Introduction
Fur trade contributed to the colonization of Canada by the Europeans, where Europeans gave their beaver fur, which they used to make hats. It greatly influenced the growth of Canada from then to the present day. This research study aims to discuss the history of the fur trade in Canada and how it has impacted Canada’s social and economic development. The history of the fur trade demonstrates the evolution of the Canadian currency (Canadian dollar), and this study will show how Canada’s economy has grown from the fur trade to the dollar, resulting in Canada’s growth.
History of Fur Trade
The fur trade between the French and indigenous peoples started in Europe in the 17th century. This trade began because of fashion. Europeans wanted to give indigenous people their European goods in exchange for beaver fur, which they used to make men’s hats, which were primarily popular from the 17th century (Carlos & Lewis). French people sold the fur and earned much money. French sent some settlers to Canada as missionaries. They worked to convert more people to Christianity but made money from the fur trade. With time, Britain and France wanted to control the Fur trade, resulting in the beaver conflicts in 1609, which grew to wars in 1640 and ended in 1701. From then on, traders and explorers depended more on knowledge from indigenous people to conduct their trade. This caused them to marry indigenous women to ensure a better trading relationship. Canada’s recognized indigenous people are called Métis (Podruchny, 2017). These were the offspring resulting from this intermarriage.
After a few decades, Britain gained control of the fur trade. It created essential companies such as the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company, which are fundamental fur companies. This created a path to the Canadian dollar, which was gradual and steady. As the fur trade developed and expanded, the Canadian dollar was eventually established in the early 1790s (Zown, 2023). This was introduced as the Halifax Merchant’s Token, whose value was alongside the British pound, contributing more to the growth of the Canadian dollar. The Canadian province was created in 1847 (Zown, 2023). In the Canadian province, there was a combination of the Canadian Indigenous and British people who had formed more excellent links and relationships from this trade.
The growth of HBC occurred due to the death of Cree fur wholesale suppliers. The dominance of this company was limited to a fur trading environment and was keener on maintaining sustainability. With this, they mostly discouraged the traders from engaging in unethical activities. HBC also used monopoly power to lower fur prices for their benefit (Hageman & Galoustian, 2021). At some point, the fur trade was made mainly by exchanging other products such as clothes, meat, and other items from European countries. Indigenous people were still unaware of the value of money, which caused most of them to choose between specific products. For example, they believed meat was better than potatoes and leather was better than fabric (Hageman & Galoustian, 2021). The price of fur went up until the 1930s, when it fell, just like the prices of other products.
Social Impact of Fur Trade in Canada
The fur trade caused the exploration and colonization of Canada, which caused much interaction between Canadians and other states. Eventually, the behavior and practices of the naïve people changed. The fur trade also caused the spread of guns and alcohol in Canada. This caused many changes in the indigenous communities in Canada because their behavior started changing against their culture and norms (Zown, 2023). The behavior of indigenous people was demoralizing the society’s cultural practices. In most cases, the fur trade helped promote peace between European Colonists and the indigenous people, even with the conflicts. This relationship developed to a point where there were deeper interactions, like marriages between the indigenous people and colonists.
Before the fur trade in Canada, Native North Americans had a different perception of the fur trade, where they took their enemies and kept them as subordinate people instead of killing them. In this case, they gave them up to other communities in Canada while making alliances (Miller, 2018). In other cases, they adopted their enemies as deceased relatives and made them do things their deceased ones would do. Nevertheless, the start of the slave trade led to the rise of a different idea of slavery, where enslaved people were used in exchange for beaver pelts. The Canadians could also develop expensive networks with other nations, similar to its Colonists who developed expensive networks due to the slave trade.
Fur trade caused a significant change in the daily experiences of indigenous people in Canada. Before the fur trade, indigenous people in Canada depended on hunting and gathering to get food and conservation to keep food items for seasons that were not favorable for growth. With the introduction of the fur trade in Canada, the indigenous people abandoned their old ways. They became more dependent on trading to acquire European food and firearms in exchange for beaver fur (Canada History, n.d.). Fur trade caused most indigenous people to use most of their time to hunt for the beaver, which they would use to trade for better things like food and clothing from Europeans. For that reason, their time was mostly spent on hunting beavers rather than for their food so that they could acquire food and other products they wished to get from Europeans.
