Canadian Fur Trade1 essays

Canadian Fur Trade1 essays The Canadian fur trade, which grew out of the fishing industry, began as a small business, but would expand and become not only the exploiter of a primary Canadian resource, but the industry around which the country of Canada itself developed. The fur trade started shortly after the discovery of the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland. The fishermen who fished there were the first people who traded furs with the Indians; this trade was a secondary means of profit for the fishermen. Later this secondary industry became a profitable big business due to changes in European fashion, and fashion techniques. While the fur trade brought economic growth and land discoveries, it developed its very own complex trading network throughout the wild, which laid the groundwork for a nation both geographically and financially. The Europeans and the Natives were both instrumental participants in the growth of the fur trade, but the fur trade had its ill effects on these two cultures. The fur trade not only negatively affected Native and settler life, but also had negative ecological effects, particularly on the beaver. The beaver flourished until the fur traders came after them. Because of the land discoveries and the profit made through the trapping and killing of the beavers, the animals were left nearly extinct. However the invaded habitat of the beaver would become the routes to the European settlements. In the period when the fur trade flourished there were two major players: the European traders and settlers and the Natives with whom they traded. The descendants of these two groups have different opinions on the effects of the fur trade, especially on the Natives. The question remains whether what was done to the Natives was unjust, or merely an inevitable outcome of exploration and discovery. The Natives feel that the fur trade was unjust to them; they feel the trade stole their culture from them and with it their ind...