HBC and the Fur Trade Timeline

Fur Trade Timeline

The Voyageurs

The End of the Fur Trade

The Middlemen and the Coureurs de Bois

The North West Company

The Merging

The voyagers were men hired by France to maintain trade with the First Nations out West after the Iroquois defeated the Ouendat. They made canoe trips between New France settlements and trading forts. These men were crucial to Frances trade.

NWC Crest

HBC Crest

The Ouendat were the middlemen between the French and the First Nations around the Great Lake. These people played an important part in the Fur Trade by collecting trading goods from the First Nations and selling them to the Europeans. In return they sold the First Nations trading goods from the Europeans. The Ouendat in other words were the people who played the economic role between producer and consumer.

When New France became a British Colony, merchants who were trying to compete independently against the Hudson's Bay Company. To improve their odds, the banded together in 1799 to create the North West Company.

In 1869 the Hudson's Bay Company signed the Deed of Surrender which meant the gave up Rupert's Land to become a part of Canada in return they will have a small and continue trading even though the fur trade was dying down. In 1870 the Queen of England signed the Deed and it was set in motion. This marked the beginning of the Hudson's Bay Company's new beginning as a modern company and now the fur trade was not their only line of business. They sold lands, clothing, and retail. Eventually in 1920 they began to solely focus on retail. This was then end of the Fur Trade and the Hudson's Bay Company's participation in it.

As the competition between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company became more and more dangerous, Britain took action and tried to settle the conflict between both companies. In 1821 the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company merged together under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company.

They became the Hudson's Bay Company's biggest rival. The competition between the two companies soon turned dangerous which resulted in shooting, fights, and in extreme cases hostage taking. At one time the North West Company had taken almost complete control on trade in Athabaska. This provoked the Hudson's Bay Company to start sending people out to Athabaska to remain in control.

That was until the Iroquois took them out with the help of the British and the Dutch to take out the French's key ally. This also made the Iroquois Britain and the Hudson's Bay Company's biggest ally. The loss of the Ouendat opened opportunities for the coureurs de bois to trade directly with the First Nations. When the Hudson's Bay Company was created, they took advantage of the coureurs de bois knowledge of the land and hired them to collect furs and travel to the trading posts all around the Great Lakes.

The voyagers were also valued employees of the Hudson's Bay Company after Britain took over New France and had complete control of the Fur Trade. These men were sent by the Hudson's Bay Company to gather furs from all the trading posts and up to Athabaska where the Fur Trade was very profitable to gather furs from the natives up there to prevent their rival company from getting them. These men were essential to the trade.

Now that the two companies became one, they had control of the whole fur trade and they were not shedding each others blood. They had a huge monopoly and now working together the Hudson's Bay Company was now stronger.

HBC Logo

Deed of Surrender

Modern Day HBC Store

2000

2005

1603

1670

2010

1500

Cod Fishery

The Métis

The Hudson's Bay Company was Created

British Rule

Cod Fishery Station

Decline in Trading

Rupert's Land Flag

In 1763, British took over New France making it a British colony. With the French no longer a problem, Britain had complete control of the trade. But the British were land hungry and farm products instead of furs. Eventually farming took over the Fur Trade and everyone who participated in the Fur Trade were pushed West.

Rupert's Land

Métis Fur Trader

First nations such as the Mi'kmaq began to trade with Europeans coming to fish cod off the cost. The British had set up semi-permanent settlements there and the French had only come to shore to refresh their water supplies. First Nations who already have traded with the French in the past now traded with them again. They traded resources and supplies for metals, beads, etc.

Britain established the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670 to compete directly with France in the Fur Trade. Britain had offered a group of merchants a monopoly on trade in the area they claimed as Rupert's Land. The Cree and Nakoda took up the role of being the middlemen. They recruited many people from the Scotland Orkney Islands because the lands of the Orkney Islands were similar to the ones of Rupert's Land. This helped because they knew how to survive in the harsh conditions and what to expect.

This is important because the Hudson's Bay Company was one of the two biggest companies in the fur trade. They had control of 40% of Canada's Land and all the trade around Hudson's Bay. They were the biggest trading company in the trading business when New France was taken as a British colony.

The Métis were people who were of mixed culture. It started out as just being mostly people who had First Nation mothers and French father. When the Hudson's Bay Company was created, the brought over Scottish people the Scosh heritage was introduced. People who had First Nations mothers and either Scottish or English fathers were known as the Anglo-Métis.

The skills of these people were valued by the First Nations and Europeans as interpreters, translators, and traders. That was because of the mix in cultures. Most of them grew up knowing at least two languages, the languages of both of their parents. Métis people were the easiest way to communicate with First Nations. The Hudson's Bay Company used these people as translators. The women also prepared the furs before trading them so when the Hudson's Bay Company recieved them, they were ready for transport.

As the trade continued, many of the animals who played a major part in the fur trade started to become scarce as they were being killed faster then they could reproduce. The Fur Trade began to slow down and become less popular then it was before. The Hudson's Bay Company was getting less and less furs then before and had less people buying the furs and this started to become a problem for them as they relied of furs. In 1869 Britain tried to negotiate the sale the of Rupert's Land which was used by the Hudson's Bay Company to Canada.

With France no longer apart of the Fur Trade, the Hudson's Bay Company were the ones to trade with because they dominated the Fur Trade now. But the Fur Trade was being pushed West and the First Nations along with it. This greatly impacted the The Hudson's Bay Company because the Nations were farther away from Hudson's Bay and this made the travel distance longer for them to travel from the out West to the trading forts. This opened opportunities for other people to trade with them.

Métis Women

This was important because this is how the Europeans began to trade with the First Nations. This trade then evolved into the full Fur Trade that became the biggest and most important industry in Canada at that time. From there the fur trade became very important to both the British and the French. Later on the British created the Hudson's Bay Company to compete with the French with trading with the First Nations.