HIST 3711: Unit 1 Commerce & Alliances

Economic - Eastern Woodlands

• Fur Trade: Wendat became middlemen, trading pelts for European goods (metal tools and firearms) - alliance with the Algonquin (hunter-gatherer that focused on trapping animals) - Five Nations allied with Dutch later British in fur trade

• Mohawk men: highly sought-after in bc skills in canoeing, trapping, martial abilities​ - high paying fur trade contracts - cultural motives (rite of passage to prove their warrior status​​) - ​ - militarization of fur trade - part of fur trade wars (XY vs NWC…NWC vs HBC)

• Agriculture: Wendat and Five Nations - "Three Sisters" (corn, beans, squash)

Economic - Northern Lowlands (HBC) & Integration with Plains & Eastern Woodlands (Zones)

• Swampy Cree: middlemen - transporting furs to HBC’s York Factory - river trade systems - Canoe faced hazards (freeze-up) on rivers made it harder for other groups to directly trade

• Zone I: Swampy Cree and Home Guard Indians traded directly

• Zone II: Middleman trade dominated by the Cree and Nakoda, involving intertribal and intratribal exchange

• Zone III: Indirect trade with distant groups (Blackfoot) who relied on middlemen

• Nakoda & Cree traded with the French after La Verendrye's efforts in the 1720s - controlled flow of fur to English & French posts

Economic - Plains

• Atsina: Early horse traders in the northern plains weakened by smallpox & Cree

• Fur Trade: Plains Cree & Nakoda (middlemen), Blackfoot, Dane-zaa (Fort Rocky Mountain) relied on bison for food and trade - introduction of horses and firearms allowed large-scale hunting

• Pemmican Trade: Métis key suppliers - vital for fur brigades in the West

• Mandan-Hidatsa Villages: Principal trade hub on the Plains, specializing in corn farming - weakened after the European trade's influence & smallpox epidemics (1830s)

Economic - Pacific Northwest

• Fishing and Whaling: salmon and sea mammals

• Maritime Fur Trade: extensive coastal trade with sea otter pelts - part of emerging Pacific Rim economy (globalism) - Leaders Wickaninnish (Clayoquot Sound) and Maquinna (Nootka Sound) controlled trade with European maritime traders - wealth & status

• Interior: Extensive pre-contact trade routes that fur trade routes based on - salmon & fish grease

Principal Indigenous Alliances (ca. 1500–1850) - 4

• Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Five Nations): A dominant military and political alliance. They controlled the fur trade, engaged in the Beaver Wars to secure territory and captives, and signed the Great Peace of Montreal (1701).

• Wendat Confederacy: Allied with Algonquin and French - weakened by smallpox and internal fractures - disbanded after Haudenosaunee attacks in 1649

• Council of Three Fires (Anishinaabe): Odawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi - united for defense, trade, and diplomacy - Great Lakes

• Iron Confederacy (Cree and Nakoda): coalition dominated the fur trade, pemmican production, and bison hunting. After acquiring horses and guns, they held significant military power - fragile temporary alliance with Blackfoot - overhunting bison

Social and Military Alliances Between Indigenous and European Peoples

• Intermarriage: Strengthened social and economic bonds, creating Métis communities.

• Diplomatic Adoption: Strengthened alliances through incorporation of European traders into Indigenous kinship systems.

• Missionaries: Jesuits facilitated alliances by acting as intermediaries in the fur trade - introduced patriarchal norms (stricter divorce law)

• Gift-Giving: Ceremonial exchanges - French and Wendat - symbolized social obligations and reciprocity beyond economic transactions

Commercial and Political Goals - Eastern Woodlands

• Commercial Goals: Dominate the fur trade by controlling key trade routes and exchanging agricultural surpluses with hunter-gatherer groups - suppress Fox/French alliance

• Political Goals: maintain military dominance (alliances with French & English)

