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