European Rivalries and the Western Fur Trade

*To fully understand these notes you will need to read pages 83-87 and page 94 of the textbook

European Rivalries and the Western Fur Trade

  • Intro
  • 1688-1763 Britain France at war for territory
  • Euro and NA
  • Events in both places were linked
  • Fur trade = profit
  • Profit = advantage
  • The French-British Rivalry: Part One
  • Early 1600s (17th cent.) Fr. dominate NA fur trade
  • St. Lawrence is access point
  • Fr. lost First Nations biz partners (Algonquin)
  • Time to move inland
  • Hudson’s bay company started by British (1670)
  • Drop in Fr. fur trade
  • “Shoot, we better move inland”
  • Approaches to Biz partners (First Nations)
  • Fr. start diplomatic negotiations with first nations
  • British start aggressive military policy
  • The Battle for the Bay
  • 1683-17+ the Fr. attempt to destroy HBC (Hudson’s Bay Company) forts.
  • War breaks out in Euro in 1688
  • Fr. And Eng. both send raiding expeditions to N.A.
  • 1697 – Fr. Send large fleet into HB (Hudson’s Bay)
  • Ships get frozen in the ice
  • Only the Pelican gets free
  • Fog makes the Brit. Wonder how many Fr. ships there are
  • The Pelican won the battle and captured York Factory
  • 1713 – Treaty of Utrecht signed
  • HB turned over to the British
  • The Battle for the Bay Part II
  • 1731 Nouvelle-France (New France or NF) sentLa Verendrye on an expedition to find the Pacific Ocean
  • Hope to trade w/ Asia
  • Hope to extend FT into the continent
  • La Verendrye established fur trading posts
  • 2 in MB:
  • Fort Rouge (Winnipeg)
  • Fort La Reine (Portage)
  • Also Dauphin, Grand Rapids, and The Pas
  • La Verendrye’s sons reached the rockies
  • Also explore N and S Dakota

  • Trade Pushes Inland Expansion
  • Fr seek FN in their own land
  • Brit make posts and wait for FN to come to them
  • Fr. would intercept furs enroute
  • Convenient for FN
  • HBC is furious
  • Moves inland
  • The First Inland Forts
  • 1743 first HBC inland posts
  • Fr. fight back (our territory)
  • 1754 - British travel inland to invite FN to trade
  • Unsuccessful (“I don’t want to go that far”)

  • Competition and Exploration
  • 1755 Seven Years War in Euro
  • Spills into NA
  • 1759 – FN defeated
  • HBC thinks the golden age of fur trade will begin
  • …but colonists from S. came in to compete
  • Wider markets now
  • 1766 – Treaty of Paris – official end of 7 yrs war
  • Market “free-for-all” on the fur trade