Commercial and Political Goals - Plains

• Commercial Goals: Cree & Nakoda access to European technology advantage allowed them to extend their influence far inland - competition for resources fueled intertribal warfare

• Political Goals: Secure bison-rich territories and form military alliances like the Iron Confederacy

• 1795 Fort Edmonton Impact: direct access to European goods in Plains - less depended on Cree for guns - Cree-Blackfoot alliance unraveled in 1806

• Battle of Belly River (1870): pursuing declining bison herds (Cypress Hills) to rebuild post epidemics & trade - likely last major intertribal conflict conflict in North America - Blackfoot weaken from smallpox and Cree took advantage but lost - peace after

Commercial and Political Goals - Northern Lowlands

• Commercial Goals: Supply furs to HBC posts and demand quality goods.

• Political Goals: Maintain strategic alliances with HBC and rival trading companies.

Commercial and Political Goals - Pacific

• Trade Empires: Nootka Sound (Maquinna) - Clayoquot Sound (Wickaninish) - controlled trade to enhance their status, wealth - power through access to foreign goods

• Native-White Tensions: misunderstood Native protocols like gift-giving causing friction - Mutual suspicion & violence - eg. Episodes of Native theft from vessels -  Captain Gray distrusted Wickaninish (possibly justified as he may have wanted to steal ships) & destroying village (deserted at the time) - continued trade bc many furs but area volatile

• Battle of Woody Point 1811: possibly started after mistreatment of Indian elder - natives attacked killing some crew - ship explosion caused Natives deaths when were looting it

• Wickaninish: Monopoly controlling who traded with Europeans influence other chiefs to gain more control

• Inter-tribal conflict: Barkley Sound (late 1700s-mid 1800s) hypothesize maritime fur trade was one of the principal factors - depopulation likely warfare than disease  

Changes in Social and Gender Roles - Eastern Woodlands

• Matrilineal Societies: Women held political authority - select leaders (Iroquois & Wendat)

• European Contact: patriarchal norms with Jesuits with context of smallpox leading to societies in crisis resulted in reducing women’s influence (less leaders to choose chiefs and decision-making)

Changes in Social and Gender Roles - Plains

• Shift in Men’s Roles: Introduction of horses and mounted warfare elevated men’s roles in hunting for pelts & conflict - leadership more specialized - skilled as public speaking, providers, warriors - gained prestige through acts of courage - “counting coup” during raids

• Women’s Economic Roles: roles were reinforced in the production of goods - processing pelts, pemmican, clothing, tipis - essential for supporting trade and survival​

Changes in Social and Gender Roles - Northern Lowlands

Women’s Contributions: Played central roles in fur processing and trade. Intermarriage with European traders strengthened alliances.

Changes in Social and Gender Roles - Pacific

Gender Roles in Trade: Men hunted and traded sea otter pelts, while women prepared furs and crafted essential goods.

Impact of the Columbian Exchange - Eastern Woodlands

• Livestock: pigs disrupted Indigenous farming

• Diseases: smallpox decimated populations in mid 17th century (Wendat & Five Nations - Mourning Wars - Factions placing blame on perpetrator of smallpox)

• Logging: impacted ecosystems - Maliseet poverty

Impact of the Columbian Exchange - Plains

• Horses & Guns: 1730 the shift to bison hunting bc favorable to flat Plains landscape unlike rest of Canada- development of mounted societies - revolutionized hunting and warfare - affected inter-tribal dynamics

• Overhunting bison: affected ecosystem, extinction widespread poverty & starvation - TB & Canada leveraging aid to sign treaties/control population

• Smallpox epidemics: destabilized social structures (Atsina, Mandan trade villages, Blackfoot & Cree dynamic) - later TB - fueled by CPR (Russian Flu Pandemic)

Impact of the Columbian Exchange - Northern Lowlands

• Overhunting beavers disrupted ecosystems - European goods like guns and tools transformed hunting practices

Impact of the Columbian Exchange - Pacific

• Sea Otter: hunting disrupted marine ecosystems

• Guns: shifted power dynamics

• Trade: introduced new wealth disparities

• Smallpox: Coast Salish

Historiographical Debates on Indigenous Commerce, Conflict, and Alliances

• Indigenous Involvement in Commerce: passive participants in European-driven commerce vs actively shaped trade relationships and used them to strengthen alliances.

