Aboriginals & The Fur

Trade
Social Studies 10
Ms. Garcha
Shape of the day Learning Intentions

- Review P2 - I will know the pros and cons of

the buffalo hunt
- Kahoot
- I will know who the Metis are
- Notes and what their characteristics
were
- Video clips
- I will be able to define the
- Questions Pemmican Proclamation

- Review - I will understand what the Battle

of Seven Oaks was
- Notes

- Questions
For Want of a Hat
Important Facts Reasons why
-Fashion for hats is what -Beaver hats is what
drew the HBC to Hudson brought the settlers
Bay
-Why this hat was so
-Once sheared from the fashionable that the HBC
pelt, the fine dense fur, felt it was worth bringing
could be pressed into a their business to Hudson
glossy felt that was Bay
waterproof
-Hats = precious. Some
men might leave one for his - the HBC was able to
son in his will continue business after the
beaver hats went out of
- Silk overtook the beaver fashion
hats in the 19th century but
by then the beaver was
prized for its fur, not just
for its felt
Fur Trade in North America
Important Facts
-Furs used for clothing, to cover
beds during the winter, hats etc.
-The fur traders bought furs from
Aboriginals & sold goods, such
as metal hatchets & pots
-Fur traders were economic
imperialists & wanted to exploit
the land for profit
Reasons why
Traders traveled to North
America using rivers & lakes to
get furs
-Fur traders & Aboriginal people
started out trading together (but
eventually colonization did
occur)
- Although the fur traders did not
plan to permanently settle, they
did want to economically
dominate the area. Their actions
had consequences on the land &
the Aboriginal peoples lifestyle
 A Savage Commerce
Important Facts
-Hunting was a spiritual
experience
-The main reason the fur trade
operated as smoothly as it did
was because the HBC traders
tapped into an existing Indian
economic network
- The Aboriginals became
dependent on European goods.
Items such as traps & rifles
became necessary. Ex. of this
dependency was the Cree Dene
animosity, some of which arose
from trade- based conflicts
- Trading patterns were not unjust
but the economic base of Indian
survival mode was undermined
Reasons Why
-Aboriginal view of animals
differed from the Europeans as
the Europeans were killing
animals only for profit.
- The HBC would not have been as
successful as it was without the
Aboriginal people
- Aboriginal people only used
bows & arrows for hunting prior to
trading with Europeans. The
arrival of the rifle brought more
human violence.
- It became harder for Aboriginals
to survive after the fur bearing
animals were slaughtered & the
buffalo began to die off
Role of Mercantilism in Colonialism

Important Facts Reasons why

-Through wealth a nation can -A country gets wealthy by

achieve power exporting more than it imports.
Selling these exports = profit.
Explains why Europeans were
interested in North America

-Countries want to spend less on -North America would be good

raw materials & sell their colony for Europeans because of
finished product for a high price the raw materials

-Colonies couldnt sell their raw - North America as a colony

mats to anyone but their home would not benefit. They would be
country & couldnt manufacture exploited
anything for export.
(Mercantilism serves empire, not
colony)
Task
Please read p. 126 128
Well play a quick game of Kahoot
after youre done reading and you
wont be allowed to use your books!
Kahoot!
Please take your phone out and google Kahoot
Appropriate usernames please!!
HBC NW Company

-Stay by the Bay built -Sent traders to the

forts near bay for traders Aboriginals & where furs
to come to the co. rather were (rather than staying
than co. going to traders by the bay)

-Goods were traded for -Goods were traded for

furs but not alcohol furs, including alcohol

-Profits in co. shared by -Profits in co. shared by

investors, not employees employees & investors

-Forbid marriages -Encouraged marriages

between traders & between traders &
Aboriginals to get more Aboriginals to get more
furs (didnt want furs
dependents)
A video to conclude!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGoVlgcT6tM
Beaver pelt trade
Characteristics of the fur trade
-As the fur trade ran out of furs
it moved further west
- fur trade carried on all year
-Constant exposure to
Europeans
Results for the Aboriginal
people
-Aboriginals get goods from fur
trade. As trade moved further
west, they invaded other
tribes territories to get more
goods tribal welfare &
materialism resulted
-Yearly cycles of fishing &
hunting abandoned
threatened Aboriginal culture
time for family, development of
survival & art skill
-Caught European diseases &
died
P. 132-134, 140 142 H

