Social Studies Grade 7

Front 1

A war began which lasted from about 1609-1701 – between the French and the Haudenosaunee.
It is possible that the French became involved in a long standing conflict between its fur trade allies and the Haudenosaunee – The Haudenosaunee probably saw the French as enemies because they were working along with the Haudenosaunee’s enemies.
In 1649 – The Haudenosaunee defeated a french ally – the Ouendat – who were also very important for the fur trade, because they were “Middlemen” – they transported the furs from the groups who hunted the beaver further inland, and the port cities along the St. Laurence river.

Back 1

The English – seeing an opportunity to gain an upper hand over the French (the French and English were often at war with each other back in Europe) they began to support the Haudenosaunee in their war against the French.
In 1701 – with the addition of many French soldiers from France, and with the help of the Anishinabe, the French defeated the Haudenosaunee and they forced them to seek a truce – thus ending the war.

Front 2

Whenever explorers came over to the “New world”, Christian missionaries also accompanied them.
It was a major priority for Europeans to try to “save” the “savages” in the new world. It was believed that if you didn’t worship God and Jesus, that you could not go to heaven.
The European Missionaries believed it was their duty to spread the word of God to these people.

Back 2

A group of Catholic missionaries called the Jesuits were the first to establish missions in New France.
Some First Nations converted to Christianity, but others did not show any interest.
Some converted just to improve their trading relationships with the French.

Front 3

The loss of the Ouendat as middlemen disrupted the fur trade in New France
Independent traders – known as coureurs de bois (runners of the woods) – began to trade directly with the First Nations.
This was encouraged at first, because it improved the ease of trading after the Ouendat were defeated – but it soon was made illegal because the coureurs de bois began to also trade with the English

Back 3

The coureurs de bois often traded with whoever paid the most money – English or French.
Eventually the official trade became based on trading posts – not based on individual traders.

Front 4

Phase 3 – Rival Networks 1670-1760 Britain established the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1670.
The HBC competed directly with France in the fur trade.
To set up the company, Britain offered a group of merchants a monopoly on trade in an area it claimed as Rupert’s Land.
Britain did not initially wish to colonize Rupert’s Land – as it is not suited to agriculture. The only original intention for Rupert’s Land was for it to be an area where people hunted furs and shipped them back to Britain from the ports at Fort Churchill, York, and Severn (along Hudson Bay).
The British men who came to Rupert’s Land to trap the beaver would generally not stay permanently at this time – they would come over to work for a few months and then go back to Britain - thus the settlements in Rupert’s Land never really grew very big.

Back 4

The HBC also looked for middlemen between its forts along Hudson Bay and First Nations to the west, such as the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Dunne-za.
First Nations that were located between the French and British trading networks – such as the Cree and Nakoda – often took up the role of middlemen for both the French and the British.
The role of middlemen became ever more important as the fur trade networks continued to expand further west.

Front 5

After the Haudenosaunee defeated the Ouendat, New France needed a way to maintain trade with the First Nations of the Great Lakes and further west.

Back 5

New France established trading forts in the great lakes region and hired men to make canoe trips between there and the settlements along the St. Lawrence.
These men were known as Voyageurs (Travellers).

Front 6

The fur trade continued to push west during this phase.
In 1763, Due to a war going on in Europe and North America (The Seven Years War – which we will learn about in the next unit) Britain gained control over most of the French territories.
Because of this, New France was basically no more, and almost all of New France became the territory of Britain.
This area was now called British North America (BNA)

Back 6

The French fur trading territories were taken over by many “independant” British merchants.
They attempted to compete against the monopoly company of the Hudson’s Bay Company, but it was very difficult due to the size and power of the HBC (and because they had to also compete against each other to some degree).
In 1779, the individual merchants decided to unite as a single company – in an attempt to increase their power and improve their odds in the fur trade market.
They formed the North West Company (NWC)
The competition was now between two British companies, rather than British and French – but it was still very severe and harsh competition.
The NWC relied on the Canadien people and the Metis who originally worked for the French fur trade – they continued to work in the fur trade, but now for the British.
The need for new supplies and trading partnerships with the First Nations Peoples continued to drive the fur trade west – both companies continued to compete very strongly.

Front 7

Phase 4 – The Drive West1760-1821

Back 7

The fur trade continued to push west during this phase.
In 1763, Due to a war going on in Europe and North America (The Seven Years War – which we will learn about in the next unit) Britain gained control over most of the French territories.
Because of this, New France was basically no more, and almost all of New France became the territory of Britain.
This area was now called British North America (BNA)

Front 8

The fur trading companies were not the only things that were constantly moving west

Back 8

the first nations peoples who worked for/with them also began to slowly move west.
The Cree, Nakoda, and Anishinabe were among these groups moving westward.
The Francophone (French) Metis working for the NWC also pushed west. They eventually formed a large settlement at Red River (present day Winnipeg) – which became a major centre for the fur trade as well as the pemmican trade – most furs and pemmican that came from the western trade networks came through the Red River settlement.
The Metis continued to form a distinct culture and became an essential part of the fur trade – as interpreters, guides, traders, voyageurs, etc.
Read Pages 123-127 and discuss the questions on page 124 and 127.
Read “A Tale of Two Forts” on page 128-129.

Front 9

Phase 5 – Monopoly in the West1821-1870

Back 9

The furious competition between the HBC and the NWC led to serious violence – shootings, fights, and hostage-takings occurred.
In 1821, in an attempt to stop the maddness, Britain “encouraged” the two companies to merge under the name of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
This meant that the HBC now controlled a vast amount of territory – nearly the entire land mass of present day Canada.
This proved to be too large for the HBC to sufficiently control.

Front 10

HBC Starts to Loose Control

Back 10

Independent Metis traders began to trade with Americans. The British were affraid that the Americans would start to use these connections to try to gain control over parts of Rupert’s Land.
Also, other problems arose – the Buffalo became scarce, beaver was overhunted, and the fashion trends in Europe were changing – big beaver felt hats were not as popular as they once were.
Eventually, in 1869, Britain helped the Hudson’s Bay Company negotiate the sale of Rupert’s Land to Canada.
Much of Rupert’s Land becomes known as the Northwest Territory.

Front 11

The Fur Trade greatly influenced the migration of Peoples:

The larger settlements along the St. Lawrence River were set up largely due to the fur trade – the fur trade was the main industry in Montreal, Quebec, and Trois Rivieres.
The Metis were essential participants in the fur trade – they were guides, traders, hunters, voyageurs, etc. They also migrated west with the fur trade and set up a major settlement at Red River.
The Cree and Anishinabe also expanded west which caused some issues with First Nations groups who already existed in these areas.
The fur trade brought Europeans to the west as well.
Missionaries followed the fur traders – founding churches and schools and attempting to convert the First Nations Peoples.

Back 11

done