French vs. British Fur Trade

Information directly from a website created by my peers and I: http://interestsinthefurtrade.weebly.com/britain-fur-trade.html

The British Fur Trade
Their Goal
The British, unlike the French, weren't really interested in creating a colony in North America. In 1670, the English king decided to grant a charter for control of the fur trade to the Hudson's Bay Company. The English had one goal, and that was to make money. This goal, affected the relationship between the English fur traders and First Nations trappers. The competition between the English and the French, came to an abrupt stop in 1760, when New France became under control of the British. 

Why choose the Hudson Bay?
The English built all of their forts along the shore of the Hudson Bay, but why?

• The Hudson Bay was close to the fur supply of the northern forests. Furs in the northern area are much better because animals grow the thickest fur in the coldest climates.
• Many rivers flow into the bay. The rivers provided good transportation routes for the First Nation trappers.
• Many large supply ships could deliver supplies directly to the English Forts. The French route was much longer, as the ships had to cross the sea to Montreal, and a journey by canoe to reach the furs. The Hudson's Bay Company could get furs to the English in one year, while it would take the French two.

Important People - Isabel Gunn
John Scarth, Isabel Gunn's boyfriend, traveled from Scotland to Canada to work for the Hudson's Bay Company. Isabel decided to follow him in 1806. Women were forbid to work for the company, so Isabel had to disguise herself as John Fubbister. She worked for the company for two years, performing all the duties expected of the men at the fort. "John" was never suspected as a women, until she gave birth to a baby. The baby was the first non-aboriginal child born in the Northwest. Afterwards, Isabel reunited with her boyfriend in Grandes Fourches. Later on, she worked at the Hudson's Bay Company for another year, when she took her baby to a post on Hudson Bay. In that year, she took in the laundry, and after returned home to Scotland. 



The French Fur Trade
The French Fur Trade was one of the most efficient industries in North America. It played a very important role in the development of Canada for 300 years. One of the first fur trades started with the French explorers and fisherman coming to what is now Eastern Canada. They arrived in the early 1500's. The fur trade initially started when the French came to land and gave the First Nation's kettles, knives, and other gifts to establish peace. In return, they gave the French pelts. This had started the fur trade. By the late 1500's the fur trade had spread all over Europe. In 1607, the french explorer, Samuel de Champlain created a trading post in what is now Quebec. Slowly, the French expanded their fur trading business all along St. Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. Eventually, the French had dominated most of the fur trade in what became Canada. 

Economy
Foundation of Economy
The foundation of the Fur Trade economy started with the coureurs de bois. These men spend their money in the shops. These shop owners used the money they made to buy food from the farmers. The money that the farmers got was put towards buying services from the barrel maker or other services. In this way or another, the buying, selling, trading spread all over the french colony. The Fur Trade was the main foundation of economy in these days. 

The King and the Economy
The King had a very important role in the economy of New France. He collected the profits that went to the colony so it could expand and benefit. He appointed the certain people that carried all this demands to the colony.

Economy Development 
The economic development grew because of the coureurs de bois. They could travel in peace because of the Peace they had committed to. They collected furs from the Montagnais and the Odwa, they traded with other First Nations. The beaver population began to decrease which resulted in the French expanding further out in search of more beavers. Other than the fur trade, the French adapted to more industries like fishing and the French navy.

How was Britain's interest in the fur trade different from France?

The British didn't care about creating colonies, all they wanted was to make money. They were focused on creating the fastest routes for trading, and investing their money. Unlike the British, France focused on establishing colonies. Britain and France had very different goals they wanted to achieve from the fur trade. France wasn't interested in spending a lot of money on it's North American colonies, instead their main priority was to collect furs and many other natural resources. France only recommended Catholics to travel and live in New France. This is because most of the people in France were also catholic. Catholic priests, nuns, and missionaries traveled to New France to take care of the children of colonists, teach in schools, running hospitals. They also held religious services and cared for the poor. The most important goal of the Church was to get other to believe in their faith, their version of the story. They thought that if they only allowed Catholics into New France, everyone would be committed and could spread their faith to make their community larger. Britain on the other hand, invested a lot of money to support its overseas colonies. The British also wanted to establish an empire, but for different reasons. They believed that having more land meant more power, and that is the only reason why they expanded to North America. To be on the top of the European power pyramid.