What Are The Negative Effects Of The Fur Trade In Canada

During the 16th century, an explorer named Jacques Cartier travelled around the Chaleur Bay, and he met the Micmac people. In Canadian history, this period was called the contact period. However, did the meeting of Europeans benefit the First Nations? The meeting of the Aboriginal people taught Europeans how to survive in the new world. Consequently, the meeting of the Europeans and First Nations started fur trading, because hats that were produced from beaver pelts were extremely popular in Europe. Furthermore, the fur trade has vastly affected the indigenous people lifestyle, cultures and religions. The fur trade effects have left negative and positive impacts on the First Nations. Nevertheless, most effects were negative, such as the spread …show more content…
Lawrence river, and they wanted to maintain a good relation with the native. The curious native was eager to trade with the Europeans for metal and cloth goods. The Aboriginal people usually traded these fishermen with fresh meat or fur. When the Europeans brought the furs back to Europe, they found a welcoming market for these furs. Afterward, the Europeans demanded more furs to be sold in order to support their colony. Meanwhile, the First Nations began to adopt the refined technologies into their daily life, as a result, the indigenous people became dependent on European goods. However, the natives started competing with other Aboriginal groups to secure trading routes. Eventually, the competition between the Europeans led to conflict between the natives. Nevertheless, these conflicts settled down when the fur trades stopped between the …show more content…
The introduction to European technologies led the Aboriginal people to become reliant on Europeans trading posts to supply them with firearms, ammunitions, and Europeans foods. Some First Nations were converted to Christianity by the Jesuit. During the fur trading era, the French men took a First Nations women as wife. The Europeans hoped through marriage, the First Nation women and children would adopt the European language, religion, and culture, which is also known as acculturation. These children were known as the Metis. To the surprise of the Europeans, the Metis developed their own kind of traditions, which was a mix of Europeans and First Nations. These changes to First Nations lifestyle may have brought negative results, but it was also the start of Canadian culture, which is the acculturation of Europeans and First Nations