1) What role(s) did the Aboriginal men and

women play in the fur trade?
2) Positives of the Buffalo/ Negatives of the
Bison Hunt Buffalo/Bison Hunt
 1) 1) What role(s) did the Aboriginal men and women play in the fur trade?

Guides (they knew their way around the territory), trappers & traders
As competition increased between NWC and HBC, First Nations trappers
responded to increased demand by spending more time & resources trapping
abandoning parts of their yearly cycle to fish, hunt, and preserve food
knowing they could use furs to buy supplies of flour, sugar, & bacon from
trading posts
When local population of fur- bearing animals were hunted to near
extinction without furs, the $ to buy supplies was gone Many Aboriginal
families facing starvation were forced to move
First Nations women collected, processed & transported furs
Ab women also worked as guides, interpreters, & negotiators, traveling w
explorers to smooth over any encounters w other First Nations
Answers
Positives of the Negatives of the
Buffalo/bison Hunt Buffalo/ bison Hunt

-Positives
Supplied a
oflarge
the -Very dangerous:
Negatives of theguns
amount
Buffalo of meat &
Hunt could explode
Buffalo Hunt
clothing -Horses could trip:
- Supplied a large -Very dangerous: guns
injuring/ killing the rider
amount of meat & could explode
-Could be gored by
clothing -Horses could trip:
buffalo horns
injuring/ killing the rider
-Could fall off horse &
-Could be gored by
break a neck or be
buffalo horns
trampled to death
-Could fall off horse &
break a neck or be
trampled to death
Dances with wolves buffalo hunt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnffktauNZw
Questions (P. 138 142 H)
Who are the Metis?
How did they come to be?
What are their characteristics?
Answers
Mtis Half European (Mostly French) & half
Aboriginal
As traders intermarried with Aboriginals
new families were created
Mtis were: French, Algonkian Aboriginal,
Catholic
Characteristics: farmers, buffalo hunters,
trappers/ traders
Lived near Red & Assiniboine rivers
Important note
2 different fur trades developed:
1) Beaver fur trade involved HBC & NW co. and Aboriginal people
Occurred across Canada

2) Buffalo fur trade Involved Europeans after he moved onto

Prairies
Occurred only in the Prairies
 Factors Determining Settlement & Economic Activity

Location/ Place geography, soil

Environment climate, weather
Interaction w/ others there or nearby, trade, markets
Movement ease of access (water?), natural or
demographic obstacles
Resources trees for building, food, water, ease of
access
Notes on the Red River Settlement
In the early 1800s, Lord Selkirk of Scotland (rich dude
one of the directors of HBC) was concerned about the
treatment of his fellow Scots many were driven out of
their homes bc it was cheaper for landowners to pasture
sheep, since wool brought in more $ than rent paid by
tenants
Displaced farmers had 2 choices:
1) Migrate to cities like Glasgow & become factory
workers
2) Move to British North America & become farmers
 Wanting to help the displaced farmers & help the
HBC - Selkirk organized the emigration of settlers
from Scotland and northern Ireland and enticed them
to North America with the prospect of free land
He knew Red River Valley (present Manitoba &
North Dakota) had good farming soil & it was too $$
for HBC to ship food/supplies from England so he
created a farming colony the Selkirk Settlement
 Pemmican Proclamation

