Recap of the HBC & NWC
Jun 27, 2015
Recap of the HBC & NWC
Granted Rupert’s Land by King of England
(1660)Rupert’s Land = The Hudson Bay Drainage Basin
Encouraged First Nations to bring Furs to Forts… “Stay by the Bay” and had headquarters in London
By late 1700s & early 1800s HBC starts establishing Furs further inland
The HBC est. 1670
Started by a group of Fur Trading companies
based out of Montreal
Had 2 groups of partners…all involved could share profits.
Hivernants employed Voyageurs to do the muscle work
The NWC est. 1783
With HQ in Montreal they couldn’t use similar
“Stay by Bay” policy
Had to go inland, built Major Fort on Lake Superior
The company’s aggressive nature lead them to become successful
The NWC est. 1783
The Fur Trade is moving further and further
inland…
Wiping out animal populations completely (p139) or forcing them further West
The HBC and NWC are desperately competing for a shrinking fur trade economy
This will impact their trading partners significantly.
The Problem
The plains people are represented by five
major language groups: The Blackfoot, The Cree, The Sioux, The Saulteaux and the Gros Ventres.
Each group has different nations: your text lists the Cree, Assiniboin, Chipewyan, and Ojibwa
Who were their trading partners?
The plains people
The Métis descended from First
Nations women and European Men.
Fur traders would marry into First Nations communities
early 1800s these descendants had their own cultural identity
The Métis
Strong roots in the Northwest, especially the Red River Valley.
Participated in the Bison (Buffalo) Hunt
Hunts were organized into “Buffalo Brigades”
Impacts of the Fur Trade
• Nations changed where they lived to follow the expansion of the Fur Trade (Horizons p. 136)
Re-organized First Nations ways of life.
Impacts continued
Traditional seasonal cycles were abandoned so more furs could be trapped.
Introduced diseases (like smallpox and measles ) meant massive population loss to First Nations communities.
The more competitive the battle between the HBC and NWC got, the more First Nations had to adjust their societies.
More adjustments… In 1812 Lord Selkirk
receives a grant to settle Scottish farmers in Red River.
How will this impact First Nations and Métis communities?
This is your question of the day. Take a few minutes to think and write about this on your own.
• Between 1811 – 1817 the Red River was the
site of increasing conflict between many parties.
• Proclamations were made, forts were burned down, people were arrested, and armed resistance took place during what is now called “The Battle of 7 Oaks”
Setting the Stage…
Timeline Creation
• In groups you will look at the events from 1810-1820
• Each group will get a hand out that tells them what event to investigate and the information needed to do so.
• On the post-it identify and give the significance of the event.
• Together we will make a timeline.
• http://youtu.be/9yuCCBl1y8g?t=1h9m29s