Interactions between countries will always cause changes in the interests and behavior of the people, which is what was experienced in Canada. With time after the fur trade began, indigenous people experienced many changes in preferences and interests because of their interactions with Europeans. For instance, the indigenous people previously practiced animism, believing that all things had equal spirituality such that both people and objects had the same spirituality (Canada History, n.d.). In this practice, the native people believed they had no dominion over plants or the land; hence, they preserved their land for thousands of years until Europeans went to North America and the fur trade began. Fur trade caused the introduction of Christianity because European catholic missionaries were mainly everyday in North America, and they actively participated in converting pagans to Christianity. Indigenous people had to change their behavior to fit in with the Europeans.
The presence of nomadic movement of the Native people as they transported fur to trade with colonialists contributed to the transformation of their behavior. After the natives discovered the fur trade, they started looking for a market to sell the fur, and this caused them to travel long distances in the hope of selling the fur in exchange for European products (Canada History, n.d.). These nomadic movements caused increased interactions, hence changes from what they previously practiced to adopting new behaviors.
Fur trade caused the spread of contagious diseases (tuberculosis and influenza), especially when new behaviors such as slavery, sexual interactions, and alcohol consumption were introduced in North America. (Pepperell et al., 2011). It caused numerous deaths, and the population of native people decreased.
Economic Impact of Fur Trade in Canada
The fur trade revolved a lot around Canada’s economic growth. The native people developed a different understanding of their economy, such that they stopped thinking about shared food and items and believed more in making profits (Miller, 2018). This means that the native people started dividing the hunting grounds they previously shared. Now, everyone had their grounds where they would hunt the beavers and sell them to make money. The Native people also started competing, and with time, the concept of wealth became more common. The people understood better that the more beavers they hunted, the more money they made, and this caused a decrease in the beaver population.
The increase in fur trade in North America caused intense competition among the native people and other nations. It caused North America to be open to exploration and new settlements. The trade financed many missionary activities in Canada, and with this, there were a lot of colonial relationships between the European states and the indigenous people. European states wanted to take control of this trade to acquire the wealth Canada had at that moment. A few years after the start of the fur trade, numerous traders were flocking to the North American market (Miller, 2018). Therefore, the native people developed numerous economic networks that helped develop new currencies and Canada’s economy. There needed to be more reasoning that the lack of sustainability in hunting the beaver fur would cause a reduced population of the beavers, which it did. However, since the native people now understood how business worked and had a currency to work on, it was easier to start other businesses that flourished.
Conclusion
The fur trade between the indigenous people and the Europeans began in North America and has led to the growth and development of Canada. The fur trade has also caused the development of the Canadian currency and relations with other nations. The culture and behavior of indigenous people were greatly affected by the fur trade, which caused the degradation of their morals.
References
Canada History, (n.d.). Effects of the Fur Trade. Retrieved from Canada History Project: https://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1500/1500-13-effects-fur-trade.html#:~:text=The%20Indigenous%20peoples%20became%20dependent,they%20had%20in%20the%20past.
Carlos, A. M., & Lewis, F. D. (n.d.). The Economic History of the Fur Trade: 1670 to 1870. Economic History Association.
Hageman, A., & Galoustian, P. (2021). Chapter 7: Economics for the Fur Trade. In ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE INDIGENOUS EXPERIENCE IN CANADA. Queens University.
Miller, J. R. (2018). Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens: A history of native-newcomer relations in Canada. London: University of Toronto Press.
Pepperell, C. S. et al. (2011). Dispersal of Mycobacterium tuberculosis via the Canadian fur trade. PNAS, 108(16). doi:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1016708108
Podruchny, C. (2017). Tough Bodies, Fast Paddles, Well-Dressed Wives: Measuring Manhood among French-Canadian and Métis Voyageurs in the North American Fur Trade.
Zown. (2023). The Evolution of the Canadian Dollar: From Fur Trade to Global Currency. Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-canadian-dollar-from-fur-trade-global-currency-zowncanada
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