The Impact of the Fur Trade on Aboriginals in Canada - Coursework Example

The Impact of the Fur Trade on Aboriginals in Canada: 1600-1800 The Fur trade was the earliest and most important industry in Canada’s development. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, Aboriginal Canadians had been hunting and living off the land in relative isolation for thousands of years. In the 16th century, European fishermen arrived to take advantage of the rich fishing waters off the coast of Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The nature of the fishing trade required long periods onshore which necessitated maintaining good relations with the local Aboriginal communities (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 1). The first European-Aboriginal trades were based on these encounters. Aboriginals desired metal and cloth goods while the Europeans needed meat and furs. Trading between Aboriginal and Europeans would likely have remained relatively small-scale, if it had not been for a new fashion trend in Europe that fuelled the demand for beaver pelts (Office of the Treaty of Commissioner, 2). The high demand for quality pelts to make wide-brimmed hats created an industry based on beaver fur. The fur trade would dominate Aboriginal-European relations for the next 250 years. The impact of the fur trade on Aboriginal communities would have both positive and negative consequences. This paper seeks to examine the social, cultural, economic, and health related impacts of the fur trade on Aboriginal communities living in the Hudson Bay, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region during the 1600-1800s. Through an examination of the history and development of the fur trade, this paper will demonstrate that while Aboriginal communities gained some benefits from the fur trade, their communities suffered adverse affects that created a dependency on European settlers and contributed to the marginalized state of Aboriginal communities today. DEVELOPMENT OF THE FUR TRADE The trading of furs, metal and cloth between European fishermen and coastal Aboriginal communities had been occurring on a small–scale since early in the 16th century. European fishermen found a lucrative market for these furs in Europe where the demand was high. Historically, Europeans had bought their furs from Russia and the northern countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia) through trading centers established in Belgium and Holland. However, in the mid-1600s a fashion trend emerged that would dominate the European market for the next 250 years. King Charles II began wearing felt hats surfaced with beaver fur, fuelling the desire for beaver fur throughout the continent (Calverley, 1). By the time this trend had taken root, the beaver was facing extinction in Europe. Beaver hat manufactures and traders had to find alternative sources of beaver fur and set their sails for North America. THE BEAVER In North America, Aboriginals had been employing beaver fur for use as blankets and cloaks for centuries. Aboriginals traditionally wore their beaver cloaks inside out – with the fur closest to their bodies.. The wearing of the fur resulted in a soft pelt that could be easily (and cheaply) manufactured into the coveted beaver hats. The value of the beaver in the North American fur trade was indisputable and it became the fur of choice until the late 19th century, thereafter the market opened to include other types of fur as well (The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, 1). ECONOMIC IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, Aboriginal groups had been engaged in small-scale trading throughout the continent. They did not possess a monetary system of exchange and rather traded in common units of value rather than cash. Once the Europeans arrived and the fur trade began, the beaver played an important role in creating a system of “currency” that could be employed in trade negotiations. In fact, the beaver was “the staple of the trade in most areas east of the Pacific coast until the mid 19th century [and] became the accounting and battering standard. Traders valued furs and trading goods in terms of their worth in beaver” (The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, 2). Overall, the ability of Aboriginal groups to obtain European goods that they desired increased with the fur trade. However, with access to better tools and weapons, such as axes and guns, hunting became more effective and efficient. The result was the gradual depletion of the beaver stock. Traditionally, Aboriginal communities had been very aware of protecting the wildlife in their hunting grounds and allowing the replenishment of animal stocks (Saskatchewan Western Development Museum). However, with the high demand from the European market and their increased reliance on European goods (including alcohol and tobacco), traditional practices were often overlooked in favour of economic advancement. This over-hunting, coupled with a change in fashion in Europe, eventually led to the demise of the fur industry. SOCIAL IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES The early fur trade was dominated by the French and the British. The French arrived in the early 17th century and established a permanent trading post in Quebec City. They expanded their activities on the St. Lawrence River (at Tadoussac), Acadia and into the Great Lakes region. The French traders worked primarily with the Huron and the Ottawa Aboriginals. The Dutch arrived around the same time and established posts at the Hudson River Valley. This created intense competition between the two groups that was further exacerbated by the arrival of the British (Rea, 2). The Hudson Bay Company, established in 1670 had trading rights to the Hudson Bay region. During the 1700s, the French and British fought continuously over trading rights in the region, eventually leading to the French and Indian war in 1754. The British won the war and consequently took control of the French settlements in North America. Aboriginal coastal communities developed trade relationships with communities in the interior. However, the fur trade also exacerbated ethnic tensions between competing Aboriginal groups: When beaver became a staple, Aboriginal and European traders struggled to control the trade. The contest began on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence near the outlet of the Saguenay River. Here the Innu traded with Europeans, bringing furs they had collected from their inland trading partners in exchange for European trade goods. Europeans competed fiercely for the trade of the Innu....In order to curry the favour of their Native trading partners, rival European groups entered into military –trading alliances. In this way, the fur trade became intertwined in intertribal conflicts most notable is the war of the