Fur Trade
Fur TradeSocial Studies: New France Part 1 Question #5: Defend or refute the statement: “Trapping should be illegal-then and now” Trapping is a very important issue, which is connected to many other larger issues. For instance, trapping lies at the heart of the First Nation’s distinct society issue. Before I talk about the present, however, I would like to discuss whether trapping should have been illegal when Canada was first being settled in the 17th and 18th centuries. When the first explorers came to the new world, it was regarded as a huge slab of worthless rock standing between Europe and the riches of the Orient. The only reason these explorers even explored this continent was the hope of finding the North-West passage, a route to the Orient. Fortunately, while searching for this North-West passage, some of these explorers stumbled onto a virtual magnet for settlement: The Fur Trade. When people heard how pelts of all kinds could be obtained so easily and sold for so much, the idea of not settling in the new world was ridiculous. Suddenly settlers came to this “slab of worthless rock” and tried to set up permanent living there. Even after a few failed attempts the draw of the fur trade was responsible for the settlement we call New France. After the first steps toward a permanent colony in the new world were made, the next steps came in leaps and bounds. The French government was sending everyone they could to settle in New France. Courieurs de Bois, began coming to the colony to trap furs and sell them back in France. France granted land to poor people that were willing to risk the great voyage. The colony flourished, and grew. It was the fur trade that was mostly responsible for this colony. However, some think that by this point the colony was large enough to illegalize fur trapping and still remain a profitable colony for France. However, there is one major reason that fur trading should have been allowed: Relations with the Indians. Relations with the Indians were shaky, at best. Some Indians befriended the French, and some befriended the English. Some just gave their furs to the highest bidder. The relationship with the Indians was more than just a trade agreement. The wars of the Indians were the wars of the French. Now, imagine what would happen if one day, an Indian came to a Frenchman and offered him a pelt. The Frenchman tells the Indian that not only will he not buy it, but no Frenchman in...
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