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Women Workers The fur trade wouldn’t have existed without nonstop work by Aboriginal women. They repaired canoes, made snowshoes, moccasins and all kinds of clothes. And they made the all-important pemmican — dried bison meat pounded into a powder and mixed with melted fat and sometimes berries. Pemmican was high in calories for hard days of paddling, it was easy to carry and slow to spoil. European traders and voyageurs often married Aboriginal women, known as “country wives.” While some marriages survived (the children were the first Métis), many men simply left these women and children behind when they returned to Europe, and married again. Coureurs de bois usually worked on their own. They were experts at travelling the wilderness, whether on water or land, and also traded for furs. Voyageurs usually worked for a company, and mostly just paddled others, who did the actual trading. “Henceforth all Gentlemen’s hats shall be fashioned of beaverskins.” –King Charles II, 1670 1825 1653 1831 1653 1870 1653 1881 1653 Library and Archives Canada, HBC Archives HBC sets up its first post on the west coast, Fort Vancouver in what is now Washington state HBC establishes Lower Fort Garry, just north of Winnipeg Rupert’s Land becomes part of Canada when HBC signs the Deed of Surrender HBC opens its first department store in Winnipeg Kayak #54 december 2015 11
What a Beaver Bought For a while, each trading post offered different things in exchange for furs. Smart Aboriginal people shopped around for the best deal. Eventually, Hudson’s Bay factors caught on and set up what they called a “standard of trade” so that everyone used the same system. Here’s how it worked in Fort Albany in 1733. or two combs a pistol or 20 fish hooks or a pair of pants or two red feathers or 3/4 of a pound of buttons two mirrors six thimbles or eight knives 1653 1890S 1909 1653 1930 1653 1970 1653 1987 1653 Fur farms start operating, mainly in P.E.I., to raise mink, fox and other animals 12 Kayak #54 december 2015 HBC opens its first trading post in the eastern Arctic, mostly for Arctic fox fur 18,000 square kilometres in Quebec is set aside to protect the beaver population, which has dropped drastically but recovers in less than 25 years HBC moves its head office from London, England to Winnipeg HBC sells its northern stores and fur auction houses
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Page 3 and 4: Radisson 1701-1740 & Des Groseillie
Page 5: Hudson’s Bay Company North West C

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