• Nature of Alliances: Alliances were primarily military or economic vs also having cultural, spiritual, and social dimensions, involving intermarriage, rituals, and gift-giving.

• Causes of Conflicts: Focused on trade dominance vs cultural motivations (Mourning Wars to rebuild populations)

• Impact of the Fur Trade: Led to dependency on European goods and cultural decline vs adapted, maintaining cultural sovereignty while engaging in trade

• Historical Sources: European accounts, often biased vs oral histories/recognize European bias

Home Guards

• Indigenous groups living near fur trade posts to maintained close relationships with European traders & control access to traders from other groups

• First access to European trade goods

• Provided essential goods like food & protection

• concede that Anglo-Europeans ability to trade was limited

Explain the causes and importance of the Mourning Wars to the Indigenous from Great Lakes to the Gaspé.

• Spiritual tradition: to process grief (avenge &/or captives) - adoptions to replace deceased members with practice of requickening ceremonies - reinforced group cohesion - young men to gain prestige (marriage/leadership)

• Mid 17th Century Smallpox: change to rebuild numbers with a less traditional cultural role

• 1609 Champlain: alliances with the Wendat & Algonquin - commerce was conditional on being involved pre-contact conflict - ambush on Five Nations put French in direct conflict (eg. Indigenous diplomatic and military goals take precedence)

What role did smallpox play in the societies of the Haudenosaunee and Wendat?

• Virgin-soil epidemics: halved population - reliance on larger scale mourning wars - killing present & future leaders - disease target people prime physical health - sick for long periods affecting farming, trading - society in crisis (demographic & miliary pressures)

• Five Nations: by 1700 a lot were adoptees & pop. declined - increased successful French invasions & lack support from Britain - War would be disastrous - conflict till Great Peace of Montreal of 1701 ended Beaver Wars - factions (lack of strong leadership - power vacuum  -  wanting stay w/ English or peace w/ French) 

• Wendat: Factions - Christianity attractive (baptism as solution) vs some blame Jesuits for epidemic - headmen w/ differing sides - isolation by traditionalists - Women less influence

According to Noel, in what ways were Haudenosaunee women rendered invisible in the fur trade?

• European: overlooked women's contributions - traders did not directly talk to matrons assuming they had little influence - did not understand it was bc since traders were male, males were sent to talk to them per etiquette 

• Account books: typically women identified as wife/sister/mother of male relative - unnamed even though were active in fur trade 

• Processing Pelts

What does the Sioui and Labelle article reveal about Eastern Woodland alliances?

• Circular society (worldview), valuing cooperation, balance, and interconnectedness -  difference to their advantage - joint ventures in diplomacy, trade and sharing spiritual rituals

• lived in close proximity - Shared winter residency within villages -assistance during conflicts

• Traded surplus in goods from their respective lifestyles

• Fur trade with Europeans strengthened their alliance - Wendat handling diplomatic roles and Algonquians focusing on fur supply.

• Equal delegates to negotiate treaties - Sometimes a single representative of both groups

In what ways do histories of the Mi'gmaq, Maliseet, Beothuk speak to Indigenous people’s agendas? In what ways, according to Nicholas, did settler artists impact the visibility of Indigenous peoples?

• Wabanaki Confederacy: Fought for sovereignty through treaties and alliances - with French relations against British settlement.

• Beothuk Isolation: choice to avoid trade relations with Europeans shows an agenda of preservation of their traditional way of life

• Maliseet Petitions: Highlighted their poverty and dispossession, pushing for recognition of their rights and land.

