The new company looked for middlemen to work between the forts along the Hudson Bay and the First Nations people to the west.

Groups that worked with both the French and the British

~ Cree

~ Nakoda

Groups that worked only with the French

~ Anishinabe

~ Canadien coureurs de bois

Once the Ouendent were defeated, New France needed to find new ways to continue with the trading. They established forts between Montréal and the Great Lakes region. They hired men to canoe between each settlement, called voyageurs. These men were an essential part of the French fur trade.

Early on, the French developed strong cross-cultural relationships with the First Nations. This is where the French term métis (mixed) originated.

The British hired many from the Scotland's Orkney Island to travel between their posts and the First Nations. These men were use to Hudson Bay's harsh landscape as it resembled that of their home territory. HBC did not encourage cross-cultural marriages, as did the French, but these relationships emerged all the same.

Read page 118 and 119 as a class

Respond to the questions on page 119 as a class.

Economic competition became a central feature of the fur trade during phase 3, from 1670 to 1760.

1. How did the fur trade help to build connections among diverse people (different cultures)?

2. How did the fur trade create conflicts amongst the diverse peoples?

Based on our lists, do you believe that economic competition made coexistence easier or harder to achieve among diverse peoples?

a) How did geography affect Britain's choice for a fur trade territory for the Hudson's Bay Company? Consider that Britain defined Rupert's Land as the territory containing rivers that drained into Hudson Bay.

b) Why was the connection between the rivers and the bay important?

Answers