IlMTR0Dl)CTI01\I

In the early years of the nineteenthcentury, the Northwest wasknown only to the Native peo¬

ples, the Metis, and people whoworked in the fur trade. If you lookback to the map shown on page 10,you will see how vast this area was,and how tiny the colonies of Upperand Lower Canada, and the Maritimecolonies, were by comparison.

In this chapter, you will focus onthe heartland area of the fur trade andfollow its development up to 1870.By this time, the region had become athriving community made up of theearliest settlers, the Metis, alongwith many newcomers from Europeand Upper and Lower Canada. As youread in this chapter's Window on thePast, this settlement was not entirelyfree of tensions, but there were manypeaceful decades. In many ways, TheRed River Settlement, as it came tobe known, was a microcosm of mod¬

ern-day Canada—a small cultural

mosaic, long before multiculturalismbecame official.

This chapter will introduce you toone of the most controversial figuresin Canadian history—Louis Riel, theleader of the Metis. If you ever havethe opportunity to scan an early twen-tieth-century.history textbook forKiel's name, you may be surprised,especially after reading about Riel inHorizons. Riel is a prime example ofwhat historians call "revisionism,"which means that the passing of timecan sometimes revise the meaning ofevents, or change someone's reputa¬

tion for better or worse. In Riel's case,

the passing of time has only benefitedhis reputation. Executed by theCanadian government for his role inthe Northwest Rebellion—an eventyou will read about in Chapter 5—heis considered a Canadian hero bymany people today.

The Northwest in isoo

.

The Hudson's BayCompany

Last year, you learned that theHudson's Bay Company |HBC)was founded in 1670 following

Pierre Radisson and Medart deGroseilliers's successful journey tothe wilderness region beyond NewFrance. Returning to London,

England, loaded down with preciousfurs, the pair made a pitch to KingCharles 11. If he would back theirbusiness, they could help him wresta portion of the fur trade from the

French, who had controlled the tradesince 1616. The king not onlyagreed, but claimed the area aroundHudson Bay and named it after hiscousin, Prince Rupert. That year, the

HBC received its royal charter fromthe king, which gave it exclusivetrading rights in a vast area—approx¬

imately one-third the size of modernCanada. Rupert's Land included alllands drained by rivers flowing intoHudson Bay.

Rather than risk sending tradersinland, the HBC built trading posts

130 CHAPTER 4

Great BearLake

Xl Great Slave¦ Lake Dubawnt

Lake .

OChesterfield

Inlet

HUDSONBAY

ChurchillFactoryPrince of C

Wales Fort

ReindeerLake

Cv*^'// [/VEdmonton ,

House^w

£ M. Saskatf-Nelson House

FortSevern

CumberlandHouse

I - ¦ ..Eastmain

Housev:: '0' •LakeWinnipeg

ChesterfieldHouse Albany

Fort 1Charles

MooseFactory>rchevjan

HenleyLake HouseNipigon

Brandon House

^souriLake ofthe Woods— Major western

fur trade routes

I I Rupert's Land

Super,,.

Major Posts of theHudson'srv(3ay Compan^v c.1820

e mouths of rivers emptyingHudson Bay. It encouraged the

.nihoin, Cree, and Ojibwa trap-

and traders to bring their furs toada—a small culturaltrading posts where they would; before multiculturalxchanged for trade goods. The;ial. " followed this "stay by the Bay"

pter will introduce ytfy for the next century. Becauseost controversial figu/er was the most prized fur, thehistory—Louis Riel, C used it as a form of currency.Metis. If you ever hatfurs brought to the post werelity to scan an early t\ssed in terms of their value rela-/.history textbook for to a beaver pelt, called "madeyou may be surprisecfot" by the HBC. Once the pelt'ster reading about Rielie had been established, tradersel is a prime example^ purchase other goods at theans call "revisionism,:^ company store. The HBC'ss that the passing of of trade was very strict, andles revise the meaning was little room for bargaining,ange someone's reput

;r or worse. In Riel's c

)f time has only benefin. Executed by thevernment for his role;st Rebellion—an evei1 about in Chapter 5^1 a Canadian hero by; today.

The HBC had a rigid hierarchy.The company directors ran the busi¬ness from London, England. Thelocal bosses, known as "Factors"

were also British, as were the clerksand labourers at the post. Everyonewho worked for the HBC was asalaried employee—only the Londonpartners actually shared in the prof¬its from the fur trade. The HBCshipped furs directly to Englandevery summer, and received its trade

goods at the same time, also directlyfrom England. This exchange ofgoods had to be carried out swiftlyand precisely because Hudson Bay isice-free only from July to mid-September. The rest of the year, it isfrozen over.

hierarchy; people inauthority ranked fromtop to bottom

Figure 4-1 Major posts ofthe Hudson's Bay Companyaround 1820

SOOi had controlled the tEhe king not onlydaimed the area arotand named it after ]

p.ce Rupert. That year;d its royal charter frrich gave it exclusive);s in a vast area—app

third the size of mottert's Land included id by rivers flowing u

aan risk sending tracIBC built trading po;

THE NORTHWEST TO 1870 131

Figure 4-2 Fort William, headquarters for the North West Company

In 1783, the North WestCompany (NWC) was established.Now the HBC had a rival, and itsstay-by-the-Bay policy was put to thetest. Soon NWC posts dotted thewestern and northern interior.

Native trappers found it much easierto get to these posts and were muchless willing to make the long journeyto the Bay. By the end of the 1780s,the HBC had also established a num¬ber of inland posts to win back someof the trade that had gone to theNWC. The race for furs was on.

