Canadian History 1.2B + 1.3

enduring understandings

history and identity are shaped by its vast land, its northern location, and its abundant natural resources

involves Nouvelle-France, Acadia, Quebec, and francophone communities across Canada

reasons for the creation of New France

Settle in a new land

Trade for fur

Keep the English out of the area

Convert Indigenous nations to Christianity

Causes and consequences - Jean Talon’s Plans to develop New France

1. Les Filles du Roi (daughters of the king)

• To boost population and solve gender imbalance

• Single and widowed women from FRANCE that were supposed to cross the ocean to Nouvelle-France

  2. Focus on Tradesmen

• For Nouvelle-France to be self-sufficient and so the king (in 1671) was able to wear locally made clothing

• A call went to France for carpenters, masons, and farmers

• This introduced: looms, tanneries, forestry, and brewery (limiting import of hard alcohol)

The 4 main factors that determined where Nouvelle-France settled - Distribution of Nouvelle France

1. The St.Lawrence River

• River provided a year-round transportation route

• Best for agriculture

• 90% of people lived within 1km of the river

2. Canadian Shield

• The lowlands around the river was the only good agricultural land available

• narrow band was burdened by the Canadian Shield and the Appalachian highlands

• Good for hunting lumber, not farming

3. For Trade Regulations

• Stated that settlements were not allowed west of Montreal

• They feared private fur traders would get in the way of the indigenous traders

4. Iroquois/Haudenosaunee

• French settlers were under constant threat

• French were allied with Wendat (Huron) and Huron was an enemy of the Iroquois

Way was it so important for French people to move to Nouvelle France and build farms?

Bc if there were French settlers along the St.Lawrence it would make it harder for the British to move in and take over Nouvelle France

3 duties that the Seigneurs had

bring in habitants and keep records of who lived there

build houses and farms and live on the seigneury

provide a local out for settling disputes

who was the seigneur loyal to?

The King of France

3 duties of the Habitants

build a house and live on the farm

pay a tax to the seigneur each November 11 for the rights to use such land

Clear land and help build roads and bridges

who was the habitant loyal to?

The seigneur and the King of France

Who do you think every Habitant wanted land along the river?

Because the river was the easiest form of transportation

more resources

a advantage and one problem with setting a town up in stripes

advantage: everyone has open access to the river and its resources and transportation

disadvantage: the strips of land were too long and narrow and could get narrower which means less space

Nouvelle-France structure/hierarchy

In France:

• King Louis XIV

• Minister of the Marine

In Nouvelle France:

• Sovereign council, made up of:

  governor, intendant, bishop (all appointed by the king)

• 5 other counsellors

Captains of Militia

• selected by their peers

• reported concerns of the inhabitants to the intendant

• If in times of battle, running the groups

Colonists

Canada today structure/hierarchy

Constitution

Monarch

legislative - senate, house of commons

executive - prime minister, cabinet, gov departments

judicial - supreme court, provincial and territorial court

Legislative branch

makes the laws

Executive branch

rules according to the law

Judicial branch

enforces the law

Nouvelle-France responsibilities

Monarch - receiving reports approving designs

Intendant - finances, justice, policies

Governor - controls the military matters, external policies

Bishop - takes care of/runs the church

Canada today responsibilities

Federal (all of Canada):

• Imports and exports/trade

• parks and rec

• taxes

• RCMP

• gun licences

• food regulations

• agriculture

• military

• immigration/deportation

Provincial (each province):

• education

• licenses (drivers, fishing, etc)

• healthcare

• agriculture

• taxes

• streets (highways)

• Land titles

• Park and recs

Municipal (cities, town):

• emergency services

• local police

• waste management

• public transportation

• tases

• streets (local)

• parks and rec

How is the government of New France the same as the Canadian Government today?

• both deal with military and external matters

• monarch

How is the government of New France different compared to the Canadian Government today?

