Natives Role During the Fur Trade
The Natives were a crucial part of the French Fur trade. They showed it with the knowledge they had about the land, they were natural hunters and they were very resourceful in terms of the climate and landscape of the fur trade. If not for the Native involvement in the Fur trade the French could have lasted long enough in New France to develop an economically stable trade of furs. This paper will argue that the French fur trade could not have survived without the assistance and knowledge of the Natives.
The land was much different from that of France. The French were unaccustomed to the North rugged North American land. The Natives introduced trade routes and taught the French how to conquer rivers and live off the land. The French the French depended on the Natives means of transportation as canoes were foreign to them.
Deny's mentioned " Boats cannot go up this river higher than eighteen to twenty leagues because of the falls and of the rocks which are scattered there, thus compelling a resort to canoes." The natives also taught the French their methods of transportation during the snowy winter. The toboggan and the sledge replaced the canoe and the French copied the Natives snowshoes in order to prevent them from sinking into the snow. Yet as Le Clerq mentions, " Even with adequate equipment the French generally experienced difficulty in forest travel when unaccompanied by the Indian guides." Thus proving that the natives were essential to the French fur traders, as they could not have made their way through the bush without them. The Natives, having had years of experience on the land, had developed a way of living on the land that became indispensable to the French. In no...