The Importance Of The Fur Trade

The importance of the fur trade to the development of North America is a topic that has received much attention over the last century. Attempts to describe the economic, social, and political consequences of the fur trade have been made by prominent authors such as Harold Innis and Arthur J. Ray. None have doubted the significance of the industry, but attempts to describe or analyze it have varied greatly as historians, political scientists, sociologists, and economists gave their view. Some argue that the fur trade represents the political goals of imperialist nations while providing a means for expansion using the profits obtained through the fur industry.1 Others argue that it was the individual 's appetite for profits and discovery of
Before the eighteenth century there was French monopoly over the fur trade, but independent explorers known as coureurs du bois went further inland and established some trade with more distant tribes. This chase for more gain meant a “tendency toward continual expansion seeking new areas of supply.”15 By the beginning of the eighteenth century, this monopoly had been abolished for several years, and the “French river empire had ... extended over much of the eastern half of the continent.”16 This is a well documented reason for the exploration of much of Canada. However, such long distance river empires needed organization in order to survive. Because the length of the journeys increased, the return on initial investment was postponed for longer and longer durations. This meant that in order to finance these expeditions inland, credit was vital. Companies with access to such credit began to dominate the trade.17 This also meant that networks of support and supply needed to be maintained in order to effectively organize the transport of furs, manufactured goods, and employees.18 In order to maintain this supply chain the “organization of food supplies depended on agricultural development in the more favourable areas to the south.... the fur trade was supported at convenient intervals by agricultural development.”19 This meant
In attempts to undercut the Hudson’s Bay Company, French fur traders travelled further and further inland, discovering new areas of Canada while developing agricultural communities along the way. The French also developed a vast network of rivers and a supply chain to support interior trade far away from the main settlement. This exploration of the interior was further necessitated by the declining stocks of beaver. This first period of competition ended in 1763, when the French gave over their North American land to the English. The next period that followed saw Montreal based trapping firms grow and merge until a powerful company known as the North West Company emerged. Through the incentives the North West Company provided for its employees, and the increased competition with the HBC, new western areas were discovered and the supply chain was reorganized and made efficient. This fierce competition ended in 1821 with the merger of the two companies, but by then the effect on economic growth was very significant. The Maple Leaf that flies proudly on our flag could just as easily have been a beaver, a canoe, a voyageur, or a trading post, since the fur trade is the industry that Canada was built