The North WestCompanyBy the 1750s, the French-Canadianfur trade had moved deeper inland.French traders knew that the HBC'spolicy of staying close to HudsonBay occasionally made HBC postsinaccessible. When New France fellin 1763, the French fur trade wasseized by a group of English mer¬chants from Montreal. The"Montrealers," as they were called,

expanded trading networks in the

interior and continued to employFrench-Canadians as traders. In

1783, several of these companiesmerged to form the North West

Company.

There were geographic reasonswhy the NWC started to build postsinland. NWC furs had to be shippedto England from Montreal, andMontreal was too far for Native trap¬pers to travel, especially when manyof them lived west of LakeWinnipeg. As a result, the NWCcompany established a major tradedepot at Fort William, at the head ofLake Superior. In the spring, tradegoods were shipped from England toFort William. From there, NWCemployees transported the goods tothe inland posts. In late summer theprocess was reversed, and furs were

transported to Fort William and thenon to Montreal to be shipped toEngland. Timing was critical. Aswas the case with the HBC, theNWC had to contend with a shortice-free season on the rivers and

lakes.

The NWC was a vigorous, aggres¬sive operation. Its structure was

based on partnerships and so wasmuch less rigid and top-down thanthat of the HBC. The NWC'sMontreal partners stayed inMontreal, bought trade goods fromEngland, and arranged for the saleand shipment of fur pelts to England.The hivemants (wintering partners)remained in the Northwest and didthe actual fur trading. Because thehivernants were partners in the com¬

pany, not simply salaried employees,they shared in profits. They had astrong motive to make sure the com¬

pany prospered. The NWC alsoemployed voyageurs, who providedthe muscle power to paddle canoes

and carry cargo in both theNorthwest and on the long lake jour¬ney from Fort William to Montreal. Itactively sought out new tradingareas, employing explorers who trav¬

elled extensively throughout theNorthwest mapping new territoriesand establishing new trading posts.The NWC was also much morerelaxed in its trading standards thanthe HBC; it was willing to dickerover the price of furs, and it alsotraded alcohol for furs, something theHBC refused to do. All this bullish¬ness eventually paid off for the NWC.By 1800, it had a network of tradingposts that stretched as far west as theinterior of what is now BC and as farnorth as Great Slave Lake.

top-down: dictatorial,bossy

bullishness: optimism inmoney matters

Figure 4-3 Major posts ofthe North West Companyaround 1820

FortProvidence

LakeAthabasca

S FortT Chipewyan

FortMcMurrayc^y

HUDSONBAY

Fort St.James

IcLeod FortDunvegan Reindeer j

Lake rrjy

_T fl. SasWJjN,Rocky Mountain

t HouseLakeWinnipeg

South Vs*"Branch La/ffil {House Winnipegosis

'"'Vhewan dVVerLake Nipigon

Gibraltarf Lake of X\ the Woods

Lake

Fur trade routes

Major Posts of theNorth West Company, c.1820

THE NORTHWEST TO 1870 133

Boats, Canoes, and the Portage" BMrVi i"^- 7 mtmr- - ^ - ¦ ,F r friiftiM ITlfll i Tlf Vef", , ¦

ACTIVITIES

1. Suggest reasons why the HBC initially adoptedits stay-at-the-Bay trade policy.

2. List the advantages and disadvantages of theYork boat versus the canot du nord.

3. Imagine that you are a head hunter who hasbeen asked by the NWC to recruit newemployees. Describe the company to a potentialemployee and compare and contrast it to therival HBC.

134 CHAPTER 4

and about 1.5-metres wide.Crewed by twelve people, theycould carry cargoes of up to 4000kilograms. Both types of canoeswere constructed of birch barkstretched over a light woodframe.

Travelling the lakes and riversof Canada is not like travellingthe modern Trans-Canada '' "Highway. The fur traders had noramps or exits to get from oneriver system to another, andsometimes the waters were notnavigable. If rapids or waterfallsmade a river impassable, or iftravellers had to switch from oneriver system to another in orderto complete their journey, theywould have to portage. Thismeant that the cargo would beunloaded and carried to a placewhere the water journey couldcontinue. Cargo—furs or tradegoods—was packed in 40-kiio-gram bales called pieces that thevoyageurs carried on their backs.There were thirty-six portagesbetween Fort William andLachine, near Montreal.

to portage; to carry from one body ofwater to another

head hunter: someone who looks forskilled employees on behalf of a -company

Last year, you learned that thevoyageurs relied on small andlarge canoes to transport goods.By 1750, the HBC had developedsomething better than the canoe.The York boat was a double-ended wooden boat. It was about13-metres long and could eitherbe rowed or sailed, depending onthe winds. The first York boatscould carry a cargo of up to 3000kilograms—much more weightthan a small canoe. Later modelscould carry up to 6000 kilograms.There was one drawback. A fullyloaded York boat was extremelyheavy, weighing about 1 tonne,and so was difficult to portage.

With an experienced crew, aYork boat could make the round

trip journey from Fort Edmontonto York Factory in about 30 days.But the work was physicallydraining. York Boat crews trav¬elled from dawn to dusk, pullingheavy oars at a rate of 30 strokesa minute; and crews oftenworked in cold, wet conditions.

The NWC continued to rely onthe canoe throughout the nine¬teenth century. In the Northwest,the NWC used canots du nord.These canoes were about 7-metres long and a metre wide.They carried about 1500 kilos ofcargo, and were paddled by acrew of six. For the journey fromFort William to Montreal, theNWC used canots de maitre.These were about 11-metres long

Figure 4-4 The canot du nord