The Fur Trade Era in BC 1770s-1849

BCFNS 12 Ms. Inden

First Nations Trade

Nuxalk-Dakelh Grease Trail http://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/MacKenzieRoute.j

• Remember that First Nations traders were already established in North America and traded many goods between themselves before the Europeans came along- including furs

Who were the Europeans?

• The Europeans were representatives of countries in Europe that were looking for a sea route to Asia – Spain, Britain, France, Russia and others • They wanted the trade goods they could get in Asia • These countries were also in strong competition with each other to become rich and powerful • They built their wealth and power by taking over parts of the world and making money from the resources they found there – This idea is called IMPERIALISM

Imperialism – Build an Empire

MOTHER COUNTRY FRANCE and GREAT BRITAIN TAKES OVER A COLONY Use as a source of raw materials (food, gold, metals, wood) to send back to mother country Use raw materials to make money and to create products to sell back to the colonies TAKE OVER what will become CANADA They use it a source of raw materials (furs, fish, wood) to send back to mother country Use raw materials to make money and to create products to sell back to the colonies Colony buys goods from mother country Colony buys goods from mother country

You can’t really see the map very well, but you can see from the purple lines that ships were sent out to explore and take over territory This is Europe

The Age of Exploration – 1490s-1800s

• The northwest region of North America (British Columbia, Oregon, Washington) was one of the last areas to be explored by the Europeans • It was a difficult area to get to – over land they had to face the Rockies, while at sea, they had to round South America – rough seas!

• Explorers came by land as well as by sea • By sea – Juan Perez – Cook – Vancouver • By land – Mackenzie – Fraser – Thompson

Arrival of Europeans

• Europeans came from two directions with interesting trade goods that made the lives of First Nations easier – Guns – Iron • An intense period of trade began between First Nations and Europeans

The Role of First Nations people

• Europeans depended upon First Nations communities and individuals for guiding, carrying mail, supplying food for daily survival and trapping the animals for furs

The Pacific

• The Spanish, British and the Russians were the early explorers of the Pacific Northwest • Spain claimed the Pacific for itself, but England argued that they should visit a place before claiming it for themselves • Very little thought was put into the people who already owned the territory

• Perhaps Spanish explorer Juan de Fuca reached Vancouver Island by 1592 –no evidence • Russia had colonized the Aleutian Islands by 1770s and were headed south • Spanish send spies to see how far south the Russians had made it • This led to the first recorded contact between a BC First Nation and Europeans

Early contact

Juan Perez and the Haida Gwaii 1774

• Perez’s ship was too big to put in at shore, but the Haida sent a boat out to meet with them and brought trade goods • Weather forced him to leave shortly after this, and he did also put in at Yuquot (Nootka Sound) on the west coast of Vancouver Island with the Nuu-chal-nulth • He noted they had copper and iron goods – showing trade goods had made it over the Rockies

Captain Cook - 1778

• Four years later, another explorer landed - again at Yuquot (Nootka Sound) • Captain Cook from England was in charge of this expedition • Read p. 65

Importance of Cook’s visit

• Cook’s ships left with 1 500 sea otter pelts • While Cook never made it home (he died in Hawaii), news of the rich area of furs and the fantastic profit to be made was spread by his officers • They also took a tree used for a mast • The race for furs – and timber - was on

Imperialism – Build an Empire

Use as a mother country to Use raw materials to back to the colonies to sell Colony country They use it to mother country Use raw materials to sell back to the colonies Colony country