• Everyone in France making laws (not new France)

• New France has separate governments

• New France only has one level of government

• New France has no specific judicial or legislative branch

• New government has more specific roles

• We don’t have a bishop

What natural features or geography are the posts set up next to?

Posts are mostly around rivers and water

this was because they used the water for transportation

what 6 owners of Fur Trade posts are listed on this map?

French

British

Canadian Independent

XY Company

North West Company

Hudson’s bay Company

What were unlicensed French traders called?

Coureurs de Bois

Between what years did the French traders leave their original settlements to make contact with interior tribes?

1670-1713

What happened in 1713 that changed where the French could trade? What area did it exclude them from?

Hudson’s Bay Company doubled their number of posts on Hudson’s Bay and James Bay

The French were excluded from the Treaty of Utrecht and built posts from the Rainy River to the mouth of the St.Lawrence River and on the Gulf of St.Lawrence

What fort is the most recently built by the French and what might this tell us about the history of the French in North America

The most recent built fort by the French is in 1753

The French probably wanted more resources and land “ownership” at that time, which is why they decided to move south where there were barely any posts/forts

Who are the Canadian Independent traders, and what happened to them?

The Canadian Independent Traders were private traders referred as the “Pediars” who worked from relatively limited resources and were generally forced to sell out to larger companies

These people probably slowly ran out of this business as they were completely sold out

What were the two largest companies involved in the Canadian fur trade?

North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company

Which company ended up having a virtual monopoly of the richest fur-bearing areas in Canada?

Hudson’s Bay Company

Why did the fur trade start, what was traded?

Europeans moved to Canada for beaver pelts

Europeans traded goods like metal goods, guns, silk etc to the Indigenous

Indigenous traded beaver pelts, moose, caribou etc

beaver reservers were near Ruperts land

The Fur Trade

The French used inland river routes connected to the St.Lawrence River system

The English established themselves using the Hudson Bay Drainage Basin and the East Coast

Who are the Metis?

French-Canadian fur traders found First Nations wives and had children in the 1700s and 1800s when moving westward

The children they bore were called the ‘Western Metis’ (Metis = the French word for ‘mixed’)

Why did the Metis and fur traders marry?

indigenous people wanted strong relationships with their European allies and trading partners

Indigenous women aided their survival

Fur traders needed help with:

• translation

• taking care of home and children

• acting as ambassador with nearby nations

Where were the fur traders and the Metis?

Because of the fur trade, most metis people were spread along the Canadian fur trade routes

The first major metis communities were established in the Red River area

^They eventually moved further west into Saskatchewan, and Alberta

Language and Culture

Voyageurs learned other languages when married to First Nations women

Mixes of European languages like French, English or Scots Gaelic and Athabascan or Algonquin languages like Oene, Cree, or Ojibwa

Michif was created as a mix of these languages

Most fur traders were French and Catholic. Metis children practiced both Catholic and Indigenous beliefs

Rupert’s Land

the area of Canada that was controlled by the Hudsons Bay Company “given” to them in 1670 by King Charles 11

Metis built good relationships between first nations and europeans

Hudsons Bay company (the british fur trading company) didn’t want their fur traders marrying Indigenous Women but couldn’t stop them

Metis became valuable employees of both fur trade companies; Hudsons Bay and North West Company

Hudsons Bay Company

originally “The Governor and Company of Adventures of England trading into Hudsons Bay”

oldest retail company in North America and one of the oldest in the world

at one time the largest landowner of the world

Acted as government in parts of North America before European based industries and countries existed

First Nations groups shifted and changed over time

Caused difficulties for trade:

• trading partners, less predictable

• often resulted in fighting between first nations groups for fur trading rights

Life of a fur trader

English and French traders got in each other’s way and started competing for fur trade

Hudsons Bay company decided to build more inland forts, which resulted in more tension

Les Filles du Roi

“daughters of the king”

Women from France that were supposed to cross the ocean to Nouvelle France and marry a frenchman