Ex- militia officer Miles Macdonell led the displaced farmers to

the Canadas
When they finally arrived to the Red River Valley, they cleared
land & planted crops, but harvest failed
Miles Macdonell, fearing that crops might fail for a 2 nd year,
issued the Pemmican Proclamation in Jan 1814:
It banned the sale & export of pemmican from the Red River
Valley for 1 year.
(pemmican: a paste of dried and pounded meat mixed with
melted fat and other ingredients, originally made by
Aboriginals)
Pemmican Proclamation
Ban was meant to protect the colonists from
starvation by preventing the export of pemmican from
the Red River Valley, but it was a blow to the Metis of
the area, who made a living from the pemmican trade
NWC that saw Selkirk Settlement as part of HBC plan
to drive its employees from the area, relied on
pemmican to supply its fur traders = they were mad
Selkirk didnt want to do anything that interfered w
NWC but Macdonell didnt listen and implemented
Pemmican Proclamation & he did force NWC
employees out of Red River Valley
.. NWC even MORE mad
North West Co. Retaliates..

NWC aimed to drive colonists away

Teamed up with the Metis & they harassed the
colonists, burning buildings, destroying crops, and
firing rifles at night
By early 1815, 100+ colonists left & Miles Macdonell
was arrested
NWC employee Alexander Macdonell saw that in
acting against the Red River colonists, the Metis
were inspired to recognize their rights & fight for
their land
The Battle of Seven Oaks
Robertson (HBC employee) led colonists back to Red
River within the year to make peace w Metis & NWC
Semple (new governor) came into the mix & didnt
listen to Robertson who said to cooperate w NWC &
Metis instead he ordered the burning of Fort Gilbralter,
an empty NWC post
Metis viewed this as a sign colonists wanted war
The Battle of Seven Oaks
Metis led by Cuthbert Grant raided several HBC
York boats on Assiniboine River & large supply of
pemmican was taken
Grant decided to move pemmican to Lake
Winnipeg, where they could supply NWC fur traders
but they were spotted
Semple & 28 men rode to confront Metis. Metis split
into 2 groups & surrounded Semple & his men.
Grant attempted a truce but a colonist fired at the
Metis and gunfight began (lasted 15 min, Semple
and 20 of his men killed, 1 metis died)
Metis refer to this as Victory at Frog Plain instead
of Battle of 7 Oaks some Metis historians view this
event as defining moment in Metis history
Task Please answer the following
using P. 148 154 H
1) How did scarcity play a role in merging the HBC and
Northwest Co?

2) Why did Britain force a merger between the HBC and

Northwest CO?

3) Who was George Simpson & what impact did he have

on the HBC? (From Ms. Garcha)

4) Peace was maintained from 1820s 1860s in the Red

River Valley. What were some ways that the Metis
contributed to the economy?

5) Define free trade. How did free trade affect the HBC
and the Red River Settlement?
Questions about the battles b/w the
Northwest Co. & the HBC
1) How did scarcity play a role in merging the HBC
and Northwest Co?
There were not enough furs in the Northwest to justify full-
scale operations by the 2 companies

2) Why did Britain force a merger between the HBC

and Northwest CO?
Britain forced the merger to prevent further fighting which
would affect its control over the area if both companies failed
Questions Continued
3) Who was George Simpson & what impact did
he have on the HBC?
The new head of operations for the HBC. He decided
where forts would exist by keeping in existence forts
that were profitable & closing down forts not making $$
for the HBC.
Questions Continued
4) Peace was maintained from 1820s 1860s in
the Red River Valley. What were some ways that
the Metis contributed to the economy?
Farmed
Hunted bison to provide pemmican & hides
Worked as labourers, ex. As crew on York boats, or as
HBC clerks
Questions continued
5) Define free trade. How did free trade affect the
HBC and the Red River Settlement?
Free trade: system of trade that is not regulated by govt
HBC did not want anyone to trade independently but
more Metis believed they had a right to trade freely.
When Pierre Guilaume Sayer (Metis man charged w
illegal trading) went to trial, he was found not guilty
HBC had to allow free trade