day 3 New France: Fur Trade and Cultural Exchange

Introduction

Today's focus shifts from the Spanish to the French colonization of North America, specifically "New France."
The central argument is that the fur trade in New France fostered a unique culture of mutual dependence and accommodation between Native Americans and French colonists.

The French claimed land not already claimed by the Spanish, utilizing the Saint Lawrence Riverway and the Great Lakes region.
New France eventually expanded down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.
The primary economic focus was on furs, particularly North American beaver pelts, which were in high demand in Europe for making hats.
Other hunted animals included minks, foxes, moose, lynx, elk, caribou, and deer for hides used in leather goods.

The fur trade created a unique dynamic due to the French's lack of expertise in hunting, trapping, and skinning, skills that Native Americans possessed.
The French established economic relationships with Native groups, especially the Huron, trading manufactured goods for furs.

The French allied with the Huron because they were the first major group encountered via the Saint Lawrence Riverway.
Alliance against the Iroquois.
Initially, the Huron viewed the exchange as a ritualized exchange of gifts symbolizing friendship, not as commerce.
The Huron, with their polytheistic religion, saw animals as having spiritual power, making the exchange a ritual friendship between equals.
Over time, Native Americans started to view furs as commodities with negotiable prices, engaging in capitalist practices.
One French trader noted the Huron's bargaining skills, highlighting their capitalist behavior.

The fur trade evolved into a system of mutual dependence.
The Huron became dependent on European goods, gradually losing their traditional skills in crafting tools and baskets.
The French relied on maintaining good relationships with the Huron to secure the fur supply.
Insulting the Huron or failing to meet their demands could result in the loss of the fur supply.
This mutual dependence fostered a culture of accommodation on both sides.

Overhunting led to the scarcity of game, forcing the Huron to expand into other native territories, causing conflict.
European diseases decimated native populations.

Escalating warfare and kidnapping cycles emerged between the Huron, Iroquois, and other Great Lakes groups.
Declining populations due to disease led to conflicts to maintain power through kidnapping and enslavement of women and children.
The Iroquois used these wars to incorporate other native groups, sometimes replacing the dead with adopted individuals.

The French system differed from the Spanish model, where demands for native labor and tribute were enforced through missions and soldiers.
The French were compelled to be more accommodating due to their reliance on the fur trade and the need to maintain positive relationships with native groups.

French Catholic missionaries, particularly Jesuits, were present in New France.
Called "black robes" by the Huron due to their attire, these Jesuits were educated and brave men who were willing to risk their lives to spread their faith.
Unlike the Spanish, the fur trade did not facilitate the establishment of missions, so the Jesuits usually came alone or in pairs.
The Jesuits had to be more accommodating, learning local languages and going to native villages instead of forcing natives to come to them.
The conversion process was slow and frustrating, as the missionaries sought exclusive Catholic conversions, while Native Americans often integrated Christian beliefs into their existing polytheistic worldview.
Many Native Americans were reluctant to convert fully, fearing separation from their ancestors in the afterlife.
However, conversions sometimes snowballed once a critical mass within a village was reached.

Jean de Brébeuf's letter from 1636 offers instructions on how to treat Native Americans when attempting to convert them, highlighting the need for accommodation.
- "you have to eat their food in the way they prepare it even if it's dirty, half cooked, and tasteless"
- "You have to be prompt when you get in and out of the canoe with Native Americans and tuck up your gown so they won't get wet."
- "you must have sincere affection for the savages…looking upon them as ransomed by the blood of the son of god and as our brethren."
A Micmac native man's response to a missionary reveals his perspective on the French, challenging the notion that France is superior.
- "we consider ourselves, nevertheless, much happier than you"
- "There's no Indian who does not consider himself infinitely more happy and more powerful than the French."

Tensions existed between Catholic missionaries and fur traders in New France, similar to New Spain.
Traders brought liquor, which the Jesuits condemned, while Native Americans used it for spiritual purposes.
French traders frequently intermarried with Native American women for economic and social advantages, leading to the creation of the Metis, a biracial group.
From an economic perspective, these French men are generally considered ugly yet the women are trading access to goods for these connections.
The Jesuits opposed these marriages, partly because many French traders already had wives in France.
The Metis acted as intermediaries between the French and Native Americans, often living in their own villages and speaking multiple languages.

The French alliance with the Huron led to near genocidal warfare between the Iroquois and Huron.
The Iroquois attacked Huron villages, killing and capturing thousands.
Jesuit missionaries baptized as many dying people as possible during the assaults.
- One Jesuit wrote this about it, quote, let them be killed, massacred, burnt, roasted, broiled, and eaten alive. Patience, that matters not so long as the gospel takes its course and God is known and soul saved.
The Beaver Wars resulted in the destruction of large tribal confederacies and a realignment of native groups in North America.
By 1660, the beaver wars were over, and the Iroquois had become a dominant power.

Jean de Brébeuf was captured, tortured, and killed by the Iroquois and was canonized as a saint in 1930.
French traders intermarried with Native American women much more often than the British.
The Iroquois allied with the British against the French, contributing to the French expulsion from North America.
The French struggled to grow New France due to a lack of immigration, resulting from high land ownership rates in France and restrictions on religious minorities like the Huguenots.
The French style of dealing with Native Americans was very different than we saw with the Spanish.