Iroquois, and the Dutch, English, French and American imperial rivalries that continued until the conclusion of the war (Oxford Companion to Canadian History). The social impacts of the fur trade were numerous. Most notable was the continued reliance of Aboriginals on tobacco and alcohol. IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH Aboriginal communities were devastated by the epidemics of disease carried from Europe by the settlers. Tens of thousands died from small pox and related diseases at an astonishing rate: ``the Huron lost between one-third and one-half of their numbers to disease and aggression by the Five Nations Iroquois in the late 1630s and 1640s`` (Miller, 2). The interior of the continent was not spared and the west experienced major epidemics in the 1730s, 1780s and 1830s. These outbreaks resulted in the extermination of the Michele band of Upper Ktunaxa and reduced the Chipewyan by one-half (Miller, 2). Fur trading posts were at the heart of these epidemics, with Aboriginals coming into constant contact with Europeans. While disease took a devastating toll on Aboriginal communities, violence stimulated by the fur trade placed a close second: The dispersal of the Huron by the Five Nations in the late 1640s was only the most recent instalment in the continuing story of Iroquois attacks on rival nations that had begun in the 1620s with the Mohican and would continue into the 1650s. A different type of fur-trade violence occurred in the western interior during the so-called competitive trade era, in which the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Montreal-based North-West Company employed sharp trading practices, extensive use of alcohol, and violence directed against both native males and their spouses to gain an advantage (Miller, 2). The introduction of alcohol to Aboriginal communities had a devastating and long-term impact on Aboriginal communities. Europeans used alcohol as a bartering tool especially when competition from other European traders for furs was stiff. According to Aboriginal culture, the practice of trading involves rituals of gift-giving. Traders choose gifts that they hoped would encourage Aboriginal trappers to trade with them, over rival companies; these gifts often included alcohol (Elder`s Voices, 1). Many Aboriginal communities became dependent on alcohol and the long-term effects of those first encounters are still felt today. Many modern-day Aboriginal communities continue to suffer from alcoholism and it has had a devastating impact on their communities. IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL SOCIETY & CULTURE In order to facilitate relations between the Aboriginals and the French, missionaries began a campaign to convert Aboriginals to Roman Catholicism. Montreal became the centre of missionary activity and later developed into the base of the expanding fur industry (The Historic Fur Trade, 1). The mission to convert Aboriginals to Christianity was not limited to the French,“ both non-Catholics in England and Catholics in Spain and Portugal similarly sent missionaries to the native peoples of North America from the seventeenth century onwards” (Miller, 1). For the French, the introduction of Catholicism helped to facilitate the increasing number of marriages between Aboriginal women and European traders. Marriage between traders and Aboriginal women “ensured the trader a constant supply of furs and ensured a woman’s family of a constant market for their furs” (Miller, 2). Kinship relations were very important to Aboriginal communities and a way in which to formulate a “reciprocal relationship to aid kin in times of need and to provide mutual support” (Saskatchewan Western Development Museum, 276). These marriages were so commonplace that a new ethnic group emerged out of the offspring of European/Aboriginal parents, termed the Métis, otherwise known as “children of the fur trade,” “gens du libre” or Michif (Saskatchewan Western Development Museum, 275). Aboriginal women that married traders faced both positives and negatives: “in some cases, marriage meant increased prestige, reduced risk of starvation and reduced labour`` (Miller, 2). However, marriage to a ``trader could also mean the loss of autonomy in a patriarchal family, isolation from family if they lived at the post and eventual abandonment when their husband returned to `civilization``` (Saskatchewan Western Development Museum, 276). CONCLUSION The fur trade was an essential part of the development of Canada. It brought European expansion and paved the way for settlers and the eventual formation of Canada as a nation. For over 250 years, Aboriginals and Europeans participated in a fur trade that was both lucrative and destructive. For Aboriginals, the negative impacts were felt on many levels. Aboriginal communities, while gaining access to better tools, participated in the near extermination of the beaver and developed a reliance on European goods. Perhaps the most devastating aspects of the fur trade were on the health of Aboriginal communities. Aboriginal communities were decimated by outbreaks of small box and other European born diseases. Alcoholism, a weakness in Aboriginal communities nurtured by opportunistic European traders, led to the breakdown of many communities and continues to be a serious social issue today. Many Aboriginal communities did benefit financially by the fur trade and were able to purchase goods from Europeans that had been previously unavailable. However, these improved goods, such as guns and tools, led to the near extinction of the beaver and created a dependency among Aboriginal communities that had not previously existed. Works Cited ``Aboriginals in the fur trade.`` The Oxford Companion To Canadian History Oxford Reference Online. 27 March. http://www.oxfordreference.com/LOGIN?sessionid =75a903a9e6455b49f5fee0f51c61e6eb&authstatuscode=400. Calverley, Dorthea, ``The Beaver, the Foundation of the Fur Trade.” History is Where You Stand: A History of the Peace Region. 25 March. http://204.244.245.15/calverley/part2contents.html. 27 March. “Fur Trade: First Contact From the North.” Office of the Treaty of Commissioner Saskatchewan Government. 27 March. http://www.wdm.ca/skteacherguide/WDM _TchrGdthemes_EN_web/WDM_TchrGdthemes_EN_web/WDMTG_ furtrade_web.pdf. Miller, J.R. ``Aboriginal- European Contacts.`` The Encyclopedia of Canadas Peoples/Aboriginals: Introduction 30 March. http://multiculturalcanada.ca/ Encyclopedia/A-Z/a1/7 Rea, K.J. “The Historic Fur Trade.” The University of Toronto: 1999. http://www.chass .utoronto.ca/~reak/hist/fur.htm. “The Fur Trade.” Elder’s Voices. 22 March. Heritage Community Foundation. . ``The Fur Trade.`` The Canadian Encyclopaedia Historica. 26 March. The Canadian Encyclopaedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.co m/index.cfm?PgN m=TCE&Params=a1ARTA0003112^. Read More