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Time Line - A Brief History of the Fur
Trade
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The
fur trade in North America began almost as soon
as Europeans began their explorations of the
North American mainland. This is a brief
description of the most significant events in the
250 years during which the fur trade flourished.
This period of time can be roughly divided into
three sections, the "French
Era" from 1600 to 1760. The "British Era" from
1760 to 1816. And the "American
Era" from 1816 to 1850. By 1850, the fur
trade had mostly come to an end, but not for the
reasons you might assume. You can read through
the events in the order they occurred, or you can
move to a particular period by clicking on the
"Era" that interests you the most.
However, you may have trouble following some
later events if you haven't looked at earlier
ones first. |
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During the
1500's Europeans explored the east cost of mainland North
America. They traded with the natives they met. They
traded knives, hatchets, and beads to the Indians for fur
and meat. Indian trappers brought furs from the interior
to the St. Lawrence River and traded there for
manufactured goods from Europe. These goods included iron
tools, wool blankets, colorful cloth, and guns.
- 1608
- Samuel Champlain made the first
planned move into the interior of mainland
America. He sent Etiene Brule to
live with the Huron Indians, to
learn their language and trade routes. Champlain
was the first to realize the great trade
potential of the birch bark canoe.
- 1618
- Etiene Brule arrived at the eastern end of Lake
Superior. He may have reached the
western shores as well. He was on a quest for a
route to the Far East. He was one of the first to
search for the North West Passage
to the Far East.
- 1634
- Jean Nicolet traveled through
the Great Lakes to Green Bay on what is now Lake
Michigan. He claimed all the land in this area
for France.
By
the 1630's furs were regularly leaving New France for
Europe. These furs were mainly supplied by Indian
traders, especially the Huron and Ottawa tribes. In
Wisconsin the Winnebago tribes blocked the fur trade
routes. They were attacked and defeated by the Ottawa and
Huron. New tribes such as the Sauk, Fox, Potawatomi, and
Ojibwe began moving into the area that is now Wisconsin.
- 1659
- Radisson and Grosseiliers made
an unlicensed trip into the interior. They built
a trading post at Chequamagon Bay on Lake
Superior and claimed to have found a portage into
the west. Could this have been Grand
Portage?
- 1667
- Members of many tribes were settling around
Chequamagon Bay on Lake Superior.
- 1670
- The Hudson Bay Co. was
chartered. They claimed all the lands that
drained into Hudson Bay as their trading area.
Their post were located on Hudson Bay and the
Indians brought their furs there.
About
this time the Dakota Sioux attacked and
drove the Huron and Ottawa
out of the western Great Lakes. After this time many
Frenchmen moved into the region and began trading
directly with the Indians.
- 1673
- Marquette and Joliet used the
Fox and Wisconsin rivers to reach the
Mississippi. After this the Fox and Wisconsin
Rivers became a major transportation route to the
western trading regions.
- 1679
- Daniel Greysolon, Sieur
Du Luth used the Savannah Portage to
reach the interior of Minnesota and Mille Lac. He
claimed all the lands for France. He returned to
Lake Superior and traveled up the northwest shore
and built a post on the Kaministikquai River.
The
Ojibwe were moving from eastern Lake
Superior to the area around Chequamagon. They took the
place of the departed Huron and Ottawa.
They even allied themselves with the Dakota
with whom they traded goods.
- 1682
- La Salle traveled through the
Great Lakes and down the Mississippi to its
delta. He claimed all the lands drained by the
Mississippi and its tributaries for France.
- 1689
- War broke out between France and England.
It interrupted trade as far west as Minnesota.
- 1696
- By Royal Edict, New France closed all its
western fur posts. Trade was officially
abandoned for 20 years. Illegal traders kept up
their operations, however.
- 1712
- Wars with the Fox Indians began.
The Fox closed the trading route of the Fox and
Wisconsin Rivers. Trade throughout the upper
Mississippi region was disrupted.
- 1730
- The Fox Wars ended. The Fox
had nearly been exterminated by the French and
their Indian allies. The trade routes reopened,
but changes had occurred. Indian middlemen
traders were eliminated. Trade goods were carried
west by licensed traders and brought directly to
the Indians.
The
truce between the Ojibwe and Dakota
was broken. The Dakota had previously allowed the Ojibwe
to hunt on their lands and in exchange the Dakota had
allowed trade goods to travel through to the Ojibwe. Now
the Dakota had direct access to the trade goods and no
longer needed the Ojibwe. An attempt was made to push the
Ojibwe off Dakota lands, but within 50 years the Ojibwe
succeeded in driving the Dakota out of their eastern
woodlands.
