Information about Coureurs Des Bois
A coureur des bois was an individual who engaged in the fur trade without permission from the French authorities. The coureurs des bois operated during the late 17th century and early 18th century in eastern North America. The term literally means "runner of the woods". Later, a limited number of permits were issued to coureurs des bois who became known as voyageurs.
During the 17th century, the fur trade was very lucrative for New France. Competition was fierce, and many colonists risked the journey west and north through hostile Iroquois territory from the settlements around Montreal to the pays d'en haut, or "upper country" (the area around the Great Lakes) to seek out Native trappers to trade with. These coureurs des bois were not looked upon favourably by Montreal authorities or royal officials. They disapproved of settlers leaving the developing agricultural areas to seek their fortune trading. The French authorities would rather have let the transportation of furs be handled by the natives rather than independent unregulated colonial traders, who were bringing in so many furs that the market was oversupplied. The unregulated traffic in furs also undermined Montreal's role as the focal point for the fur trade — where traders would exchange beaver pelts for trade goods such as clothing, muskets and copper pots. Some illicit traders also caused problems by trading alcohol for furs.
Some coureurs des bois became famous, including Étienne Brûlé, Louis Joliet, Médard des Groseilliers, Pierre-Esprit Radisson, Jean Nicolet, Guillaume Couture, Jean-Baptiste Chalifoux and Jacques de Noyon.
By 1681, the French authorities realized the traders had to be controlled so that the industry might remain profitable. They therefore legitimized and limited the numbers of coureurs des bois by establishing a system that used permits (congés). This legitimization created a "second-generation" coureur des bois: the voyageur, which literally means "traveller". This name change came as a result of a need for the legitimate fur traders to distance themselves from the unlicensed ones. Voyageurs held a permit or were allied with a Montreal merchant who had one.
The fur trade was thus controlled by a small number of Montreal merchants. New France also began a policy of expansion in an attempt to dominate the trade. French influence extended west, north and south. Forts and trading posts were built with the help of explorers and traders. Treaties were negotiated with native groups, and fur trading became very profitable and organized. The system became complex, and the voyageurs, many of whom had been independent traders, slowly became hired labourers.
For the most part, voyageurs were the crews hired to man the canoes that carried trade goods and supplies to "rendezvous posts" (example: Grand Portage) where goods and supplies were exchanged for furs. The canoes traveled along well-established routes. They then transported the furs back to Lachine near Montreal. Some voyageurs stayed in the back country over the winter and transported the trade goods from the rendezvous posts to farther-away French outposts. These men were known as the hivernants (winterers). They also helped negotiate trade in native villages. In the spring they would carry furs from these remote outposts back to the rendezvous posts. Voyageurs also served as guides for explorers (such as Pierre La Vérendrye). The majority of these canoe men were French Canadian and/or Métis. They were usually from Island of Montreal or seigneuries and parishes along or near the St. Lawrence River. Many were from France and many were members of Native Aboriginal tribes.
The voyageurs were highly valued employees of trading companies, such as the North West Company (NWC) and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Because of the effectiveness of voyageurs, the NWC was able to challenge the HBC. The HBC started hiring their own voyageurs in 1815 to help them compete with the NWC.
The voyageurs are legendary, especially in French Canada. They are folk heroes celebrated in folklore and music. The reality of their lives was that of toil. For example, they had to be able to carry two 90 pound bundles of fur over portages; more suffered from strangulated hernias than any other injury.
Voyageurs who only paddled between Montreal and Grand Portage were known as "mangeurs de lard" (pork eaters) because of their diet, much of which consisted of salt pork. This is considered to be a derogatory term. Those who overwintered and ate "off the land" (mainly fish, pemmican and Rubaboo) were called "hommes du nord" (northern men) or "hivernants" (winterers). Voyageurs were expected to work 14 hours per day and paddle at a rate of 55 strokes per minute. Few could swim. Many drowned in rapids or in storms while crossing lakes. Portages and routes were often indicated by lob trees, or trees that had their branches cut off just below the top of the tree.
North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
..... Click the link for more information.
Background
)
"Coureur de bois" - A woodcut by Arthur Heming
During the 17th century, the fur trade was very lucrative for New France. Competition was fierce, and many colonists risked the journey west and north through hostile Iroquois territory from the settlements around Montreal to the pays d'en haut, or "upper country" (the area around the Great Lakes) to seek out Native trappers to trade with. These coureurs des bois were not looked upon favourably by Montreal authorities or royal officials. They disapproved of settlers leaving the developing agricultural areas to seek their fortune trading. The French authorities would rather have let the transportation of furs be handled by the natives rather than independent unregulated colonial traders, who were bringing in so many furs that the market was oversupplied. The unregulated traffic in furs also undermined Montreal's role as the focal point for the fur trade — where traders would exchange beaver pelts for trade goods such as clothing, muskets and copper pots. Some illicit traders also caused problems by trading alcohol for furs.