• Colonial Artists: misrepresenting the Maliseet experience - depicted healthy/well dressed ignoring their poverty, disease, suffering - supported the colonial agenda, not showing victims of dispossession (British North America in positive light bc need for immigrants to solidify British claims in the area - War 1812 - still-undefined border) - contributed to false belief by Europeans they were not in poverty & not take active steps to alleviate it

Why did the Beothuk decide against establishing trade relations with Europeans? Strategies for survival?

• avoided European contact/goods - possibly bc they did not need to being on island could blacksmith European metal goods from seasonally-abandoned fishing sites.

• simplified ecosystem with limited prey spices with seasonal migrations based on resource availability between coast and interior
  

What factors contributed to the collapse of the Beothuk population?

• Lack of peaceful medium: missionaries, Indian agents, fur traders - withdraw in 17th

• Late 18th - pushed/struggled in interior (lack of resources) - relying almost entirely on caribou - year round - not enough animals skins to clothe a child properly - lost access to coast for sea food bc permanent European settlements (completing for resources & strategy of withdraw)

• Lack of Contact with other groups: less trade and inter-marry - reduced gene pool

• Micmac expansion: South NFL - cut off from key food resources 

• Occasional Ambushes: By Europeans

• Governor: tried to establish “peaceful” communication to trade by taking a captive who was returned with gifts - unsuccessful to come out of hiding- 19th century extinction

In what ways have the histories of the Beothuk been made useful to the colonial narrative?

• Misplaced blame: Early British officials blamed the French (false bounties) and Micmacs for the extermination

• Casting them as “outsiders.” - last Beothuk died in the early 19th century - near-invisibility became an asset to storytellers among the newcomers - myth of Beothuk as non-Indigenous supported European justification for dispossession

In what ways were Micmac economic strategies impacted by the arrival of Europeans?

• Shift to European Goods: Engaged in fur trade with French and Basque traders, gaining metal tools and other items - still Micmac continued to rely on traditional subsistence ways

• French Alliances: pivotal in defense of Acadia and resisted British imperialism - piracy
  

According to Patterson, what did Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik negotiators hope to get out of treaties in the eighteenth century?

• assert their rights to land and resources, peaceful co-existence, trade benefits with British after conflicts - Dummers War 1722-1725 (encroachment around modern-day Maine), Mi'Kmaq War (1749-1755) (encroachment Nova Scotia & did not want to what happened in Maine) shortly before French and Indian War (1754-1763) supposed start in Ohio Valley & “seven years war” - piracy throughout the century

• Treaty 1760-1761: peace and friendship agreements after the British victory - British sought treaties to secure mutual non-aggression in the face of French rivalry  

• Included provisions for trade regulation and cooperation, but did not cede land - formalized British trade monopolies with the Wabanaki and acknowledged Indigenous sovereignty over their lands.

What various roles were played by different Indigenous groups in the network of commerce associated with the “fur trade”?

• Trappers & Transporters: used canoes to transport from inland territories to Hudson's Bay​

• Middlemen: Cree and Nakoda controlled the flow of furs from other Indigenous groups like the Mandan and Blackfoot to European posts​

• Customers: Indigenous groups traded furs for European goods (guns, blankets, metal tools, jewelry)

Describe the different perspectives taken by Carlos/Lewis and Ray/Freeman on the other as regards economic motivations among Indigenous traders? To what extent was the profit motive a factor?

• Gift-giving central element of Indigenous trade

• Backward Sloping Supply Curve: not focused on profit maximation

• Quality Expectations: demanded high-quality goods - compared French and English goods, pressuring both European groups to maintain quality standards - eg. French goods bought to HBC posts - HBC had difficulty raising prices on higher quality as Indigenous expected better goods for the same price.