- 1754
- The French and Indian War began.
Trade was interrupted. Most of the licensed
traders and their voyageurs were called east to
fight the British.
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- 1760
- New France was conquered by the British.
All trading rights and privileges became British.
Furs were now sent to London instead of Paris and
most trade goods were supplied through London
Agents.
- 1762
- France ceded all of its lands west of the
Mississippi to Spain.
- 1763
- Britain tried several different
arrangements to control the fur trade - imperial
control, limiting trade to only five posts, and
exclusive licensing. In spite of this, unlicensed
traders continued to operate.
- 1765
- Alexander Henry received
exclusive rights to trade on Lake Superior. He
and his partner, Jean Baptiste Cadotte,
built a post at Chequamagon and sent outfits into
the Fon du Lac region.
- 1766
- Johnathon Carver traveled west
in search of the North West passage.
- 1767
- Trade regulations were returned to the
colonies, exclusive licenses were
abolished. The start of unregulated trade
increased the use of liquor in the fur trade.
British traders were allowed to establish
wintering posts amongst the Indians. Construction
began on permanent structures at Grand
Portage.
- 1774
- The Quebec Act became law. The
western Great Lakes and all land north of the
Ohio River became part of Quebec and subject to
its laws and regulations. Green Bay and Prairie
du Chein became interior trading centers. Traders
started to exploit the region northwest of Grand
Portage, but cut-throat competition
reduced the profits. Small partnerships were
formed to avoid or oppose the competition. The American
Revolution caused some traders to avoid
areas south and west of the Great Lakes and
encouraged them to go north and west. Hudson Bay
Company built a post on the Saskatchewan River.
- 1778-79
- First agreements were made between partners that
would become the North West Company,
the first joint stock company in Canada and
possibly North America. Peter Pond traveled to
the Athabaska where he gathered so many furs he
was forced to leave some behind. Generally
throughout the 1770's fur trade was centered
around the large posts. The Dakota and Ojibwe
were fighting for control of the St. Croix Valley
so traders avoided those areas.
- 1782
- The Dakota no longer had any villages north of
St. Anthony Falls. A small pox epidemic
killed thousands throughout the
Northwest.
- 1784
- In January the North West Company was
formed. There were 16 shares in the
company. Simon McTavish and the
Frobisher brothers hold six shares. The first
meeting of the Montreal partners and their
winterers was held that summer at Grand Portage.
Grand Portage was to be the company's rendezvous
point for the next 20 years.
The
Treaty of Versailles had ended the
American Revolution the year before but caused severe
problems for the new North West Company. Some of the
partners left the company forming the General Company of
Lake Superior and the South.
- 1786
- The North West Company increased its shares to
20.
- 1787
- The Beaver Club was formed. It
was a very selective social organization of men
who had wintered in Indian country. There were 19
original members. The Hudson Bay Company built
more posts in the interior because furs were
being taken at the Indian camps by the North West
Company.
- 1789
- Alexander Mackenzie searched for the
North West Passage and instead reached
the Arctic Ocean. Simon McTavish tried to lease
transportation rights through Hudson Bay but was
refused. The North West Trading Company began
construction of trading boats on the Great Lakes.
Jean Baptiste Perrault entered the Fon du Lac
with six other traders in a two-year partnership.
They built posts on the St. Louis River, Leech
Lake, Pine Lake and Otter Tail Lake. John Sayer
joined a one-year partnership and built a post on
the St. Louis River.
- 1791
- Alexander Henry sent a group of
traders into the northern war zone between the
Ojibwe and Dakota. The first year they traded at
Leech Lake and the following year at Red River.
They went north and then back to Grand Portage.
- 1793
- Alexander Mackenzie successfully crossed
the continent to the Pacific Ocean. The
route that he had discovered was so bad that it
was little used in the future.
- 1794
- Discontent among the winterers of the North West
Company due to small shares and poor trade goods
caused the company to increase shares to its
winterers and made clerks eligible for
partnership. Jay's Treaty gave
reciprocal trading rights to British and American
traders, each were allowed to cross the border to
trade on the other's territory. The treaty also
opened New York for direct shipment of furs from
Detroit and Michilimackinac. John Jacob Astor
became involved in the fur trade.
- 1795
- During this time Alexander Mackenzie broke from
the North West Company over bad feelings with
McTavish. Mackenize did not agree with some of
the policies of McTavish. Subsequently the
XY Company formed from several existing
companies. McTavish ordered all his departments
to undersell the XY traders. This in turn
increased the use of rum, tobacco, blue or red
laced and braided coats which the chiefs desired
and the practice of trading with the Indians
during drinking bouts.