Some coureurs des bois became famous, including Étienne Brûlé, Louis Joliet, Médard des Groseilliers, Pierre-Esprit Radisson, Jean Nicolet, Guillaume Couture, Jean-Baptiste Chalifoux and Jacques de Noyon.
Voyageurs
)
"Canoe Manned by Voyageurs Passing a Waterfall" by Frances Anne Hopkins
By 1681, the French authorities realized the traders had to be controlled so that the industry might remain profitable. They therefore legitimized and limited the numbers of coureurs des bois by establishing a system that used permits (congés). This legitimization created a "second-generation" coureur des bois: the voyageur, which literally means "traveller". This name change came as a result of a need for the legitimate fur traders to distance themselves from the unlicensed ones. Voyageurs held a permit or were allied with a Montreal merchant who had one.
The fur trade was thus controlled by a small number of Montreal merchants. New France also began a policy of expansion in an attempt to dominate the trade. French influence extended west, north and south. Forts and trading posts were built with the help of explorers and traders. Treaties were negotiated with native groups, and fur trading became very profitable and organized. The system became complex, and the voyageurs, many of whom had been independent traders, slowly became hired labourers.
)
Contemporary actor costumed as a voyageur at a historic site in Minnesota
For the most part, voyageurs were the crews hired to man the canoes that carried trade goods and supplies to "rendezvous posts" (example: Grand Portage) where goods and supplies were exchanged for furs. The canoes traveled along well-established routes. They then transported the furs back to Lachine near Montreal. Some voyageurs stayed in the back country over the winter and transported the trade goods from the rendezvous posts to farther-away French outposts. These men were known as the hivernants (winterers). They also helped negotiate trade in native villages. In the spring they would carry furs from these remote outposts back to the rendezvous posts. Voyageurs also served as guides for explorers (such as Pierre La Vérendrye). The majority of these canoe men were French Canadian and/or Métis. They were usually from Island of Montreal or seigneuries and parishes along or near the St. Lawrence River. Many were from France and many were members of Native Aboriginal tribes.
The voyageurs were highly valued employees of trading companies, such as the North West Company (NWC) and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Because of the effectiveness of voyageurs, the NWC was able to challenge the HBC. The HBC started hiring their own voyageurs in 1815 to help them compete with the NWC.
The voyageurs are legendary, especially in French Canada. They are folk heroes celebrated in folklore and music. The reality of their lives was that of toil. For example, they had to be able to carry two 90 pound bundles of fur over portages; more suffered from strangulated hernias than any other injury.
Voyageurs who only paddled between Montreal and Grand Portage were known as "mangeurs de lard" (pork eaters) because of their diet, much of which consisted of salt pork. This is considered to be a derogatory term. Those who overwintered and ate "off the land" (mainly fish, pemmican and Rubaboo) were called "hommes du nord" (northern men) or "hivernants" (winterers). Voyageurs were expected to work 14 hours per day and paddle at a rate of 55 strokes per minute. Few could swim. Many drowned in rapids or in storms while crossing lakes. Portages and routes were often indicated by lob trees, or trees that had their branches cut off just below the top of the tree.
){kind=small}
References
- Brown, Craig, editor. The Illustrated History of Canada. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys Ltd., 1987. ISBN 0-88619-147-5.
- Podruchny, Carolyn. Making the Voyageur World : Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade. Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 2006. ISBN
External links
- The Fur Trade in New France: Les Coureurs des Bois
- US National Park Service page on voyageurs
- Rendezvous Voyageur: Gateway to the Pays d'en haut
- Festival du Voyageur
- Video documentary on 'The Voyageurs - Men of the Fur Trade'
- Canadian Vignettes: Voyageurs
fur trade is a worldwide industry which involves the collection and sale of animal fur.
..... Click the link for more information.
Russian fur trade
Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major fur supplier of Western Europe and parts of Asia...... Click the link for more information.
Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"
..... Click the link for more information.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"
..... Click the link for more information.
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th Century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700 in the Gregorian calendar.
The 17th Century falls into the Early Modern period of Europe and was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement and the beginning of
..... Click the link for more information.
The 17th Century falls into the Early Modern period of Europe and was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement and the beginning of
..... Click the link for more information.
The 18th Century lasted from 1701 through 1800 in the Gregorian calendar.
Historians sometimes specifically define the 18th Century otherwise for the purposes of their work.
..... Click the link for more information.
Historians sometimes specifically define the 18th Century otherwise for the purposes of their work.
..... Click the link for more information.
North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
..... Click the link for more information.
New France (French: la Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
125,000
(80,000 in the U.S.
45,000 in Canada)
Regions with significant populations
Canada
..... Click the link for more information.
(80,000 in the U.S.
45,000 in Canada)
Regions with significant populations
Canada
..... Click the link for more information.