• Goods: Producer goods (tools for acquiring food) were the largest category of trade goods -  Guns ($$$), powder, knives, ice chisels & twine (to hunt not guns bc holes in fur) - fish hooks, hatchets, and scrapers; Household goods (blankets, kettles, awls); shifts towards more Other luxury goods (beads, cloth, needles) & Alcohol and tobacco by the mid-18th century w/ producer goods dropped to 30% 

What were the principal Indigenous nations of the region in BC?

• Secwépemc (Shuswap): Interior Plateau, Kamloops central

• Syilx (Okanagan): Okanagan Valley -  south BC into Washington

• Ktunaxa: Kootenays region - southeastern BC into Alberta 

• Dane-zaa: Peace River County - north BC/Alberta border 

• Tsek'ehne (Sekani): West to Dane-zaa

• Coast Salish: Stó:lō 

• Tsilhqot’in (Chilcotin) - central/ - trade - “The Great Road” - b/w mountain ranges rich in resources for food & trade - mobile so little materialism & no classes 

• Carrier: part of the Grease Trail - ancient trade network of eulachon (fish) grease

Identify some of the important cultural/social differences between coastal and interior peoples

• Coastal peoples 

• densely populated villages - extensive trade network (maritime resources)

• elaborate social/class structures - potlatch complex ceremonies - social status, wealth redistribution, kinship networks

• Interior peoples

• extensive trade network (not as maritime-oriented as coastal groups).

How did Dane-zaa peoples respond to the arrival of various non-Indigenous peoples 1740s on?

• Oral Story: Dane-zaa sent out by NWC to contact more Indians to trade - match NWC journal

• Showed goods: clothing, use knives (cut meat), axes (chop down trees), guns & told them they could be traded for fur -

• Teach: how to prepare fur - changed hunting practices to use guns - elders predicted the arrival of Europeans - positioning for cooperation rather than direct conflict

To what extent did Indigenous strategies preserve or endanger Indigenous power in the Pacific NW?

• Preservation: Indigenous leaders used trade accumulate wealth, status, influence - Potlatches & gift exchanges to control foreign interactions & Secwépemc - horses (overland) 1800s - easier travel & trade 

• Endangerment: foreign diseases and firearms destabilized society

• inter-tribal conflicts Barkley Sound possible motive maritime trade

• Unbalance wealth between Commerce chiefs with other Indigenous people

• Fort Rocky Mountain (NWC) - sought out Dane-zaa - closed few years after overhunting - hardship since no direct access to European goods as guns adapted hunting practices 

• Shuswap trails - became fur trade route, setters, gold rushers to use - smallpox epidemics - before areas colonist allowed in controlled by indigenous - shifting dynamics

What do scholars think about the impact of foreign diseases in the century after contact in Coast Salish Community?

• Smallpox: Massive population decline - society in distress

• Coast Salish coalition: slave raiders who took advantage smallpox epidemics & guns 

• Post-smallpox epidemic class-based migrations  within Coast Salish society - societal instability w/ imbalance bc population decrease (late 18th) - reasonable to assume some lower-class create communities w/ more freedom (Coquitlam) - able to secure land and create new identities

• Chilcotin War (Unit 2)
  
  

In what ways did Indigenous peoples influence the pace of social and cultural change after contact?

• Indigenous control of trade: Coastal groups controlled the pace & protocol of exchange - Wickaninish using intimidation for white go with his price

• Dane-zaa & North West Island Coastal groups: maintained Seasonal Resource Use & Hunting resisting European preference for farming

• Secwépemc: allowed use of trails

How do Indigenous understandings of space, such as those described in the articles by Carlson and Trimble, challenge settler narratives?

• Coast Salish: land not just physical territory but with with spiritual significance (Swi) - fluid boundaries within many Coast Salish communities - marriages & alliance were key 

• Seasonal movements: reflected a more fluid understanding of space - boundaries defined by use rather than fixed lines

• Challenging Settler Narratives of Empty Land

Expand on trade & road network in interior BC.

• Extensive trade networks pre-contact: Fort Thompson area already in establish trade network with Shuswap & other nations - Kamloops was a central point