Canadian Fur Trade1
The Canadian fur trade, which grew out of the fishing industry, began as a small business, but would expand and become not only the exploiter of a primary Canadian resource, but the industry around which the country of Canada itself developed. The fur trade started shortly after the discovery of the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland. The fishermen who fished there were the first people who traded furs with the Indians; this trade was a secondary means of profit for the fishermen. Later this secondary industry became a profitable big business due to changes in European fashion, and fashion techniques. While the fur trade brought economic growth and land discoveries, it developed its very own complex trading network throughout the wild, which laid the groundwork for a nation both geographically and financially. The Europeans and the Natives were both instrumental participants in the growth of the fur trade, but the fur trade had its ill effects on these two cultures. The fur trade not only negatively affected Native and settler life, but also had negative ecological effects, particularly on the beaver. The beaver flourished until the fur traders came after them. Because of the land discoveries and the profit made
Is it more accurate to claim that the fur trade was the destruction of a nation or the birth of one? Although the fur trade is seen as the base upon which Canada was built, it is also seen as an instrument of destruction for the culture of the Canadian Natives and a threat to an ecological balance among the fur-bearing wild life. Eccles, W. J. The Canadian Frontier 1524-1760 and Canadian Society During the French Regime . Toronto: U of T Press, 1983. In order for a company to start a trading post in Canada it needed permission from the Crown. In granting the permission the Crown would usually give a monopoly over specific trade, in a certain area. Such a monopoly, however, did not come without conditions. Those investors who joined together to form trusts and companies were obliged to aid in the colonization of the new land. In order to maintain the monopoly, certain quotas of settlers had to be met, or the monopoly was rendered void ; and there was always another company or trust with new promises willing to take over the monopoly. Failure to meet the settlers' quota occurred because the companies were primarily interested in the fur trade, and not in the development of colonies. Kresh, Shepard, III. Indians, Animals, and the Fur Trade: A Critique of Keepers of the Game. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1981.
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Approximate Word count = 3002
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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