Ville de Montréal
City of Montreal
Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname: 5-1-4, MTL, Heavy MTL, Mount Real, Real City
..... Click the link for more information.
City of Montreal
Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname: 5-1-4, MTL, Heavy MTL, Mount Real, Real City
..... Click the link for more information.
Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada–United States border. They are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence system is the largest freshwater system in the world.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans, First Nations
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Castor
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
C. canadensis
C. fiber
†C. californicus
Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe.
..... Click the link for more information.
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
C. canadensis
C. fiber
†C. californicus
Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe.
..... Click the link for more information.
musket is a muzzle-loaded, smoothbore long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder. The date of origin of muskets remains unknown, but they are mentioned as early as the late 14th century in Chinese military books such as Huo Long Jing.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. The general formula for a simple acyclic alcohol is CnH2n+1OH.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Étienne Brûlé (c. 1592 (Champigny-sur-Marne, France) – c. June 1633 (Toanche, on the Penetanguishene peninsula, Ontario))[1] was a French explorer in Canada in the 17th century.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Louis Jolliet, also known Louis Joliet (September 21, 1645 – May 22 1700), was a Canadian explorer born in Quebec City. Jolliet is important for his discoveries in North America.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (1618 – 1696) was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada.
Des Groseilliers, a coureur des bois ("runner of the woods"), worked with the Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons near Lake Huron in the 1640s.
..... Click the link for more information.
Des Groseilliers, a coureur des bois ("runner of the woods"), worked with the Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons near Lake Huron in the 1640s.
..... Click the link for more information.
Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636 – 1710) was a French-born explorer and fur trader, whose exploration of 1668 led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Jean Nicolet (Nicollet) de Belleborne (born 1598 - died November 1, 1642) was a French coureur de bois noted for exploring Green Bay.
In 1618 he came to Quebec as a clerk and to train as an interpreter for the Compagnie des Marchands, a trading monopoly owned by members of
..... Click the link for more information.
In 1618 he came to Quebec as a clerk and to train as an interpreter for the Compagnie des Marchands, a trading monopoly owned by members of
..... Click the link for more information.
Guillaume Couture (or Cousture) (1617-April 4 1701) was a citizen of New France. During his life he was a lay missonary with the Jesuits, a survivor of torture, a member of a Mohawk council, a translator, a diplomat, a militia captain, and a lay leader among the colonists of
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Jacques de Noyon (1668 – 1745) was a French Canadian explorer and coureur des bois. He is the first known European to visit the Boundary Waters region west of Lake Superior.
Jacques de Noyon was born on February 12, 1668, in Trois-Rivières, New France.
..... Click the link for more information.
Jacques de Noyon was born on February 12, 1668, in Trois-Rivières, New France.
..... Click the link for more information.
Location Minnesota, USA
Nearest city Duluth, MN
Coordinates
Area 710 acres (2.9 km²)
Established January 27, 1960
Governing body National Park Service
Grand Portage National Monument
..... Click the link for more information.
Nearest city Duluth, MN
Coordinates
Area 710 acres (2.9 km²)
Established January 27, 1960
Governing body National Park Service
Grand Portage National Monument
..... Click the link for more information.
The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site of Canada (Lieu historique national de la Commerce-de-la-Fourrure-à-Lachine) is a historic building located in the borough of Lachine in Montreal, Quebec, at the western end of the Lachine Canal.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (November 17, 1685 – December 5, 1749) was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer.
Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, this son of René Gaultier de Varennes was part of the Ancien Régime whose family
..... Click the link for more information.
Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, this son of René Gaultier de Varennes was part of the Ancien Régime whose family
..... Click the link for more information.
The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".
You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words.
..... Click the link for more information.
You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words.
“Canadiens” redirects here. For the hockey team, see Montreal Canadiens.
For linguistic uses, see .
..... Click the link for more information.
Métis (pronounced "MAY tee", IPA: ['mejti], in French [me'tis] or [me'tsɪs]
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Island of Montreal (in French, île de Montréal), in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus (Laval) by the Rivière des Prairies.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Manorialism or Seigneurialism is the organization of rural economy and society in medieval western and parts of central Europe, characterised by the vesting of legal and economic power in a lord supported economically from his own direct landholding and from the obligatory
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. It is used by some Christian churches, usually liturgical churches, and also by the civil government in a number of countries (see civil parish).
..... Click the link for more information.
Etymology
The term "Parish" derives from Anglo-Fr...... Click the link for more information.
Origin Lake Ontario
Mouth Gulf of Saint Lawrence/Atlantic Ocean
Basin countries Canada (Ontario, Quebec)
United States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin)
Length 1,197 km (744 mi)
..... Click the link for more information.
Mouth Gulf of Saint Lawrence/Atlantic Ocean
Basin countries Canada (Ontario, Quebec)
United States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin)
Length 1,197 km (744 mi)
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"
..... Click the link for more information.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"
..... Click the link for more information.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus
