes, guns and wool blankets.

HBC Point Blanket

The Voyageurs The people who were in competition with the Hudson’s Bay Company were the voyageurs. They were mostly French Canadians and their trading center was Montreal. They traveled up the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes all the way to Lake Superior and beyond to find better quality furs. Their method of transportation was the birch bark canoe. After 1759 (end of the Seven Years’ War) the voyageurs were employed by British merchants in Montreal. In 1779 these British merchants joined together to make the North West Company.

Voyageur Canoe Route

Hudson’s Bay Company North West Company Owned by British merchants. Workers were mostly British. Trading posts built on the coast of Hudson’s Bay. Waited for Aboriginal people to bring their furs to them. Owned by British merchants Workers were mostly French. Trading center was Montreal. Used birch bark canoes to get furs themselves.