- 1799
- Alexander Mackenzie joined the XY Company.
- 1800
- The North West Company operated 117
trading posts.
- 1803
- The Americans purchased the Louisiana
territory from the French. The Lewis
and Clark expedition left in search of a
passage to the Pacific Coast.
- 1804
- Simon McTavish died.
Consolidation talks between North West Company
and XY Company begin.
- 1808
- The American Fur Company was formed by
J.J. Astor.
- 1811
- The South West Company was formed by J.J. Astor
and the head of the North West Company William
McGillivray.
- 1812
- The war between England and the United
States disrupted trade all across the continent.
The North West Company began operations on the
Columbia River of the Pacific Northwest.
- 1815
- The War of 1812 ended. The
United States took back lands that had been
occupied by the British, but tensions still
continued. After this the United States forbid
any foreign traders to operate in American
territory. The North West Company withdrew.
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- 1816
- By Congressional Act, the United States
forbid foreigners to trade on US soil.
The American Fur Co. hired ex-North West traders
to work for them. A border war began between the
North West Co. and the American Fur Co.. The old
Fon du Lac District was renamed the Northern
Outfit.
- 1818
- John Sayer's old clerk, Joseph La Prairie began
working for the American Fur Co. He continued
working for them until 1821.
- 1821
- The North West Co. and the Hudson Bay Co.
merged under the name Hudson Bay Co. A
major factor in the decision to merge was the
high transportation costs shipping through the
Great Lakes. In addition, the Hudson Bay Co.
charter had stronger legal backing to right of
land by discovery than the partnership claims of
the North West Co. After this time, most trade
goods were shipped through Hudson Bay for the
interior posts. The border war still continued
between the Hudson Bay Co. and the American Fur
Co. It did not end until 1833 when the American
Fur Co. abandoned its posts along the border in
exchange for an annual cash payment from Hudson
Bay.
- 1824
- Trade in the Snake River area was described as
very poor, but trade licenses continued to be
issued until the late 1830's.
- 1834
- American Fur Co. was reorganized. Ramsey Crooks
now operated the company. American Fur had a
monopoly in the Fon du Lac, but due to expenses,
cut the number of its posts in the region by
half.
- 1836
- Missionaries arrived at Lake Pokegama.
- 1837
- The Ojibwe signed a treaty giving the
Folle Avoine to the United States. The
Ojibwe were supposed to move to the Crow Wing
River. However, some family groups remained in
the St. Croix Valley. Lumbering started in the
St. Croix Valley. The Northern Outfit was
reorganized and Dr. Charles W. W. Borup
supervised the area from La Pointe.
- 1838
- The annuity payment time from the Hudson
Bay Co. was now more important that the fall
hunting and trapping period. The
American Fur Co. received $3,500 of the $4,700
given to the Ojibwe.
- 1840
- The post at Lake Pokegama was sold to a
government sponsored farmer. The Ojibwe
in the area are divided, some retaining
traditional life styles, others adopting the
agricultural life style recommended by the
missionaries.
- 1842
- American Fur Co. fails financially
and is replaced by Pierre Chouteau and Co. of St.
Louis. Ramsey Crooks kept control of the Northern
Outfit, but now traded with both Indians and
whites. The white population was rapidly
increasing in the St. Croix Valley. Trade
companies invested in lumbering, banking, general
merchandising, steamboats and land speculation.
- 1843
- The Northern Outfit was falling apart. Many
independent traders entered the area and Henry
Sibley sent traders in from the south.
- 1847
- Henry Rice moved into Ojibwe territory.
He as supplied by Henry Sibley. His
"Chippewa Outfit" took many employees
from Borup and the Northern Outfit.
- 1849
- The Northern Outfit was sold to Borup who renamed
it the Northern Fur Co.. Borup later merged with
the Chippewa Outfit. Arguments between Rice and
Sibley ended with Rice leaving and Borup left in
charge of the "Minnesota Outfit".
- 1850
- The beaver hat was now out of fashion in Europe,
signaling the end of the fur trade.
- 1854
- Lake Superior Ojibwe sign a treaty
creating reservations in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
- 1858
- Minnesota statehood.
- 1867
- Canadian confederation.
The
fur trade slowly collapsed. The trade had only worked
when the Indians had control of the land. The fur trade
did not die entirely from a lack of furs. Furs had become
hard to find at a number of times during the fur trade
era. The lack of Indians available to assist with
trapping and maintaining the trading system was perhaps
as important. The change in fashion to the silk hat in
Europe was the final blow.
With the end of the fur trade era, many traders
entered the new businesses of real estate, lumbering,
mining or railroading. Some continued to operate small
stores in Indian communities.
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