Women could be: 16-40 years old, single, widowed, poor, orphaned, ill, or from a mental illness hospital

This was to boost population and solve gender imbalance

Benefit: choice who they married, dowery of 50 pounds, learned useful life skills

Challenges: Harsh climate on their way to Nouvelle France for 6 weeks

Coureurs de Bois

“runner of the woods”

Young frenchmen who illegally left their settlements to go live and independently trade with First Nations in northern areas

permanent residents were permitted to trade with the indigenous but under the price decided by France

Many Coureurs de Bois came to prefer life among the First Nations since they weren’t under the watchful eye of the French officials and priests

two of these men convinced the King of England to explore further west which resulted in the Hudsons Bay Company

Indigenous woman in the fur trade

provided companionships in a land with few European women

knowledge on how to survive

provided explorers + fur traders with food, prepared for travel, collected supplies for canoe repairs, acted a guides

responsibilities/goals:

• settled kinship relationships

• business could not be done unit relationships were establised

• made snowshoes, moccasins, and peminican (dried bison meat with berries)

• Women in fur trade were traditional to First Nation Communities

Challenges

• The europeans overpowering against the First Nations or taking advantages of their kindness

• being forced to marry to the traders

Habitants

farms brought by the seigneurs to clear the land, build houses, and farms

build a house + live in the farm

pay tax every november 11 for the right to use the land

work on seigneurs land 3-4 days a year

responsibilities:

• clear land and help build roads and bridges

• give seigneurs money or food whenever he uses the mill, winepress or bake over

• give money to the church each year

challenges:

• farmland becomes even more narrower

• when the farmer died the land was divided among their sons

• being forced to pay taxes

European fur trader, baymen, or voyageur

European fur traders included mainly the French, British, and dutch.

Baymen were employees of the HBC.

Voyageurs were independent contracted, workers, or minor partners in companies involved in the fur trade

they engaged in trading with the indigenous peoples and established trading posts

responsibilities:

• fur traders: trade for valuable furs and establish alliances and trade routes with indigenous

• baymen: work for HBC

• voyagers: facilitate the fur trade between europeans and indigenous people

challenges:

• harsh climates

• competition for resources

• conflicts with indigenous people

Indigenous fur trader

consisted of mainly Cree, Assiniboine, and Metis

located all around Canada

role: good at getting valuable furs

responsibilities:

seek out european goods and pay for them with furs

acted as guides and provided essential knowledge to european traders

challenges: process of a culturation

first nation cultures became immersed in european elements

New France - why did the French settle where they did? what was their government compared to today?

the french settled where they did bc of:

• Fur Trade – Beaver pelts were highly valuable in Europe.

• Waterways – Settlements along rivers for trade and transport.

• Missionary Work – Catholic missions aimed to convert Indigenous peoples.

• Agriculture – The seigneurial system provided farmland along rivers.

• Defense – Forts protected trade and territory from rivals.

what was New Frances government compared to today?

New France:

• king ruled

• governor- kings representative, managed military

• intendant - managed economy and justice

• sovereign council - small ruling body

• no elections - royal officials governed

Canada today:

• democracy - citizens elect leaders

• governor general - ceremonial role

• prime minister - runs government

• parliament - elected representatives

• electrons - citizens vote at all costs

the Metis - who were they? what was their culture like?

they were a distinct indigenous group of children born from a mix of first nations and european ancestry

originated from fur trade relationships

their culture was filled with language, spirituality, lifestyle (hunters, trappers, traders), clothing, and music and dance

The Fur Trade - what was the significance of the fur trade on Canada?

• Economic Foundation – Drove early Canadian economy and European settlement.

• Territorial Expansion – Opened up vast regions for exploration and trade.

• Indigenous Alliances & Conflicts – Created partnerships but also tensions.

• Rise of the Métis – Formed a distinct culture from Indigenous and European roots.

• Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) Power – Controlled trade and shaped Canada’s development.